Sandra Beasley's Blog, page 29

The (Art) Beat Goes On

Sweet things: Square Books just put on sale 100 signed, numbered broadsides of "The Piano Speaks," which was designed in conjunction with my stint as the 2010 Ole Miss Summer Poet in Residence. The PBS News Hour's Art Beat blog featured "Antietam" as this week's featured poem. And Shana Thornton-Morris was kind enough to interview me for the Her Circle Ezine , which resulted in a profile ("On the Road and In Character") that just went live. Often these Q&As run without much introduction, so I ...

Duck...Duck...Goose~

Yesterday included a round at the White Oak Duckpin Lanes. Duckpin which would seem like an easier variation on classic bowling--three balls instead of two, lighter-weight pins--but it is actually far more difficult to get a strike. I've always been fond of it because I can hold my own against stronger-armed men, whereas in classic bowling I tire after only a few frames of throwing a 9-pound ball.

Hailey broke out a Hawaiian shirt ideally suited to the occasion, complete with sequined embroide...

VIDA

I'm listening to Mazzy Star as I type this. So good. Hope Sandoval's voice = a bow being pulled, slowly, carefully, across the violin of a dream. She lent vocals to everyone from Air to Massive Attack to The Chemical Brothers to Jesus and Mary Chain, back in the day.

A few weeks ago I signed on to work with VIDA: Women in Literary Arts (formerly WILLA), which is run by the indefatigable duo of poets Cate Marvin and Erin Belieu. I will be one of several "sheriffs" of a new blog, "Her Kind," whi...

Flights of Fancy

Thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts, Virginia Center for Creative Arts is offering two special residency opportunities right now. One is for those of "Limited Economic Means," and one of those is for those of "Minority Ethnic Heritage." All the usual amenities, but absolutely no pressure for a daily contribution--in fact, a $200 stipend. There are four slots for each category, and the deadline is September 15. Apply, apply, apply! VCCA will change your life.

On the schedule for today...

Kickstart

Labor Day: a day in celebration of the "strength and esprit de corps" of trade unions. And to honor the occasion, "Vocation" is the poem o' the day. Apparently, someone at the Academy of American Poets thinks there should be more celebration of Baccarat dealers, waitresses, and, er, serial killers. 


Speaking of noble work, a few musician friends are funding their latest albums through Kickstarter, a cool way of crowd-sourcing financial support for creative projects.


Shannon McNally plays a...

The Nest

It's been three weeks of packing boxes, cleaning, unpacking boxes, rolling with the punch of water damage, cursing Comcast, hanging pictures. Home. The pine table, bought second-hand from Miss Pixie's for $85, almost did not fit through the door. I assembled two of those dining chairs one night with the help of an allen wrench and a lot of scotch. With my father's help, I assembled the bed as well. Bedspread: new. Sheets: new. Some things are constant. The rocking chair is the same one I...

Whither Went July?

So, it's been a few days. And by days, I mean weeks. Where to begin? The first-person litany:


I read in Nashville, which was lovely for all the traditional reasons--a big crowd, a fancy promo poster with my cover art and my name in six-inch-tall letters, drinks afterwards with local writers. 


I read in Tupelo, which was lovely for all the wrong reasons. The coordinator had broken her ankle shortly after we'd booked the date and had been unable to publicize anywhere; the bookstore didn't even...

Telegram from Oxford

I'm just about to get on the road for Nashville, where I am reading at Davis-Kidd tonight (7 PM, 2121 Green Hills Village Drive). After that it's Tupelo this Friday, for a lunchtime event at Reed's Gum Tree Bookstore.


Not sure anything can top the time we had at Square Books last week. A full crowd, the presentation of a gorgeous broadside designed for "The Piano Speaks," and despite all the hollering of my time here at blues show after blues show, my voice held up. (Thanks to not one but two ...

As promised...

A review in the The Rumpus! Excellent...and an evening at the North Mississippi Hill Country Festival, complete with a set by Model T Ford. And dancing. A lot of dancing. (And girls hula-hooping, which is apparently a form of dancing if you do it right.)


Here's a snippet from the review, which includes my favorite reading of "The Platypus Speaks" to date:

Readers of energetic, ornate, and enthused poetry—step forward. I've got your woman. Sandra Beasley's newest collection of poems, I Was The J...

And Now, A Little Bacon

Some initial impressions of being on the road...


-There is a place of business just outside Jackson, TN, called "The Furtle Turtle." If it is not a strip joint, it should be. 


-Enjoyed turnip greens with bacon at Ajax Diner, on the Square, complete with pot likker for the black-eyed peas. I may dare to go back and try the smoked catfish salad, though I fear it won't be much once you take off all the fixings I am allergic to. City Grocery was as good as promised; once again they used real...