Monday, August 27, 2018

Doug McHargue's "Unseen Kites" after Owen-Murakami and Van Ameyden


Doug McHargue photographed at Caldwell Arts Council on June 9, 2018 for the first Art of Poetry Catawba Valley tour of 2018. 


UNSEEN KITES
by Doug McHargue
After Ginger Owen-Murakami and Vicki Van Ameyden

My feet glued to ground,
it's hard to think
I've ever floated
in this life,
not so hard to see
the girl, innocent
smile, angel pure dress
flying.

Or the group of kids
laughter levitating
story book minds
above too-small rooms,
yelling people, too big.

But it's really hard
to see the old man
with the set mouth
who's sat too long
for the photo,
just wants to change
to overalls,
get this over with, dammit -
how he slogs through
flooded fields and swamps,
gossamer, light like ghost birds
at his back,
the mouth one day released.


Monday, August 20, 2018

Gena Williams's "All Dressed Up" after Sharon McCullough


Gena Williams photographed at Caldwell Arts Council on June 9, 2018 sharing her work beside Sharon McCullough's whimsical piece, All Dressed Up.


ALL DRESSED UP 
by Gena Williams
after Sharon McCullough’s All Dressed Up

I see you standing there,
All dressed up.
Tall and statuesque,
Your self-control amazing.
Your thoughts a mystery,
But your composure undeniable.
A woman to be seen and never heard.

Many a man would love to have
A woman like you.

Did you choose this life of silence,
Of paralysis and steel?
Do thoughts of freedom run through
That pretty little head?
If you could, would you jump down
And run far away?
At night, when no one’s looking,
Do you dance?


Monday, August 13, 2018

Brenda Smith's "Summer, Fall, Swaying, Bending" after Alix Hitchcock


Brenda Smith photographed at Caldwell Arts Council in front of one of the four Alix Hitchcock pieces that inspired her poem for Art of Poetry Catawba Valley's inaugural tour on June 9, 2018.

SUMMER, FALL, SWAYING, BENDING 
by Brenda Smith           
On four prints of the same titles by Alix Hitchcock 

As the bird flies so do I fly
I know I am tethered to the earth
She is not
I know this
But I fly all the same
In my twisted way, I fly
I was in a leap
in mid-flight as I was caught
made into wallpaper
as was the bird
run over by the printer’s tool
We in flight

I was in mid flight
when fall came too
with its stripping of branches
limbs white and barren
my flight pressed to the earth too
my limbs hitting the earth
We falling

I, caught by the thin white wind
am bent backwards
Trees as tall as mountains with me
bent back, shot through the air
My friend curves low
out of wind’s reach
She, and the wall of greenness
are below the wind
Beyond the wind

Golden wind with brains and guts
makes a corridor through the darkness
pulls me up by my core
limbs bowed downward
Gravity still rules
the paper bamboo sways
with the heart and bone
Rhythm of the wind

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Art of Poetry Catawba Valley Announces October Tour At Hickory Museum of Art


Art of Poetry Catawba Valley is a newly formed Art of Poetry which began as a program of Hickory Museum of Art in 2013. AOPCV melds art and writing in the form of ekphrastic poetry with tours throughout the Unifour's museums, coffee houses, arts councils, and libraries. In June, Art of Poetry CV journeyed into Caldwell County for its first outing of 2018.
Our next tour will be at Hickory Museum of Art on Saturday, October 13, 2018.  HMA currently has three exhibits in which Art of Poetry CV will participate – Blow Up, Dear Paul Letters, and POP: Every Day Imagery as Art.  There are also the permanent exhibits of folk art on the 3rd floor and the glass exhibit about which poets may choose to write.
To submit, simply go to Hickory Museum of Art and write poems about the works on exhibit.   The submission deadline is September 29, 2018 and the readings will be October 13, beginning at 2 pm in the front lobby of Hickory Museum of Art.
Poets’ works will be posted beside the artworks for this event at Hickory Museum of Art.
Submissions should:
-include name of the artist and the title of the inspiring work
-be typed in the body of an email (please send attachments if line breaks do not translate)
-be sent to Melissa Hager at
artofpoetrycv@gmail.com
-Art of Poetry CV will use no more than 3 poems per individual poet
-Art of Poetry CV reserves the right to decline work that may not be appropriate in content. Poems that are overtly political or religious in nature, or poems that are not appropriate for all ages, will not be considered for this program.
Approximately 20 poems will be selected to be read by the author (or substitute reader) at the reading. After the reading, with permission of the poet and artist, poems will be posted on the Art of Poetry Catawba Valley website at http://www.artofpoetrycv.blogspot.com
The reading is free and open to the public.
Hope to have your poetry at Hickory Museum of Art this fall!

Melissa Hager's "Love Is" after Sarah Jayne Kennedy

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