Tuesday, August 01, 2006

A Poets laureate proposal

Where have I been? Celebrating my birthday, 'natch. Sadly, I ended up eating birthday lunch on Monday at Petra in Erie. An astoundingly rude waitress, tiny portions, greasy gristly lamb, and falafel fried in grease looong since rancid. Avoid this one at all costs

JoAnn Wheeler has passed on the fact that there's a new author in Venango County:

Musician, painter, singer and composer Jill Mattson has just finished her latest quest into researching the healing qualities of sound and light, culling her findings into a concise, easy-to-read tome titled Transformative Power in Sound: Intelligence, Health and Energy Through the Magic of Music.

as soon as I get the publication information, I'll add her to the bibliography.


Erie Art Museum's 14th Annual Blues & Jazz Festival
starts this weekend.

The Arts Alliance Conference 2006 is coming to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown, Aug. 24-25. There will be more than 14 workshops looking at careers in the arts, arts policy, arts in higher education and how to develop talent.


There are poets laureate in Pennsylvania counties? Why didn't anyone tell me? I think a laureate would be a great marketing tool for Venango County. What would a Venango County Poet Laureate do?

* They would have year long appointments running (a la the National Poet laureate) from October to May.
* Along with occasional poems (think Applefest, Oil Heritage Days, elections, and the tranditional New Year's poems) the Poet Laureate, would make presentations at schools, libraries, and other educational facilities
* He would provide advice on how to promote poetry and writing to regional organizations.
* Finally, each Poet Laureate would undertake a special project.

Funding? None available, I know although maybe one (or a combination) of the local arts organization might pony forth a little, or money, because of the educational aspect, might be available grant-wise. And, since as Poet Laureate, Ben Jonson first received a pension of 100 marks, and an annual "terse of Canary wine", it seems like maybe Wilhelm Winery or Foxburg might kick in a bottle of wine.

In all seriousness, I'd like to see this one discussed - it should be competitive. Better not to appoint anyone than to choose an amateur.

In the meantime, you should check out the Pennsylvania Poet Laureate blog. You may also want to check out the Butterfly Poetry Festival on the Hazleton campus of Penn State University. This year's theme focuses on the various poet laureates in the Keystone State, who will be invited to participate. The gathering is set for 2 p.m.


Where are the great short story writers of our age? CBS news says in Graphic Novels.


The Erie Playhouse is throwing one of the strangest garagesaless in awhile. David and Judy Matthews, over 34 years in Erie, have amassed quite a collection of designer plates, New York lithos, and theatrical postersThe sale is to be held at the Playhouse rehearsal hall, 919 State Street, second floor on three days:Saturday, August 26 at 2:00-5:00; Sunday, August 27 at 2:00-5:00; and Monday, August 28 6:00 to 9:00.
Some of the items up for sale include:
Designer Disney plate collections
Collector Broadway cookie jars.
A huge collection of Broadway Cast Albums on cassette tapes
Beautiful black and white framed lithographs of New York City scenes
Many framed Broadway show posters
A gigantic and extremely rare framed subway poster size logo of the silent movie epic NAPOLEON
Framed CATS and LES MISERABLES costume sketches
For further info contact David or Judy at 814-825-9275

I'd say something smarmy, but fish meet barrels...

1 comment:

Peter Greene said...

Jill Mattson went to Allegheny College. When I was a sophomore it was my privilege to be one of the underclassmen carrying her bags when the chamber orchestra went on tour.
A heck of a player (she was half of a duo with Ken Hall for years) and also a very fine artist as well. She did most of the posters for music dept concerts at Allegheny and I still have some that I kept because they were so cool.