Author Archive
Writing the Assassination with Hugh Aynesworth, Tim Cloward and Bryan Woolley
Panel and Book Signing: Writing the Assassination: Dallas Authors Respond to November 22, 1963
Who: Hugh Aynesworth, Bryan Woolley, Dr. Tim Cloward
Video Presentation: JFK Unspoken Speech Project
When: Sunday, November 17, 4-6
Where: Half Price Books, NW Highway
Tim Cloward facilitates a discussion among authors Hugh Aynesworth and Bryan Wooley who have recent books released on the assassination. A diverse range of topics will be addressed and books will be available for purchase.
Hugh Aynesworth is an American journalist, investigative reporter, author, and teacher. Aynesworth has been reported to have witnessed the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dealey Plaza, the capture and arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald at the Texas Theater, and the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby in the basement of the Dallas Police Headquarters. In a 1976 Texas Monthly article, William Broyles, Jr. described Aynesworth as “one of the most respected authorities on the assassination of John F. Kennedy”.
Through a myriad of characters both real and invented (and some whose names have been changed) journalist and author Bryan Woolley presents one of the best dissections of Dallas life in 1963 in his novel November 22. Covering the twenty-four hours surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Woolley accurately captures the essence of the day’s atmosphere, resulting in a rich cross section of a city more complex and diverse than many observers have been willing to acknowledge. He describes in microcosm how the world changed in the twinkling of an eye and peers into the shifting lives of all people affected by this shattering event. Readers will be surprised at how relevant the book is to the Dallas–and America–of right now.
Panel Facilitator: Tim Cloward, Ph.D., is the author of the upcoming book The City that Killed Kennedy: A Cultural History of Dallas and the Assassination (Winner of the 2013 Mayborn Conference Book Manuscript Award). His essay “Conspiracy-A-Go-Go,” an excerpted chapter of his book, will be published in the upcoming Fall issue of the Southwest Review.
David Haynes
Who: DAVID HAYNES
What: New Book! Meet the Author of “A Star in the Face of the Sky”
When: Thursday, January 30, 7:00
Where: Salon, Private Residence
RSVP: wordspace@wordspace.us or 214-838-3554
Admission: Members Free. NonMembers-donation suggested. Refreshments served.
A STAR IN THE FACE OF THE SKY examines the consequences of family tragedy. Left with the care of her only surviving grandchild, Janet Williams desires that his life not be contaminated by his mother’s insanity. When her imprisoned daughter reaches out to him, Janet scrambles to keep Daniel from her clutches. Janet’s best friend, Estelle, provides refuge for her own misunderstood grandson, Ari, all the while pursuing her father’s dying wish that his riches leave the world a better place. These four lives intersect—with each other, with the past, with the dead, with memory. The novel explores the legacy of history, the evils of spite and, ultimately, the power of love. A STAR IN THE FACE OF THE SKY (New Rivers Press, October 2013)-Click here for the website.
David Haynes earned a B.A. in literature from Macalester College, Minnesota, in 1977 and an M.A. from Hamline University, Minnesota, in 1989. A former fifth and sixth grade teacher, he served as a teacher in residence at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Haynes also served on the leadership team at the experimental Saturn School of Tomorrow. His book Right by My Side (New Rivers Press, 1993) was a winner in the 1992 Minnesota Voices Project and was selected by the American Library Association as one of 1994’s best books for young adults. Two of Haynes’s stories have been recorded for the National Public Radio series “Selected Shorts.” In 1996 Granta magazine named Haynes as one of the best young American novelists. Haynes is currently an associate professor and the director of creative writing at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He teaches regularly in the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers and has taught in the MFA programs at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Hamline University, and at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD, and at the Writers’ Garret in Dallas. His teaching interests include gender, class, race, and generational differences – all themes that he explores in great depth in A Star in the Face of the Sky.
David Searcy, Joaquin Zihuatanejo, RockBaby
What: David Searcy, Joaquin Zihuatanejo, RockBaby and Dallas Poetry Slam Team
When: October 15, 7:00 pm – 9:15, 8:50 9:15 p.m. Audience Q & A with the three writers, followed by book/CD signing.
Where: Northwood University Literary Festival, Lambert Commons on Northwood’s 400 acre campus, located 25 minutes from downtown Dallas, just off Highway 67 south — the Joe Pool Lake exit.
Map to Northwood
David Searcy is an award-winning Dallas-based novelist and essayist. His recent wide-ranging essays have appeared in Paris Review, Granta and other thought-leading journals. He has a forthcoming collection of essays to be published later this year by Random House. He will read from “El Camino Dolorosa,” an evocative essay about his grandfather’s old pickup which is nominated for the 2013 Pushcart Prize.
Joaquin Zihuatanejo is a poet, spoken word artist, and acclaimed teacher. Born and raised in the barrio in East Dallas, his work captures the duality of Chicano culture. Honest, brutal and evocative, his poems are often hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time. He has won many awards as a teacher of creative writing and high school English, and for his collection of poems Stand Up and Be Heard. He conducts writing workshops in America and Europe, and his one-man spoken word performances are in demand at universities and literary conferences on three continents.
Rockbaby and Dallas Poetry Slam Team Members complete the evrning show with solo and group performances. Popular Dallas slam poet and comic writer, Rockbaby has become a favorite at Northwood over the past few years. This year he brings along two members of the Dallas Slam Team to close the LitFest with high spirits and homeboy poems.
ABOUT NORTHWOOD UNIVERSITY
Northwood University is committed to the most personal attention to prepare students for success in their careers and in their communities; it promotes critical thinking skills, personal effectiveness, and the importance of ethics, individual freedom and responsibility.
Special Thanks to writer, critic Martha Heimberg, Northwood Lit Fest Chair. Martha Heimberg has been writing about theater, the arts and historic preservation for over 30 years for numerous Texas newspapers and magazines, including Dallas Weekly, D Magazine and Texas Monthly. She currently writes a weekly theater column for Turtle Creek News. She has won awards from the Dallas Press Club and the Texas Historic Commission, and is a founding member of the Dallas Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum. She coordinates DART’s Poetry in Motion program, and a WordSpace board member for nine years. Her degrees in English and comparative literature are from Southern Methodist University. She is associate professor of English at Northwood University in Cedar Hill, Texas.
WordSpace is honored to partner with Northwood Literary Festival for this dynamic gathering of poets and fiction writers.
Tim Cloward Lecture-Dallas Literature on the Assassination
Who: Tim Cloward, in multi-media lecture
What: “The City That Killed Kennedy, the Literary History of Dallas and the Assassination”
Hosted by: Willard Spiegleman
When: Wednesday, October 9, 7 pm, Reception 6:30 pm
Where: The Dallas Institute of Culture and Humanities, 2719 Routh St.
Directions: Click Here
Free to the public
This WordSpace program is presented in partnership with Dallas Institute of Culture and Humanities and Southwest Review.
This presentation chronicles what Dallas-area writers have written about the November 22, 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. From the city’s original attempts to deal with the guilt, self-loathing and ostracism that came with its christening as “The City of Hate,” to its current attempts to memorialize the event at its 50th anniversary, Dallas has produced an extensive literature that mirrors in fascinating ways the larger national debate on the real meaning of the JFK assassination.
Presenter: Tim Cloward, Ph.D., is the author of the upcoming book The City that Killed Kennedy: A Cultural History of Dallas and the Assassination (Winner of the 2013 Mayborn Conference Book Manuscript Award). His essay “Conspiracy-A-Go-Go,” an excerpted chapter of his book, will be published in the upcoming Fall issue of the Southwest Review.
The Dallas Institute of Culture and Humanities has, since 1980, conducted public programs aimed at discovering what the humanities have to offer to the cultural life of the city. It will be presenting the all-day symposium “Understanding Tragedy: The Impact of the JFK Assassination on Dallas” on November 2 at the Southside Ballroom.
Dr. Larry Allums is the Executive Director of The Dallas Institute. The Dallas Institute Fellows are comprised of a distinguished group of scholars, teachers, writers, and public intellectuals in the arts and humanities.
It has been edited since 1984 by Willard Spiegleman, winner of the 2005 the PEN/Nora Magid award for literary editing.
Laurie Anderson
Who: Laurie Anderson
What: “The Language of the Future”
When: Thursday, October 23, 8 pm
Where: The Kessler Theater, 1230 West Davis
BUY TICKETS
WordSpace is honored to present the genius of Laurie Anderson in a one night only fundraiser benefiting WordSpace’s many emerging writers and urban youth programs. Buy a ticket to support the thriving Dallas literary scene!
Laurie Anderson is one of today’s premier performance artists. Known primarily for her multimedia presentations she has cast herself in roles as varied as visual artist, composer, poet, photographer, filmmaker, electronics whiz, vocalist, and instrumentalist. O Superman launched Anderson’s recording career in 1980, rising to number two on the British pop charts and subsequently appearing on Big Science, the first of her seven albums on the Warner Brothers label. Other record releases include Mister Heartbreak, United States Live, Strange Angels, Bright Red, and the soundtrack to her feature film Home of the Brave. A deluxe box set of her Warner Brothers output, Talk Normal, was released in the fall of 2000 on Rhino/Warner Archives. In 2001, Anderson released her first record for Nonesuch Records, entitled Life on a String, which was followed by Live in New York, recorded at Town Hall in New York City in September 2001, and released in May 2002. Anderson has toured the United States and internationally numerous times with shows ranging from simple spoken word performances to elaborate multimedia events. Major works include United States I-V (1983), Empty Places (1990), The Nerve Bible (1995), and Songs and Stories for Moby Dick, a multimedia stage performance based on the novel by Herman Melville. Songs and Stories for Moby Dick toured internationally throughout 1999 and 2000. In the fall of 2001, Anderson toured the United States and Europe with a band, performing music from Life on a String. She has also presented many solo works, including Happiness, which premiered in 2001 and toured internationally through Spring 2003. Anderson has published six books. Text from Anderson’s solo performances appears in the book Extreme Exposure, edited by Jo Bonney. She has also written the entry for New York for the Encyclopedia Brittanica. Laurie Anderson’s visual work has been presented in major museums throughout the United States and Europe. In 2003, The Musée Art Contemporain of Lyon in France produced a touring retrospective of her work, entitled The Record of the Time: Sound in the Work of Laurie Anderson. This retrospective included installation, audio, instruments, video and art objects and spans Anderson’s career from the 1970’s to her most current works. It continued to tour internationally from 2003 to 2005. As a visual artist, Anderson is represented by the Sean Kelly Gallery in New York where her exhibition, The Waters Reglitterized, opened in September 2005. As a composer, Anderson has contributed music to films by Wim Wenders and Jonathan Demme; dance pieces by Bill T. Jones, Trisha Brown, Molissa Fenley, and a score for Robert LePage’s theater production, Far Side of the Moon. She has created pieces for National Public Radio, The BBC, and Expo ‘92 in Seville. In 1997 she curated the two-week Meltdown Festival at Royal Festival Hall in London. Her most recent orchestra work Songs for A.E. premiered at Carnegie Hall in February 2000 performed by the American Composers Orchestra and later toured Europe with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. Recognized worldwide as a groundbreaking leader in the use of technology in the arts, Anderson collaborated with Interval Research Corporation, a research and development laboratory founded by Paul Allen and David Liddle, in the exploration of new creative tools, including the Talking Stick. She created the introduction sequence for the first segment of the PBS special Art 21, a series about Art in the 21st century. Her awards include the 2001 Tenco Prize for Songwriting in San Remo, Italy and the 2001 Deutsche Schallplatten prize for Life On A String as well as grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2002, Anderson was appointed the first artist-in-residence of NASA out of which she developed her solo performance “The End of the Moon” which premiered in 2004 and toured internationally through 2006. Other recent projects include a commission to create a series of audio-visual installations and a high definition film, Hidden Inside Mountains, for the World Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan and a series of programs for French radio called “Rien dans les Poches/Nothing in my Pockets”. Her score for Trisha Brown’s acclaimed piece “O Composite” premiered at the Opera Garnier in Paris in December 2004. Anderson was also part of the team that created the opening ceremony for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Currently she is working on a series of documented walks, a new album for Nonesuch Records, “Homeland”, and an accompanying touring performance. Anderson lives in New York City.
Swirve and Rosemary Meza-DesPlas
Who: SWIRVE and ROSEMARY MEZA-DESPLAS
What: Readings and Performances
When: Saturday, September 14, 7:30-10 pm
Where: WordSpace, 415 Tyler Streets
Admission: WS Members & MFA Gallery Exhibition Guests Free, Non Members: $5 Donation Suggested
Swirve is a Dallas music, spoken word and experimental performance ensemble featuring Tamitha Curiel, Chris Curiel and Gerard Bendiks. The members have been known to play the trumpet backwards, the drums upside-down, and shout sideways. They have performed in galleries, nightclubs, festivals and bbqs. They have also collaborated with many of Dallas’s other fine artists, including Tammy Gomez, Mad Swirl. Alison Starr, Kenny Withrow, and members of Yells at Eels.
Reveal Reception: WS @ The Kessler 2013-14 Season
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FALL SEASON OPENS: WORDSPACE AT THE KESSLER-
The “Reveal” Reception @ Half Price Books, NW Highway.
Wednesday, September 4, 5-7 pm
Join us for wine and a splasy promo reception as we reveal our full lineup and turn ticket sales on with Members Discounts. Wordspace is honored to have Half Price Books as principle artists sponsors for this benefit series that supports our 50+ annual programs. Additional partial sponsorship of our 2013-14 Season is made possible by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, board, members and friends. |
Donor Bridge Night: WordSpace presents “The Word-Up Allstars”
WordSpace presents the first annual Donor Bridge Day “Word-Up” featuring the “Word-Up Allstars” on Thursday September 19 at the Kessler Theatre from 7-10 pm.
This is a benefit event that will offer spoken word performances from famous and infamous poets, writers, and artists to help raise funds for WordSpace. Every dollar will be maximized and then some by Donor Bridge!
The “Word-Up Allstars” lineup includes 10-minute performances by Matt Bagley, Michael Clay, The Dallas Poetry Slam Team, The Andy Don Emmons Revival, Randall Garrett, Joseph Justin, William Bryan Massey III, Rosemary Meza-DesPlas, Carlos Salas, Opalina Salas, Bruce Webb, Josh Weir and Laney Yarber. Special Suprise guests are imminent!
This cabaret cavalcade is a unique extravaganza of talents and sensibilities that will help celebrate the power of WordSpace, which provides Readings, Salons, Next Generation Projects, lively Panel Discussions and Showcase Events featuring emerging to prominent writers, and performers all year long! Join us for “Word-Up” admission is FREE! But we hope that everyone will help realize our goal for the day of 100 folks giving up $35 each for a Wordspace membership donation.
This is a once in a blue moon opportunity to catch a line-up of notoriously gifted folks who will cajole, enchant, entertain, enlighten, and amaze! MCs include WordSpacers Rock Baby, Alexandra Marie, Karen X, Dee Mitchell.
Make plans to come out! Bring your cash, check, or credit card, have a favorite beverage, hang tight, hold on to your hat and your seat ‘cause this is going to be big fun!
Bonnie Friedman
Who: Bonnie Friedman
When: Thursday, September 12, 7 pm
Where: Salon, Private Residence, RSVP 214-838-3554, wordspace@wordspace.us
Bonnie Friedman was born in the Bronx, New York, and to her amazement was accepted into the Bronx High School of Science despite the fact that math made her weep and the only thing she liked about biology was spelling agar agar.
She continued her studies at Wesleyan University, where she majored in Third World Politics, and the University of Iowa, where she earned an MFA in fiction writing. She has won fellowships to both MacDowell and The Fine Arts Work Center of Provincetown, and was awarded a 2013-2014 fellowship by the Institute for the Advancement of the Arts at the University of North Texas
Her first book, Writing Past Dark: Envy, Fear, Distraction, and Other Dilemmas in the Writer’s Life (HarperCollins) was a Village Voice bestseller and is widely anthologized.
Her next book, The Thief of Happiness: The Story of an Extraordinary Psychotherapy(Beacon) was called “eloquent” by Library Journal, “excellent,” by Publisher’s Weekly, and “compulsively readable” by O., the Oprah Magazine.
Her writing has been selected for inclusion in The Best American Movie Writing, The Best Writing on Writing, The Best Spiritual Writing, and The Best of The Oprah Magazine. She has published frequently in the New York Times, and her work has appeared inO., the Oprah Magazine, Redbook, Self, and The Ladies Home Journal, as well as many literary journals. Her very first short story was published in Playgirl magazine (a mixed blessing), and she’s been accepted to be a Fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and at the MacDowell Colony.
Most recently, her essay “Becoming Visible” was selected by Kathryn Harrison for a special memoir issue of Ploughshares. She has been the keynote speaker at many writing conferences, as well as at the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis.
She has taught writing at Dartmouth College and at NYU, and is currently an assistant professor in the creative writing program at the University of North Texas. She divides her time between Brooklyn and Denton.
She is not the same Bonnie Friedman who writes travel guides to Hawaii, much as she wishes she were!
Summer Culture Melt: Anant Kumar, Charley Moon and Bunny Trahan
Charley Moon and Bunny Trahan join Anant Kumar, as he pitstops his Greyhound ride around the U.S. teaching, meditating, reading his poems and sleeping on the floors of ashrams and American bookstores.
What: Summer Culture Melt
Who: Anant Kumar, Charley Moon and Bunny Trahan
When: Friday, August 9, 7:30 pm
Where: Lucky Dog Books, 633 West Davis (Oak Cliff)
What else: Refreshments Served
And: Free
Anant Kumar was born in the Northeastern Indian state Bihar. He learned German as a foreign language in New Delhi before he moved to Germany in 1991 to study German literature and linguistics. He has published 13 books of prose and poetry. His most recent book is “Fredo A German Voice”. He is a member of the Association of German Authors and Literary Society of Hessen and has been awarded numerous prestigious prizes.
Charley Moon is a poet, photographer, designer, and beauty queen of Dallas night life. One of Dallas’s seminal neo-beat writers, she has presented her work in galleries, theaters, universities, nightclubs and festivals. Her photography has been featured at the South Dallas Cultural Center and many other venues. WordSpace is honored to present Charley Moon as homeland cultural ambassador in this event.
Bunny Trahan is 19 years old, born in Corpus Christi, raised in Dallas, living in Chicago and Home For The Summer. She’s been studying and creating art at School of the Art Institute of Chicago for a year and loves flowers.
