A View From The Top Greg Busceme, TASI Director

GEORGE WENTZ, OUR DEAR friend and fel- poetry, poetry that will continue be pub- low artist now communes with the great lished each month in ISSUE. and small artists of the ages. According to the editor, we have He is now one of them. enough unpublished George Wentz His art retrospective will be present- poems for the next decade or so. It com- ISSUE Vol. 16, No. 7 ed in July at the Art Museum of forts me to know that. Southeast . I am very grateful that George has left an eternal and indeli- Publisher...... The Art Studio, Inc. our community has a museum that has ble paint stroke on the hearts and minds the facility to preserve and catalog of a generation of artists.He was a kind Editor ...... Andy Coughlan George’s work. and selfless man whom I was honored to Copy Editor ...... Tracy Danna He left a considerable volume of know. Contributing Writers ...... Chelsea Henderson . . Elena Ivanova, Jesse Doiron, Beth Gallaspy ...... D. Harris Johnson Contributing Photographer...... John Fulbright UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS AT THE ART STUDIO Distribution Director ...... Terri McKusker APRIL MAY TASIMJAE (The Art Studio, Inc. Member Jurored Art Exhibition) Jeff Forster (2009 TASIMJAE Winner) The Art Studio, Inc. Board of Directors Opening ...... April 3 Opening ...... May 1 President Ex-Officio ...... Greg Busceme Vice-President...... Angela Busceme Chair ...... Elizabeth French Treasurer-Secretary ...... Beth Gallaspy Paula “Torchy” Salter, Members At Large...... Kimberly Brown, a long-time supporter of ...... Sheila Molandes, Andy Ledesma, VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The Art Studio and a fixture ...... Sebastian Ramirez, Stephan Malick, ...... Heather Eager in the Southeast Texas arts The Art Studio is looking for energetic people community, died March 14. The Art Studio, Inc. who have a few hours a month to help us in the following areas: Torchy organized the most From: g_wentz 720 Franklin Beaumont, TX 77701 recent Beaux Arts Ball 409-838-5393 OFFICE SUPPORT • BUILDINGS & GROUNDS and is on this month’s cover. www.artstudio.org SPECIAL EVENTS • MAILOUTS This month’s ISSUE is chatting with henri. nice fella. [email protected] dedicated to her If you are interested in one or more of these opportunities or if you know of indominatable spirit. The ISSUE is a monthly publication of The Art Torchy was a force of nature told him about art studio. Studio, Inc. Its mission is to publicize The Art Studio and anyone who might be, give us a call at 409-838-5393 its tenants, and to promote the growth of the arts in and she will be missed. Southeast Texas. ISSUE is also charged with informing says he would’ve been a member. TASI members of projects, progress, achievements and setbacks in TASI’s well-being. Further, ISSUE strives to promote and distribute the writings of local authors in its “Thoughtcrime” feature. BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ART STUDIO ISSUE is provided free of charge to members of TASI and is also available, free of charge, at more than 30 loca- Membership in The Art tions in Southeast Texas. Studio, Inc., provides invita- Regular features include local artists of note and rep- tions to all exhibitions and Name(s) utation who are not currently exhibiting at TASI; artists one year of ISSUE, the currently or soon to be exhibiting at TASI; Instructional monthly arts magazine of Address articles for artists; news stories regarding the state of The Art Studio. It also gives TASI’s organization; and arts news features dealing with free eligibility for members City/St/Zip general philosophical issues of interest to artists. to enter the annual mem- bership art exhibition Phone e-mail (TASIMJAE) and partici- Contents pate in various exhibitions Credit Card Type: Visa MC Amex Disc throughout the year. Number George Wentz Remembered ...... Page 4 MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: Exp Date 8x10 Playwriting Contest...... Page 5 THE ART STUDIO, INC. Jerry Bradley on Poetry ...... Page 6 Day Phone e-mail TASIMJAE ...... Page 7 SUGGESTED MEMBERSHIP AMOUNT Beaux Arts Ball...... Page 8 for office use ‘Shanama’...... Page 10 Individual: $35 Patron: $500 A Tale of Two Mid-Centuries ...... Page 11 Family/Group: $50 Angel: $1,000 pd $ in comp Around & About...... Page 12 Friend/Business: $100 Benefactor $2,000 Thoughtcrime...... Page 13 issue SEE MEMBERSHIP FORM ON PAGE 3. Sustaining: $250 Life Member: $10,000 thanks Cover: Torchy and Greg Busceme New? Renewal? Artist? If yes, list medium at the previous Beaux Arts Ball The Art Studio, Inc. 720 Franklin, Beaumont 77701 Photo by John Fulbright 4 • ISSUE April 2010 Volume 16, No. 7 Volume 16, No. 7 April 2010 ISSUE • 5 A Last Conversation with George YOUR 8X10 GOES HERE PLAYWRITING FESTIVAL

Comment THE LAST TIME I saw George Wentz the sun was and photo shining. It has been a pretty crappy winter, but the rain had stopped long enough for the late by afternoon sun to shine through the window of Andy his studio space. I had called to let him know I 10 minutes of drama Coughlan was coming, but as I approached his door I saw Scenes from the eight winners, below, of the 2009 Your 8x10 Goes Here Festival that his head was down, dozing, and he was TAKE A BOW THEATRE The eight winners are chosen based on a Story by 1. hunched over in his wheelchair. Company is hosting its point system. Clark said that last year the Chelsea 1. “Moose, I wondered if I should let him sleep, but I second “Your 8 x 10 judges based their choices on categories like Indians” by had urgent business. I needed a poem for the Henderson Goes Here,” a 10-minute originality, literary value — if the play was Kyle Romero ISSUE. In the years I have been doing this monthly magazine, it has playwriting competition something that could be published in an failed to include a poem by George only twice that I can recall, both Photos by and festival. Both experi- anthology one day — and other considerations. 2. “Stand Up” times when I had so many poems I decided to leave his out for that Andy enced playwrights and “(Judging) is a little subjective except month (a rare occurence, by the way. It was always a great comfort to first-timers are invited to that I had a writer who writes completely by Adam E. Douglas know that I could count on a poem from George for the Coughlan take their play ideas, from a literary point of view and one who Thoughtcrime page). I needed the poem and George had told me type a script and submit writes from a creative point of view — the- earlier in the day that he had one he was quite pleased with. their entries by May 1. atrical and film is all she does,” Clark said. He woke up as I entered. He said that he was tired. Being in the Eight winners will be chosen by three “Her point of view is completely different judges, their plays will be handed over to a from the English point of view, and the other wheelchair, the result of a nasty bout of diabetes, sometimes got him 2. down. Not being able to get out wore on him. I told him I wouldn’t director for production, and their “babies” (judge) is an actor. Each play gets looked at 3. “Robotica” by keep him long. He passed me a notebook with the poem in it. I tore it will be performed for two separate audi- by all three — it wouldn’t be fair otherwise.” Christopher Dombrosky out and began to read. I always had to read it aloud, mainly because ences. Last year was Take a Bow’s most Out of the eight plays chosen for produc- George’s writing was pretty hard to read. Once, I ran a poem with a “ambitious effort” for a playwriting contest. tion, judges were asked to pick their favorite wrong word that changed the meaning of a line. I wasn’t about to let “With eight 10-minute winners, you can play for a Critics’ Choice award. Last year’s 4. “Till All Times that happen again. So I read it aloud while George listened. He liked run the entire program twice a day,” Joanna competition had two critics’ choice winners. End” by Gil to hear his poems read by a different voice than his own. I wrote Clark, Box Office Advisor, The judges had a tie for “Moose. Indians.” by Nelson notes in the margin when I couldn’t read a word or two. said. “As we look to expand the festival in Kyle Romero, a senior theatre major at When we were done, we chatted for a while, surrounded by the years to come, we would want to bring back Lamar, and “Robotica” by Christopher plethora of sketchpads that lined the walls. He told me about the lat- the favorite shows and then have the new Dombrosky, a Lamar film-making graduate 3. 4. est pieces he had done (George was prolific, filling pads by the shows. We would really like to see this who, Clark said, is working in the industry dozens with his playful and vivacious flowers and abstract landscapes. become a festival that more schools and locally. Lately he was working on a series of Native-American inspired cere- community theatres get involved in. There Once the shows are performed twice, monial vases; “I don’t know why,” he said). are a lot of people out there who want to the festival ends with an Audience’s Choice Our conversation rambled on, as it was always prone to do. We write a play, and they have good ideas. A 10- winner. Audience members vote on their talked about art, mainly, and the state of the world. Sometimes we minute play is a good way to teach yourself favorite play at each viewing, and the ballots talked about poetry, sometimes we talked music (NPR was an ever- to write.” are counted while the author stands with his present accompaniment). Sometimes we talked about sex, or jokes, Clark said that unlike other playwriting director and cast. Clark said that the winner or why so-and-so was doing this-and-that. Sometimes we talked about competitions, “8 x 10” does not reward win- last year, “A Single Drop” by Andy Coughlan, spiritual things. He said that I understood, when he said we make art, ners with money. Winners are rewarded with is proof for contestants that comedy doesn’t 5. “A Single “because that’s just what we do.” I always took that as a compliment. the festival — the experience of seeing their always win. 5. Drop” by But mainly we had fun. George had fun making art and making show and how their writing is perceived by “It was just spellbinding,” she said. “It Andy art was what George did. And talking about art was what George did others. was kind of romantic, and it was a very deli- Coughlan when he wasn’t making art. And talking to George about art was “One of the reasons we like to perform cate, well-told story. (In the audience) I saw a what I did when I wanted to kick back and have some fun. the plays in a minimal sense is to give these lot of local theatre people and people that I 6. “The Hat As the conversation that Friday moved on, George became more authors the opportunity to see their work on usually see attending shows in this area. It Trick” by and more animated. We were both on a roll. We talked about the stage and understand how it is perceived,” was an audience who was more prepared to Christopher “pARTy-cipation” event the previous month at The Art Studio. George Clark said. “Always do a run through before see fresh, new theatre.” James Murray wanted to know all about it. It was the kind of event that he loved — a you decide you’re finished with it. Consider Clark said that the festival, date undeter- chance for everyone to make art, to be creative and to have fun. the audience you’re writing for. If you think mined, will be in the fall this year to make Sharing art was George’s passion. He was always quick to praise you’re writing comedy, then think of some of sure plenty of actors can audition and direc- 6. 7. up-and-coming artists. And it wasn’t shallow platitudes. He really the funniest people that you know who have tors are available. Entries must be submitted meant it. And he would say why he liked it. He would encourage a good sense of humor and try to write from by May 1 or by the late submission date of everyone to make art. He encouraged my daughter to be a photogra- the point of view of, ‘I’m going to keep them June 1. Winners will be notified by August. pher. When she moved away, there was rarely a visit that didn’t laughing.’ What makes them laugh? That will “You don’t have to be a theatre person to involve asking me how she was doing. Did I have any of her latest probably make everybody else laugh too.” do this,” Clark said. “This was proven by photos he could see? He loved to see what other people were mak- Clark said she encourages contestants to some of the people who won last year. We ing. I would often take my paintings to his house just to get some limit their number of characters and not to want people to go ahead and take a stab at it feedback. It was always enlightening. do too much. She is against adding subplots, — just really give us a try.” When I left his house that day, he was full of pep. And so was I. she said, because they cannot be satisfied in Entries must be typed in a standard play- Our conversations left us both invigorated. Ask the other artists who the alloted 10 minutes. writing format, the original work of the knew him and you’ll get the same story. “We’re now in our third or fourth gener- author, and the proper length for a 10-minute 8. 7. “Some Assembly ation of ‘Sesame Street’ (and) ‘MTV’ atten- play. Clark said that on stage, one page is My friend George died March 6. He was 64. Required” I am not a mourner. I don’t plan to shed a tear for George. His tion spans,” she said. “‘Saturday Night Live’ about a minute, so entries should be around by Beth passion and his art demand a note of celebration. has trained us: this is how long you sit still 10 pages. This is an adult competition, so Gallaspy So, if you knew George, or even if you didn’t, when you finish and watch something. With 10-minute play- musicals and children’s plays are not eligible. reading this, put the paper down and go and paint a picture. Or write writing, you’ve got to have your beginning, For more information, contact take- 8. “Seven Notes and a Gun” by a poem. Or make some music. Create something. And have fun. middle and end in your story, and don’t take abow99 on MySpace or “alltheworld” on Christopher Busselle George Wentz George would have. side trips.” Facebook. 6 • ISSUE April 2010 Volume 16, No. 7 Volume 16, No. 7 April 2010 ISSUE • 7 WELL VERSED sister from a collection called My Book POET, TEACHER House. It was a series that had lots of different levels of poetry and stories with nice pictures. One year, we lived with my grandparents, who JERRY BRADLEY did not even have indoor plumbing, but I recall a great stack of magazines my mother TALKS POETRY allowed me to play with. I would cut pictures out and create my own magazines out of the Interview by POETRY IS AN ART photos and drawings. Most of the stuff I was TASIMJAE form that many peo- playing with, of course, I couldn’t read Jesse ple claim to admire because it was all beyond me, but I would THE ART STUDIO, INC. MEMBERS JURORED ART EXHIBITION Doiron but few ever buy. write my own stories for the illustrations. I When was the last wrote whatever the photographs called to my time you purchased a mind, which probably had nothing to do with Photo by book of poetry? the magazine copy. SHOW PROMISES ECLECTIC MIX OF WORK Andy When was the last JD: And this “stuff” you were playing Coughlan time you read one? with, was it the stuff Robert Frost talks about VIDOR ARTIST CHARLES STAGG has been named juror of The Art Studio, Inc. Member Jurored Nearly everyone — the stuff poets write? Or did it take more Art Exhibition (TASIMJAE) opening with a free reception 7-10 p.m. April 3. I know has written a time for you to actually begin composing poet- Jeff Forster of Kingwood won last year’s show, jurored by Xenia Fedorchenko, and will be poem at some time in his life. So why doesn’t ry? the exhibiting artist at The Studio in May. : Well, let’s see, I remember in the poetry have a larger following — like golf? I JB TASIMJAE regularly draws an eclectic group of artists working in all media. mean, no one has to be terribly good with a eighth grade, I was turning in a science proj- TASI director Greg Busceme said that the exhibition is a chance to showcase the work of nine iron to enjoy the greens. Even I’ve hit a ect when a classmate pointed out to me that I dimpled ball before. R.S. Gwynn loves golf. hadn’t put mine in a folder. I didn’t know I The Studio’s membership. And he’s a famous poet. needed one. After frantically searching “We get people to show work they haven’t shown before and we are also interested in get- Both of my kids have tried their hands at around, I found an old brad folder, but then ting new memberships from the constituents out there,” he said. sonnets or something that has fourteen lines the same kid told me that I was supposed to First prize is $100 plus an exhibition of the artist’s work in May 2011. Prizes are also in it. You probably did too — to a girlfriend in decorate the folder. That got me more pan- awarded for second and third places. junior high, to the assembled tassels at gradu- icked. It was in this mood of despair that I Membership in The Art Studio begins at $35 for adults. Student memberships begin at $20 ation, to the callow couple tying the knot, to went off somewhere and composed a twelve- with valid ID. the tired retiree undoing his, to the dearly line poem about the weather — the topic of “We really encourage folks to enter the show,” Busceme said. “It’s really important that departed lying in state. my science project. artists of all kinds — be they established or up-and-coming — show their work and get feed- What do third-grade teachers do with all JD: The rain in Spain. back from the public. JB: I don’t think it was that memorable. It that doggerel anyway? “We especially encourage Lamar students to enter. Being in a show is an important part of Poetry is that most intimate and demo- wasn’t until graduate school that I wrote a real the growth of an artist. cratic form of literature. After all, how many poem. I was lucky to have studied with Betsy people do you know have tried composing a Colquitt, who passed away a year or so ago. The opening reception will feature most of the exhibiting artists and offers visitors an novel? Any playwrights riding shotgun in your She was a woman you just could not say no to. opportunity to talk with them about their work — and to get involved with The Studio’s com- golf cart? By the way, diaries don’t really count She came to me one day and said, “Well, munity arts efforts. as autobiographies unless they get published Jerry, now you write poetry don’t you.” I real- For more information, call 409-838-5393. in hardback, so you can forget Aunt Bonnie. ly didn’t, other than a few attempts for student We think we know what poetry is, but we publication, but I answered her, “Yes, I write can’t really explain it very well. Most of us poetry.” So she told me that she needed one of probably wouldn’t agree on a definition any- my poems by Friday to enter it into a contest, way. Robert Frost famously summed up his the first year of an annual contest to be spon- views on the subject with a quip, “Poetry is the sored by the Texas Association of Creative stuff poets write.” That just pushed the ques- Writing Teachers. I went home knowing that Jerry Bradley reads his latest book of poetry, “The Importance of Elsewhere.” tion to, “Who knows who’s a poet?” I couldn’t disappoint myself by disappointing TASI Issue explores poetry in every her. I worked and worked on the poem which thing in, maybe a rhyming couplet to con- the end of a line without looking at the poem. issue we print (see ThoughtCrime on page I consider the first real poem I ever produced clude. Sonnet length poems open many possi- JD: So how many poems have your writ- 13). Back there, you will always find some — “Adultery in the Retirement Village.” I had bilities. I think they are the right length for me ten? “stuff” and a few people who call themselves to read it in front of all these esteemed faculty to sustain an image and convey a feeling. JB: Maybe 300. I am not terribly prolific. poets. In this issue, we get to talk with a “pro- members from across the state. It was then Beyond that length, it becomes an academic JD: That’s 300 that you’ve finished or fessional” one, Jerry Bradley, about what it that I thought, “Wow! Maybe I can do this.” I exercise for me to rhyme. published. But you must have more in the means to be him — or it. thought the poem was good enough to JD: Is rhymed poetry any more difficult nursery? Jesse Doiron: Congratulations on your include in my first book. I got the idea by fret- to accomplish for you? JB: I am not one of those poets who new book of poetry, “The Importance of ting over what to write about so much that I JB: You are putting in place rules that writes every day. It would be nice to do that. I Elsewhere.” I have heard you say about your pulled out the Yellow Pages and told myself you agree to abide by and you cannot break tend to write late into the night, and that is not previous volume, “Simple Versions of that whatever I opened the book to was what them because you made them. Your language always convenient — because I still have to Disaster,” that you think poetry is something I would write about. I opened it to “Retirement is always handcuffed by something, whether get up early to do the other things. we carry over from our earliest childhood Homes.” The scenario immediately followed it’s your inability to come up with the right JD: How do you hold on to the poetic memories of music and images and moms. in my mind with a retirement home filled word or to catch the mood of the language moment once day breaks? Jerry Bradley: I think that’s true mostly with old women who had survived and make it come out the way that you want it JB: You may be able to get something because we hear poetry as well as read it. their husbands and one lucky old healthy to. There are problems, difficulties in any kind done with your work, editing and filing, but for Poetry is a musical art form as well as an man. I imagined what his life might be like. of form, even if you choose free form stanza. writing I need to get something down on image art form. Poetry is after all a kind of lit- Unfortunately, I may find out what it really is The way a poem looks is important to me. paper, some portable form that I can take with erature that we became familiar with early in like sooner than I might wish. When I hear someone read, I want to see the me. I need some way of capturing the thought life — nursery rhymes. Our understanding of JD: You write in a number of styles and poem. If it’s a really good poem, I want to see so that I can then insert or delete other poetic principles starts even before we can forms. R.S. Gwynn has noted that your previ- how it looks. I think that some poems benefit thoughts. But I have to get the initial idea out read. Poetry draws upon our own affinity for ous book, “Simple Versions of Disaster,” has from that visual aspect. For example, take of my head and onto paper. images. “an interesting range of formal strategies, from rhyme again. The rhymes may be so subtle JD: Do you work on one poem at a time? JD: Is that how “little” Jerry became a open-form stanzas to cinquains and sonnets.” that you wouldn’t notice them listening to the JB: No, when I run aground on one, I’ll poet? JB: I like to mix my formal approach with poem, but you might see them and appreciate JB: Looking back, I remember that my free verse. Some of my poetry is set up that them more by seeing them. You can’t tell mother used to read to me, my brother and way, and some sneaks around. I’ll stick some- whether the rhymes might be internal or at See BRADLEY on page 14 “Device” by Jeff Forster, above, was the winning entry in TASIMJAE 2009. Artist Andy Ledesma, top, examines a piece in last year’s member show. 8 • ISSUE April 2010 Volume 16, No. 7 Volume 16, No. 7 April 2010 ISSUE • 9 BEAUX ARTS BALL A Technicolor Masquerade

Story by COME BE YOUR MOST colorful self. Your most glamorous artists are more interesting anyway.” Although commercial acclaim has not been his Beth self. Your hidden untamed self. Or some other self you want to explore for one unforgettable night. Opportunity primary goal, Evans has found success. His album Gallaspy awaits you at Beaux Arts Ball: A Technicolor Masquerade. “Lollygagging” has maintained a strong position on Encouraging creative expression has always been at the Americana music charts this year. He describes Photos by the core of The Art Studio, Inc.’s mission. At Beaux Arts his music as “a high-energy, roots, honky-tonk, John Ball, the non-profit organization’s premiere fundraiser, rockabilly band. It’s a lot of fun. It’s upbeat. It’s good music to dance to. And there’s a lot of humor Fulbright everyone gets a chance to put creativity and individuality on display. in the songs.” “You can wear anything you want to wear. You can be any- Along with a rocking good time, Beaux Arts body you want to be. You can dress up and have a good time. And it benefits a Ball attendees will be able to enjoy delicious hors great cause – The Art Studio,” said Elizabeth French, chair of The Art Studio d’oeuvres and a cash bar with beer, wine and board of directors and Beaux Arts Ball committee member. “It’s always been a setups available. Everyone should plan to come great party.” early to take advantage of the silent auction, which This year’s Beaux Arts Ball will be 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday, April 10, at will remain open from 8 to 9:30 p.m. The auction the American Legion Hall Post 33 in , near the port and will offer an array of art and other unique items. only a few blocks from The Art Studio. Entertainment will be provided by the The theme of this year’s ball, “A Technicolor John Evans Band. Masquerade,” was chosen as a contrast to the Evans, who lives in Austin but has a devoted Beaumont fan base, is a per- theme of the most recent ball. When The Art fect fit for the ball, committee member Kimberly Brown said. “He’s a blast. Studio revived the Beaux Arts Ball tradition in He’s loud and fast and fun,” she said. “Even if you don’t dance, it’s going to 2008, the theme was “Back in Black” to recognize make you want to dance. You can’t not dance to John Evans.” its return after an absence of several years. This With strong ties to Beaumont and to arts organizations, Evans said he is time, the committee wanted no-holds-barred color. looking forward to playing at the ball. He attended Lamar University in the late Committee member Sheila Molandes has big 1980s and was on the last Lamar football team in 1989. He first plans to drench the hall in color and also created started toying with writing songs in college. In Houston, where he lived for colorful artwork for event publicity, based on a many years after college, he frequently played events for arts organizations, black-and-white drawing by Victorian illustrator including the Art Car Parade. Aubrey Beardsley. Using a Beardsley drawing for “Most of the music that I play has always been original music. I’ve always Beaux Arts Ball has become an Art Studio tradi- taken an artist’s stand on it. I’ve been more about being an artist than I have tion. In a broader sense, of course, the tradition of been necessarily a commercial success,” Evans said. “Meeting other artists the Beaux Arts Ball goes back much further, to the that are kind of in the same mind frame has always interested me, and I think elaborate, end-of-term costume balls thrown by art students at Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris centuries ago. WHAT: Beaux Arts Ball HOW TO HELP: Those attending The Art Studio’s Beaux Arts Ball are encouraged to be as elaborate and creative WHEN: Saturday, April 10 Silent auction items are in their attire as they would like. Costume, cocktail TIME: 8 p.m. to midnight still being accepted. and vintage all are welcome. As the invitation says, WHERE: American Legion Hall If you would like to attire is evening wear and limited only by the color Post 33 donate artwork or other of your imagination! To commemorate the night, 1320 Pennsylvania St. items, please call or come ball-goers will be able to have professional photos Beaumont by The Art Studio taken. “It’s a chance to see good friends, have a good 409-838-5393, TICKETS: $50 each time and raise money for The Art Studio,” said 720 Franklin St. Stephan Malick, a committee member. “The Art Available at The Art Studio and at the door in downtown Beaumont. Studio is a very important part of our community, and it needs the community’s help.”

Scenes from the last Beaux Arts Ball 10 • ISSUE April 2010 Volume 16, No. 7 Volume 16, No. 7 April 2010 ISSUE • 11 ‘Shahnama’ literary Persian treasure A TALE OF TWO MID-CENTURIES BEAUMONT HERITAGE SOCIETY MERGES OLD, NEW AT CHAMBERS, FRENCHMUSEUMS Story by AUDIENCES IN thorough the ear and the hoof with one EUROPE AND arrow, which the king successfully Elena America are accomplishes. But the capricious girl is Story by Mid-Century Modern is the group, will dress in early-century garments, sport have a place to show off his retro aluminum chairs Ivanova new rave. Pick up any magazine flintlock rifles and cook in iron pots over fires started and vintage burlap coffee sacks that he uses to uphol- undoubtedly upset and accuses Bahram Gur of cru- D. Harris more familiar elty, so the angry king tramples Azada and trends in architecture, tex- with flint rock and steel strikers during the April 17 ster furniture. Julie Burns, owner of Burns Antik with such names with his horse. Johnson tiles, jewelry, art, and furniture event. The group will also demonstrate black- Haus, also located on Calder, said she loves the as Aladdin and In miniatures, ceramics and other are referenced as “Mid-Century smithing, gun building, tommyhawke throwing and opportunity of partnering with the Chambers Ali Baba than decorative arts, the scene typically Modern.” This style is made leather working in a tented village on the museum’s Museum and jumped at the chance to get involved Rostam and portrays all these events as if they more popular by the hit televi- grounds. Present-day frontiersmen will not go hun- and coordinate her store hours with the event. Burns Sohrob. For centuries, westerners were happening simultaneously. sion series “Mad Men.” gry as there will be plenty of food items and soft will also have an array of vintage jewelry, accessories shaped their romanticized vision of the Bahram Gur and Azada on horseback, If the adage “Everything old drinks for sale. and small furniture pieces on the Chambers grounds. distant land called Persia by reading with the slave girl sitting behind the is new again,” is true, then the Beaumont Heritage Reflecting on the two mid-centuries and the Lloyd Frank, who owns an upholstery shop on “The Arabian Nights.” This collection king, are in the center of the composi- Society is taking it to a new level. “Mid-Century French and Chambers House museums, Edwards Martin Luther King Parkway off Calder, is also join- of fairy tales, loosely bound together tion, surrounded by the three afflicted Modern; Frontiers and Fifties” presented by the said, “From Beaumont’s infancy, through the mid ing the BHS event. Frank will show popular mid-cen- by the narrative of a resourceful young gazelles and the body of hapless Azada Heritage Society will celebrate the periods from the 19th and 20th centuries, we grew into a fully devel- tury modern styles by famous makers of that era. bride whose storytelling talent keeps under the horse‘s hooves. Sometimes, 1850s and just prior to the 1950s with a glimpse into oped town with important lumber and rice mill indus- “Samsonite, the luggage maker, designed furniture her alive for one thousand and one the representation becomes almost the early ’60s. tries. Also, the discovery of oil brought important for one year only in 1950 and I will have those rare nights (and we are still wondering abstract, with highly ornamented fig- The John Jay French Museum and the growth and wealth during the first fifty years from chairs for sale,” Frank said. He will also have some what happens on the one thousand ures incorporated into a curved profile Chambers House Museum represent the different the 1900s to the 1950s. Visitors touring our museums uncommon Henry Miller chairs, as well as Duncan and second night), continues to titillate of a vase or a flat surface of a textile. periods. Free tours of the Chambers House and the will have a first hand look at the vast technological Phyfe sofas which are his personal favorites. imagination and reinforce outlandish Despite its entertaining contents, French Museum will be available April 16 and 17, and cultural changes our city has made.” Michael Mathews, owner of The Tattered stereotypes of the inhabitants of Shahnama had a serious purpose: to from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Entering the Chambers House is like stepping Suitcase at 2590 Calder, will feature some of his Central Asia today, mostly through the teach princes the wise principles of “It’s quite an honor to be able to present two dif- back in time. The house is a treasure trove of furni- store’s collection of antiques at the Chambers House. magic of cinematography. governance and traditional ethical ferent historical museums that represent two distinct ture, personal items, artifacts, paintings, china and From Frontier Days to 1950s and Mid-Century Regardless of the dubious authen- standards. It was a “mirror for eras to the public,” said Darlene Chodzinski, childhood toys that belonged to the Chambers sisters. Modern, it seems the BHS has it all. ticity of some of its best known stories princes,” to be contemplated from the Beaumont Heritage Society executive director. “I am excited about the excellent real-time oppor- Carol Weishampel, a local author, will be on hand (most likely, written by Frenchman standpoint of the moral lessons con- Both periods rank high as turning points in the tunity for writers and researchers to examine authen- to sell her book about the Civil War. Antoine Galland who was the first veyed in its stories. No less important world at large in reference to advancements and tic period pieces as far as crafting historical and peri- “I heard about the Frontiers and Fifties from a European translator of the text), “The in the education of a future ruler was changes in society and industries. od novels is concerned,” D.J. Resnick, founder of the friend and decided to get involved; it is unusual to Arabian Nights” overshadowed in practicing meditation on the subtleties The community-minded event will begin at the Writer’s Guild, said. have something the entire family can go to for free,” western minds the real treasure of of the book as a work of art. Chambers House Museum, 2240 Calder Ave., on Chodzinski said the mission of BHS is historical Weishampel said. “I’ve decided to make quills from Persian culture — “Shahnama,” or Wars and conquests shaped and April 15 with a pre-show and sale of 1950s and early education and preservation. duck or chicken feathers and let people dip in ink and “The Book of Kings.” The year 2010 re-shaped political, economic, religious ’60s antiques from local dealers. Antiquing around “We strive to educate everyone about the rich his- sign their name to a paper representing the marks the thousandth anniversary of and cultural life of the region once the well-manicured museum grounds and listening to tory of Beaumont and the role this community has Declaration of Independence.” the Persian epic: it was precisely on know as the Greater Iran. However, records played from a vintage jukebox will certainly played in shaping the country as it is today,” she said. This is the first time BHS has hosted this event Courtesy photo March 8, 1010, that the poem was pre- Firdawsi’s archetype continued to be bring back memories of times past. Special exhibits “Preservation of historical landmarks and artifacts are and Edwards said she hopes for a good turnout. sented to Sultan Mahmud, to whom Faridun tests his sons, attributed to Aqa Mirak, from “Shahnama” or “The Book of Kings.” used to celebrate kings whatever their showing period furnishings and accessories, along the most significant means of achieving this goal.” “We have wonderful facilities in the French and poet Firdawsi dedicated his work of 35 religion and culture. New rulers suc- with vintage cars, will serve as a backdrop. Beer, Businesses along Calder Avenue are joining in Chambers museums and we want everyone to feel years. artists created sumptuous illumina- respected warrior himself. However, cumbed to the power of the Book of wine and Coca-Cola, along with Drive-In diner food the festival. welcome and come out and enjoy them,” she said. On Feb. 21, Museum of Fine Arts, tions to accompany the verses, as fate would have it, Rostam and Kings and adopted its legacy as if will be available. Poodle skirts and blue jeans are wel- Rodney Cooley’s Urban Chic, an antique store at For more information, contact the Beaumont Houston celebrated this remarkable ceramists incorporated the Farsi callig- Sohrab meet in battle without knowing ancient kings of Persia were their own come. 3685 Calder, is a new shop and he said he is happy to Heritage Society at 409-832-4010 or 409-898-0348. landmark with the lecture, “A raphy in tiles and vessels, and archi- that they are father and son, and ancestors. In 1330, one of the oldest Over the last several years, BHS and the over- Thousand Years of ‘Feast and Lore’: tects decorated buildings with the Sohrab is mortally wounded. Before still surviving copies of book, the seers of the C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers The Shahnama of Firdawsi,” presented scenes from the famous epic. dying, he warns his vanquisher that he Great Mongol Shahnama, decorated Charitable Foundation have worked to restore the by Francesca Leoni, assistant curator Consisting of about 60,000 lines, is the son of Rostam and that his with 200 lavish miniatures, was pro- home and its contents to reflect the period from 1920- Tootsie Crutchfield, of the Arts of the Islamic World and Shahnama is one of the longest epics father will avenge his death. As a duced. 50 illustrations, dispersed 1945. left, Melissa one of the leading scholars on the sub- in world literature. It is seven times proof, Sohrab shows the onyx which through various collections around the The French Museum, located on French Road in Edwards, Darlene ject. In her brilliant presentation, Leoni longer than Homer’s “Iliad” and eleven he is wearing on his arm. This tragic world, still survive today. About two Beaumont, represents the colonial period. Chodzinski and discussed the literary and artistic times loner than “The Song of the moment was a popular subject in paint- hundred years later, another magnifi- “When Texas was admitted into the United States Merle Booker of the afterlife of Shahnama and the reasons Nibelungs.” As with all ancient epics, ings, which typically show the dying cent copy, the Shahnama of Shah Union in 1846, Beaumont was a small developing Beaumont Heritage why it remained so revered over the historical fact, myth and lore are inter- Sohrab exposing his arm with the Tahmasp, decorated with about 258 community and the county seat of the newly formed Society, model some thousand years. twined in a poetic narrative, where onyx bracelet and Rostam tearing his miniatures (today also dispersed) was Jefferson County,” Melissa Edwards, BHS president, hats from the 1950s It is ironic that Shahnama became people fight demons and commit acts robes apart in an uncontrollable rage brought as a gift to the Ottoman ruler said. “Some of its earliest residents were the Travis in advance of “Mid- inextricably linked with Islamic cul- of unbelievable heroism, treachery, and despair. Sultan Selim the Second. It was about and French families who settled this area as a fron- Century Modern; ture, and even more ironic that passion, kindness and cruelty. It is a Shahnama’s stories are also didac- that time that Shahnama started to be tier.” Frontiers and Firdawsi sought patronage of an tale of eternal struggle between good tic, although sometimes the moral les- infused with the Islamic ethos. Built in 1845, the John Jay French Museum is Fifties,” a program of Islamic ruler for the poem which was and evil, both in the outside world and son may be obscure. Take, for exam- Firdawsi did not live to enjoy to the oldest extant home in Beaumont. The home was events scheduled for intended to celebrate Persian national in the hearts of men. ple, the story of king Bahram Gur and benefits of the royal patronage. built by French in the simple Greek revival style. It April. pride and cultural independence One of the famous Shahnama sto- his favorite slave girl Azada, also a very According to the story, as the sultan’s was one of the premiere two storey painted homes, against the increasing Islamization of ries involves one of its principal char- popular subject in painting and decora- messengers were entering the city to and the first built from milled lumber as opposed to the region. Shahnama is a history of acters, warrior Rostam. Impressed by tive arts. Bahram Gur and Azada are deliver the long-awaited reward to the logs which was common in Beaumont at the time. the Sassanian dynasty of Greater Iran his bravery, the king’s daughter hunting, and the girl challenges poet, his coffin was being carried away According to museum literature, “The home demon- during the centuries that preceded the desires his love. A night of passion fol- Bahram Gur to show his prowess by to the cemetery. Isn’t this yet another strates the daily life of a prosperous frontiersman and Islamist conquest of Persia in the 7th lows, and before they part, Rostam transforming a female gazelle into the moral lesson from the Book of Kings, his family. The time period we represent is from 1845 Photo by century. However, for centuries after gives her an onyx, which the child of male and vice versa, which he does by about the gratitude of rulers? to 1865. Most visitors are amazed at the simplicity of D. Harris Johnson Firdawsi’s death, Shahnama’s stories their union should always wear as a shooting the horns off the buck and creature comforts, as well as the amount of work provided an inexhaustible source of mark of his or her identity. Sohrab is placing them on the head of the doe. Elena Ivanova is chief educator needed to live on the frontier.” inspiration for the Islamic world; this child; he grows up to become a The next challenge is to shoot a gazelle at the Stark Museum of Art in Orange. The Bevil Rangers, a living history reenactment 12 • ISSUE April 2010 Volume 16, No. 7 Volume 16, No. 7 April 2010 ISSUE • 13

Cloud’s Play Around & About If I could, like a cloud, Thoughtcrime play high upon the sky, If you come across any interesting exhibitions, museums or other places on your travels, share them with us. Call 409-838-5393, or contact us through and tiptoe over rooftops, our web site at www.artstudio.org. Be sure to include the location and dates of the subject, as well as any costs. Submission Guidelines and Disclaimer ISSUE while the sun was hiding by, ISSUE solicits and publishes the work of 720 Franklin, Beaumont, TX 77701 local authors. Poetry, short fiction, scholarly works or e-mail: and opinion pieces may be submitted for review. [email protected] I never would be cross, All works must be typed or submitted on a disk Winners of the For more information, contact Guillory at 409-839- East, Hamshire-Fannett High School; Caitlin Gunter, or rude, or mean to any friends. (using approved word processing software), or Authors must submit a daytime telephone NATIONAL SHOW 2010 were announced at a recep- 2221. Orangefield High School; Skyler Porras, Port Neches- may be sent to TASI by e-mail. All works are sub- number along with all submissions. Pen names Instead of being petulant, ject for review by our editor, and may be rejected or are acceptable, but authors must supply real tion March 13. ______Groves High School; Jaime Posey, West Brook High edited on the basis of grammar, spelling or content. names for verification. All submitted works First place was awarded to Nathan Jones for School; Kim West, Bridge City High School. I’d try to make amends. The opinions expressed in “Thoughtcrime” become property of TASI, and whether rejected or “Twisted Revisted.” Second place was awarded to ANNE FRANK: A HISTORY FOR TODAY will Other accepted artists include Sydnie Anderson, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TASI, its accepted, are not returned to the author. ISSUE Stephanie Williams for “Playful,” and third place went to be on view at the Museum of the Gulf Coast April 3 Bridge City High School; Alex Cassell, West Brook High Board of Directors, ISSUE’s editorial staff, or does not notify of rejection by mail or telephone. Richard Tallent for “Le regard de la dryade.” through May 31. School; Jeanna Gonzales, Bridge City High School; So when time came to end the games, donors to TASI. Send typed works to: The Crowder-Bowman Purchase Award went to Roy On loan from the Anne Frank Center in New York, Rachel Hinson, West Brook High School; Devan no matter who was winning, Drasites for “Gallery Rich.” The BAL Memorial the exhibition features 25 panels that tell the story Anne Knowles, Lumberton High School; Angelique Ladd, Purchase Award was awarded to Alice Powell for Frank and her family juxtaposed against world events West Brook High School; Kami Morvant, Port Neches- I’d not complain nor say a thing “Passing Time,” and the BAL Purchase Award went to before, during and after the rise to power of Adolf Hitler Groves High School; Kelly Keith Royal, Bridge City about my turn beginning. Ecstasy In Your Eyes I pray in Solitude Stan Kaplan for “Old Neighborhood.” and the Nazi party. High School; Kelsey Tapp, Little Cypress-Mauriceville Honorable mentions were awarded to Dennis Ford “Through the family’s story, themes of scapegoat- High School; Daniel Weston, Bridge City High School; Under Heaven’s stars we are prisoners of wild desire for “Wood Vase,” Carl Clark for “Un peu de bleu” and ing, bullying, anti-Semitism, racism, ethnic cleansing, Alison Yu, Orangefield High School. And what is more, were I to cry, He came to me one Sunday evening Bodies warm with passion’s heat — Cindy Brabec-King for “Tickled Pink.” and genocide are explored,” a museum release states. The Protégé 2010 Exhibition, featuring these artists’ if even then at all, ______“The exhibition introduces visitors to the events leading work, was on display at AMSET through March 28 and pressed together erupting with fire. Bearing the widow’s mite. it’d only be some silly rain up to World War II, and the government directed killing is traveling to selected area schools and other venues for I was leery, not offended, The BEAUMONT ART LEAGUE will host the of Jews, Gypsies, the disabled, Slavs and others. The further exposure and outreach in the Southeast Texas into the wind would fall Masculine hands finding all the wondrous places When he told me FESTIVAL SHOW 2010, exhibit depicts individuals who chose to join the Nazi community. that bring me pleasure “NECHES NATURALLY,” April 17-28. party and become perpetrators, those who were For more information, call Melissa Tilley, AMSET Sweet surrender to love's seductive call — That he was coming to pray with me. Entries are due April 7-14, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., with a bystanders, as well as those who were willing to resist public relations coordinator, at 409-832-3432. Jesse Doiron the aching need for you I can no longer endure. I reflected that reception to be held 2-4 p.m., April 18 (Earth Day week- the Nazi tyranny. In addition, the Museum of the Gulf ______end). All entries must relate in some form or fashion to Coast will supplement the traveling exhibition with I have become quieter, Chains of love bind us tight the Neches: its beauty, ecology, biodiversity, etc. objects from its own collection as well as the Holocaust The 2010 BEAUMONT JAZZ AND BLUES Not less intense, Entries are open to all artists (18 or older). All work Museum Houston.” FESTIVAL ART COMPETITION is seeking entries. Passion building.... must be original and completed within the past two The museum will host a free event in recognition of Submission deadline is April 20. Sending us on an exotic flight. Expressing my spirituality, and that I prefer to years. Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 11 from 2 p.m. to “Submit your Jazz and Blues themed artwork and Pray in solitude. Entries are limited to three per artist. Cost is $7 per 4 p.m. The event will feature a special guest presentation you could win a One-of-a-kind Fender Guitar signed by Forging bonds that tie your heart to mine entry for members, $10 for non-members. from the Holocaust Museum Houston. HMH volunteer the performers at Beaumont’s 2010 Jazz and Blues Fest, Meghan’s New Shoes As the dawn of the morning sun now shines. Prizes will be awarded for Best of Show Purchase docent Sandy Lessig will present “Through Their Eyes: including John Lee Hooker Jr.,” according to a release. — for Keith Carter We sat at the dining table and and first, second and third places. A Survivor’s Story,” an interactive multimedia presenta- Submit a picture of your entry to the Southeast Bound to each other forever — body and soul Loved each other while we For more information, call 409-833-4179 or visit tion based on the videotaped testimony of her father, a Texas Arts Council by April 20 either by email at sue- Swept up in an avalanche of arousal that flows and flows. www.beaumontartleague.org. Holocaust survivor. [email protected] or by mail at P.O. Box 3925, when smoke relaxes Talked quietly and smoked cigarettes. BAL is located at 2675 Gulf St. in Beaumont. The museum will also host a variety of other public Beaumont, TX 77704. With one last thrust our bodies tremble and quake ______programs in association with “Anne Frank: A History for Exhibition space is limited so all entries will be sub- it comes back He comforted me by Like the ocean waves slamming ashore make. Today,” including film screenings on select Saturday ject to pre-judging. Contestants chosen will be responsi- tired of leaving the world Unveiling his heart in the The STARK MUSEUM OF ART will screen the afternoons at 2 p.m. and a bus trip on May 1 to the ble for shipping their artwork and will be contacted with its top opens documentary, THE CURIOUS MISTER CATESBY, Holocaust Museum Houston and the Museum of Fine further information. As we lay under the beautiful morning sky Warmth cast by lamplight and April 25, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., in the Education Center, Arts Houston. The 2010 Beaumont Jazz and Blues Festival will be like present string I see...... Darkness of a winter night. located at 812 Green Avenue in Orange. The museum is hosting a Youth Art Competition held at the on Fannin Street in and falls away I filled the potted vessel with jasmine tea, The book, “Natural History of Carolina, Florida and inspired by the Holocaust Museum Houston’s Butterfly Beaumont on May 8, starting at 1 p.m. Final judging will Ecstasy In Your Eyes. the Bahama Islands,” produced by Mark Catesby Project. Open to middle and high school students, the be a people’s choice vote. Our balmy souls calmed by the peacefulness between 1731 and 1746, is considered one of the great- competition calls for students to create butterflies as ______when light wakens Marie LeBlanc Of our sharing. est accomplishments in art and science relative to part of a project that seeks to remember the 1.5 million it falls all at once North America, Elena Ivanova, Stark chief educator, children who perished in the Holocaust with a collection Lamar University’s will grown old in the flash said. of 1.5 million butterflies. An estimated 400,000 butter- present EXTREME SENSIBILITY: TAIWANESE Editing And before he took leave Refreshments and viewing of the exhibition flies have been collected by the HMH so far. CONTEMPORARY VIDEO ART, April 9-23, with a free of its first moment “Blooms: Floral Art in the Stark Collections at Stark Competition entries will go on view and winners will be reception 7-9 p.m., April 9. From 6-7 p.m.. there will be We paused, still seated at the corner of my red table, It isn’t easy, watching Museum of Art” follow the screening. announced at the reception on April 11. School groups curator’s talk in the auditorium to introduce the works. Folded our hands and The event is free to the public. For more informa- are encouraged to tour this exhibition. Curator Charles Liu, writing in the exhibition catalog, on my birthday my children die – Bowed our heads tion, visit www.starkmuseum.org. School tours are always free at the Museum of the states, “Video art started in Taiwan in the 1980s and I rose like smoke they squirm ______Gulf Coast. However, schools are urged to schedule advanced rapidly in the 1990s with the advent of more under careless fingers, While he prayed to God for the aching to be grown their tours as far in advance as possible as the spring affordable equipment. As an island infused with informa- eyes staring – black, The FOUNDATION will present calendar fills up quickly. tion technology from all around, the up and coming Provision of our daily bread but when the light cold at their executioner. EUFORIALIVE, an event to benefit the STMHMR The museum is located at 700 Procter Street in artists showed a high degree of interest in expressing During our fretful journey through this land. Autism Program, 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., May 8 at Lamar downtown Port Arthur. For more information, visit themselves in the new media of digital, animation and of these Mexican sparklers folded “Can’t we just keep University’s Gray Library. www.museumofthegulfcoast.org or call 409-982-7000. interactive arts. It became so much of a passion that it I fell back like gravity this one?” I plea. I heard my grandmother’s voice as he “Witness a world of color coming to life. ______was reflected in their everyday lives prompting some to But layout into the world Invoked the power of God in my life, Experience and feel the warmth and magic of excel in these new expressions.” has no mercy and into these new shoes Asking for relief and sustenance Euforialive, featuring internationally renowned artists The ART MUSEUM OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS The show will feature 17 pieces by 15 artists. Liu and deadline Rolando Diaz and Seth Simmons,” Maria Guillory, the has announced the winners of its PROTÉGÉ 2010 states that among the themes presented are, “space/time can’t be pushed. To grace my efforts foundation’s executive director, said. “Imagine a blank COMPETITION. concepts, family, territorial issues, immigration matters, While fulfilling my call in this life. canvas. At the end of our event, the artist will create an First place was awarded to Katie Birdwell of Bridge the weak vs. the strong, humanitarian concerns, individ- Jerry Bradley Stripped naked, oil to canvas masterpiece that we will auction to benefit City High School. Second place went to Layla Simon of ual vs. society, and religion. Reprinted from “The Importance of they shiver Autism research. During the time, Rolando is painting, , and third place was awarded to The museum is located on the corner of MLK Pkwy. in obedient inches. Elsewhere” with permission of Cathy Atkinson Seth will be playing original compositions on a baby Tricia Vice of Orangefield High School. and E. Lavaca on the Lamar University campus. grand piano. That is Euforialive.” Honorable mentions were awarded to Samantha For information, call 409-880-8959. Ink Brush Press. Lluvia Rueda (For George) 14 • ISSUE April 2010 Volume 16, No. 7 Volume 16, No. 7 April 2010 ISSUE • 15 BRADLEY from page 14 introduced as a guitarist. Poetry is something I do. I don’t feel JD: Do you see yourself as an artist the way a painter or BRADLEY from page 6 that a poem comes about in lots of different JD: Those reminders are what you like it is something I am. sculptor might be considered artists? ways. to observe in your poetry. JD: Why is that? JB: There’s always been a close tie between poets and JD: How did “Meghan’s New Shoes” JB: You see yourself in a mirror, a flat lars us on a street corner, and asks, “Do you want to talk about JB: It harkens back to something I read once – how many graphic artists. I just visited with a colleague of mine from turn to another to keep writing, to keep my (from “The Importance of Elsewhere,” image of yourself, but it is not you. It is not Jesus?” thousands of people put in their passports the occupation poet? Indiana University Southeast, John Guenther, with whom I momentum. I am always making discoveries. reprinted here on page 13) come about? how others see you. Think about how star- JD: You don’t seem bothered with being serious. Nor do It was an astounding number. I’ve always felt it was rather worked on a collaborative art synthesis show. He was working Blending scraps. Taking one and moving it to JB: There’s an interesting story behind tling it is to get on one of those elevators with you seem bothered about being religious. brazen to call oneself a poet. I read poetry. As an editor I am in clay monotypes. You can only get one print from these two. While I am writing, I am probably writ- that. In fact, I wrote that in Beaumont, before polished reflections of yourself in all direc- JB: I remember once when a little old man knocked on reading the work of poets all the time. And I read poetry for fun monotypes. For the show, I would write a poem in response to ing more than one poem, even if I don’t know I had moved to Beaumont. Keith Carter tions. my door; he was selling religious video tapes. He was probably too. I don’t think of poetry as my profession. I think I am a poet one of his pieces, or maybe I’d write the poem, and then he’d it or notice it. I’ll work on the poem for hours spoke at the Texas Association of Creative JD: Do you see others in those multiple around 75. He asked me, “Haven’t you ever wondered what but I don’t go around proclaiming it. What have you said when create the monotype. We had a lovely joint exhibition in a and then go to something else. Like Jell-O, Writing Teachers and showed some slides of mirrors as well? Adam and Eve looked like in the Garden?” Afterwards, I you call yourself a poet? A mechanic? Or anything? The Louisville gallery. John’s a serious, professional artist, from the ideas need to sit awhile. A poem in draft his work. He put one up, and he challenged JB: I wrote a poem about my junior-high thought, “Maybe I should have bought those videos.” mechanic’s work will speak for itself as will the poet’s. Purdue, working in a unique, obscure medium. He also is a form has to sit and settle. Sometimes they sit everyone to write a poem about it. The slide girlfriend; it was published in “Simple JD: You could get a reputation that way. But then don’t JD: But you are a professional poet in every sense of the ceramicist with his own kiln in his studio. for years. I have files full of things. The germ became the cover of one of Keith’s books. I Versions of Disaster.” It was a heartbreak most poets have a sinister reputation of sorts? title whether you like me using it or not. As such, do you eat JD: Is that a mark of good poetry — a visual component? of the idea is still there. I can usually remem- started working on my poem at the time but poem. She asked me once, “Why didn’t you JB: There is that perception. We’re alien creatures. and drink poetry? JB: I like poetry that is visual, that has an image of some ber what the genesis of a poem was — what- didn’t finish it at the meeting. Some time later send it to me?” I answered, “I didn’t want you JD: Or supernatural beings. JB: Well, like professional baseball players when they thing standing some place on the world, a moment in time. I ever I was thinking at the time, but the work I went back to it. I remembered the striking to see yourself in such a sad light.” It had to JB: We can pass among you. aren’t playing, they’re probably watching someone else play. want a poem to be authentic, and a real place gives that. I’ve can move a long way from that beginning by image, so I later finished the poem. do with the time I once visited her, years after JD: So do people think of you as angelic or devilish? When I’m not writing, I’m reading — it might not be poetry, sent students out to places and told them “Experience the the time it gets to the finished product. JD: That would seem to make it a rather school. She had invited me to Montana, and JB: I have no clear idea. When I hear an opinion of myself, but I am reading — newspapers, magazines. place and write it. Respond to it” Sometimes it’s a word, sometimes it’s an artificial genesis. But for me, “Meghan’s just before I arrived, her husband had I am always shocked what people think. I guess we all try to JD: You are always working. You are always a poet. That’s JD: So your audience is the same audience that any image, sometimes it’s a theme. New Shoes” sounds as much like you as the walked out on her. It had nothing to do with Mission Statement figure out how other people are looking at us. Maybe it’s time the biggest part of you. painter would desire? JD: This sounds a bit messy. Have you more obviously autobiographical “I Never me, or my visit, but she was obviously in a I should give that up. JB: What I mean is that I just like language and how it JB: Well, my imagined audience is not a practicing poet gone electronic with this process? Think of My Father.” great deal of pain during that time. Founded in 1983, The Art Studio, Inc. is JD: So you wouldn’t say there is a poet’s profile for the works. I may be watching a movie and I hear a grammatical nor is it a practicing painter. That is not my audience — never. JB: At first a poem will just be in my JB: Do they sound like me? Because I Sometimes there is not much you can do to devoted to: providing opportunities for interac- police to use in spotting suspects. error and I nudge whoever is next to me and say, “That’s not My audience is conscious of language. I would want my read- head, but later I’ll start sounding it out, writ- never know. I think when one starts writing help a friend. You can be there; you can lis- tion between the public and the Southeast Texas JB: The poet is like any of your other friends except he’s how you say it.” I may be looking at a menu or a poem and er to know, both intellectually and emotionally, that my poem ing it out, and thinking about all those techni- poetry, one tries out all sorts of voices. In ten; you can commiserate, but you cannot community of artists; furnishing affordable stu- the one that’s paying attention to how you are abusing your life. notice how the description of the material flows accurately or is true because it resonates in his experience. I want my read- cal things; line breaks, enjambment, internal time, one may settle into two or three that remedy the pain. Anyway, I didn’t want her to dio space to originating artists of every medium; He’s the one that is fundamentally dissatisfied with the world not. I tell you that the biggest part is the actual writing process er to feel that for a moment I have pulled him out of himself feel most comfortable or natural. see herself as an object of pity. One can toler- or external rhyme. The first drafts, the first promoting cultural growth and diversity of all art no matter how much fun he may be having. because writers will do almost anything to avoid writing. They and then let him fall back into himself, taking some part of me ideas, I may write on scraps of paper, on back JD: Which voice were you trying out ate almost anything but pity. forms in Southeast Texas; and providing art edu- JD: That means my mechanic could be a poet. will distract themselves with editing; they will rework material. with him. I want the reader’s senses, all of his ways of appre- of envelopes. I throw them in stacks. If I still with those two poems? JD: You seem to get around the pity part cational opportunities to everyone, of every age, JB: Absolutely! Most good writers read, if not their competitors, they are read- hending the world, to approve the poem. I think that is what like them after a while, I’ll convert them to a JB: It was one of those voices that I with humor. It suits your boyish demeanor. regardless of income level, race, national origin, JD: But not a full-time poet. ing something. happens with the best works of art in any medium — that we computer file. At times, I’ll go through that think is mine — the sober contemplative The class clown kind of kid. sex or religion. JB: I would not put down as an occupation “poet.” In fact, JD: Is it hard work for a poet? see ourselves in the art and thus we see ourselves in the world. file to see if I have made any connections. voice. There’s another voice — the cynical, JB: I get this a lot. People who know me I am somewhat embarrassed when people label me as a poet, JB: W.B. Yeats said that “a finely crafted sentence has to Sometimes a poem will languish there. It questioning wise-ass voice. Those are the will say, “Your words say one thing, but your unless it’s at a reading where one might logically expect such appear effortless” even though it might have taken hours or Jesse Doiron teaches English at Lamar University. doesn’t have a place to be yet. Later, though, main voices I have, and they sort of alternate expression says another.” That is probably a PURPOSE a title. Even then, when that happens, I feel like someone who days even to get the phrasing just right. Yes, it can be hard I may discover something. Poems can take in my work. Sometimes I don’t know where a defense mechanism I have cultivated. In the plays around at home with a guitar suddenly finding himself work to write a fine poem. turns, sharp-angled turns that I didn’t see or poem is going really until I find the right classroom, one can say the sternest message anticipate. At times, the delay is because my voice for it. The poem might come slow but not offend if one approaches the topic The purpose of The Art Studio, Inc. is to (1) own experience has to catch up with the because I have picked the wrong voice for it. from a sideways angle. In that way, you can provide educational opportunities between the poem. JD: Have you ever had to draw back be very blunt, say the darkest thoughts with- general public and the community of artists and JD: The experiences you portray in from some dark place that a poem wanted to out the harshness harming much. (2) to offer sustained support for the artist by “The Importance of Elsewhere” sometimes take you to but where you didn’t want to go? JD: So the “Aw shucks” attitude extends operating a non-profit cooperative to provide seem as if they have not only caught up with JB: I am willing to look at the dark side. to your verse? studio space and exhibition space to working you but overtaken you. In “Bart’s Night Out,” I say “even a school- JB: Well, yes, I suppose so. I have quite artists and crafts people, and to provide an area WE WANT YOU JB: We always drink from the well of our boy knows that things really are darkest just a few poems that have humor as a motivator for group work sessions for those artists and own experience. The Greek tragedy tells us before they go completely black.” I try to or a meaning. But there is darkness in come- crafts people to jointly offer their labor, ideas, that we all suffer in our own ways, yet we all stop myself all the time from writing some- dy, too. Sometimes, the humor may be pred- and enthusiasm to each other. suffer. We know the smack of misery. We feel thing that is vapid because it’s easy to do that. icated on miscommunication or broken alienated and isolated at the time because of The problem with writing is that it is hard to expectations. A poem can thus hinge on such GOALS pain. We are all under the misunderstanding say something of value. We do not want to an idea. It can turn funny or dark. In FOR BAND NITE that we are doing this suffering privately, but appear more foolish than we are. “Burning Love,” I relate a true story about a 1. To present public exhibitions it is universal. JD: Give me a feel for the voice you’re fifth-grade friend who burned the name of 2. To provide educational opportunities JD: That sounds like therapy. talking about. Could you read “Bart’s Night his sweetheart into his wrist with match 3. To provide accessible equipment JB: Once you have committed a feeling Out” for me? (As any real poet would, Jerry heads he’d lined up and ignited. Her name for artists to a poem, you are coming forward with it. speaks his poem readily, as if it were one of was Sue, and she dropped him. Thank God 4. To provide peer feedback through associa- When one goes to a therapist, one speaks to those scraps of an idea hoping not to lan- he didn’t fall for a girl named Elizabeth. One tion with other artists and crafts people Hear original music his therapist. In one of my poems, I talk about guish anymore in files of envelopes and self- can see a kind of humor in the darkest of rolling the bruise of childhood into a ball in service receipts.) moments. Whatever the prevailing mood is, I OBJECTIVES some way to make it a matter one can deal JB: That voice is the observer of the am looking at it with my head cocked, think- with as an adult. bleak world. The poem is an actual experi- ing about which way it will go eventually. by local musicians at 1. To present 10 art exhibitions per year JD: You have mentioned your childhood ence I had when I was teaching in Southern JD: Some of your poems are rather spir- 2. To maintain equipment for artists in a before. You seem to drink from that well of Indiana; the son of one of my colleagues, a itual if not prayerful. Am I detecting in those safe working environment memory often. Does your family figure in college student, had his first heartbreak. My transcendental poems another voice of your poetry often? colleague thought it would be a good idea to yours? 3. To provide better access to artists for the JB: The first poem in the book is about take the boy — he was 21, old enough to JB: Perhaps so, I don’t really know if I public my father, he died in 1973. The death of a drink — take his son out and let him drink would call what you see a “religious” influ- 4. To offer regularly scheduled adult and father is a good topic for a poet. One might his sorrow away. The three of us took him to ence. Phillip Larkin said that we are often sur- children’s classes feel as if he owes his father a poem. I had a bar. My notion was “I don’t know if this is prising ourselves with a desire to be serious. 5. To develop and maintain public activities written my father a poem before, but then I such a good idea.” Our talks with ourselves are almost always with all sectors of the community For upcoming gigs, visit realized that more than thirty years later, I JD: Yet it’s filled with wryness. serious. But when we talk with our friends 6. To develop and maintain equipment to aid hadn’t written him another one. I thought, JB: It is not one of the darkest poems and family we are seldom serious. And peo- artists in their work “What does that say?” It is not as though I I’ve written. That would be perhaps “The ple are often made uncomfortable by other 7. To provide a display retail outlet for artists www.myspace.com/artstudio never think of my father, that is, of course, Missing.” That one I seldom put into a read- people talking seriously. Religion allows us a 8. To expand programming and activities with not true. The poem indicates — through the ing because it puts a pall upon the moment. structure within which to be serious in a pub- increased facility space speaker of the poem — one always thinks of In it, I speak of that kind of awful unknowable lic manner. But were you to talk to people his father. part of life. We never know when violence is about religion in some other venue, they JD: But you do not wait for occurrences going to flash out or where it’s going to come would resist it. This is why we react some- to write a poem. from. We walk around as if we have some times rather negatively, when someone col- JB: This depends. Sometimes a poem sort of tacit agreement with the universe that All ages welcome • 21 and up BYOB and have your ID. writes itself. I don’t think that is a testimony things are supposed to turn out OK. But $5 admission to whether one is better than another, it’s just every day we have reminders to the contrary. 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INSIDE • ‘BEAUX ARTS BALL’ • THOUGHTCRIME: MUSINGS FROM AREA POETS • JERRY BRADLEY ON POETRY • GEORGE WENTZ REMEMBERED

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