AUGUST 4, 2012
Carole Brooks Platt uses neuroscience, attachment theory and biography to explain how great poets of the 19th and 20th centuries used inner voices, dreams and techniques like séances, automatic handwriting and the Ouija board to access poetic creativity. Where were the words coming from: the “Other side” of this life or the other side of the brain? In her presentation for Public Poetry, she’ll introduce her theory and demonstrate how she tries to determine if her poets are dominant for language in the right hemisphere of the brain where most people are on the left. She’ll conduct an audience test that determines dominance, which will help her research as well as allowing participants to learn more about themselves in the process.
Originally from Philadelphia, Carole has moved around quite a lot. She attended the University of Pennsylvania, then spent a year in Paris studying French language and culture at the Sorbonne. After receiving an MS in French and Linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., while working as a writer/editor at the Department of State, she moved to Houston with her husband and family, getting her PhD in French at Rice University. She taught French or how to teach foreign languages on educational television, at the University of Houston, Rice and St. John’s School, then moved to London for three years. In 1998, she settled down for six years at St. John’s, teaching French language and literature, serving as language department head, and teaching a course called “The Mind of the Poet,” her new consuming interest, in the English department. In 2004, another move to The Netherlands allowed her to research and write full time.
Carole has published in literary journals, Gnosis magazine, Clio’s Psyche and the Journal of Consciousness Studies and has presented her research at the Toward a Science of Consciousness conference. She is in the final stages of writing a book that brings together seventeen years of neuroscientific and literary research. You can learn more at www.carolebrooksplatt.com and http://rightmindmatters.blogspot.com.
JULY 7, 2012
Foundation for Modern Music
Foundation for Modern Music is dedicated to presenting, recording and promoting new music in the classical tradition and the musicians who create it, by offering concert performances, community and educational outreach and competitions for composers. We encourage and celebrate the vigorous and diverse work of today’s composers and performers, in Houston and beyond.
The Foundation works to promote wider exploration and fuller enjoyment of the evolution of classical music in our own time. Programs include Music That Should Be Danced: World Edition, Salsa y Salud (both at the Miller Outdoor Theater), Navidad Latina (at the MFA), Music for Peace (at the Rothko Chapel), Lecture Series (done at universities and other educational entities); these all free to the public. The now international Robert Avalon Competition for Composers continues its educational mission by providing a platform for composers from around the world and ages, to have their works evaluated and critiqued by well respected judges and has now become Houston’s most important contemporary or modern music event of the year. For additional information: www.modernmusic.org/
JUNE 2, 2012
Laney Dwyer is the Architectural Drawings Archivist at HMRC – Ideson Library. She is a native Houstonian, whose previous work experience includes the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the George Ranch Historical Park, and The Heritage Society at Sam Houston Park. She is a Certified Archivist with a Masters Degree in Museum Science from Texas Tech University. She is currently working on a second masters in Library Science from Texas Woman’s University. Her research interests include archaeology, historic preservation, and Texas History.
MAY 5, 2012 – Arielle Masson
Although from Mexico, Arielle Masson grew up in Brussels, Belgium, and then went on to the university in Paris to complete a Master of Literature and postgraduate studies in Linguistics at La Sorbonne.
After moving to Houston in 1986, she studied Fine Arts/Painting at the University of Houston from which she received a Master of Fine Arts. She then received a Fellowship from the Core Program from The Glassell School, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She has extensively exhibited in Museums and Galleries throughout Texas, France and Mexico, and was granted multiples awards, including The Brown Foundation Fellows program at the Dora Maar House, Menerbes, France. Her practice includes all painting media and she has specialized in the use and fabrication of egg tempera and gouache. More recently she has extended her activities to design major public art pieces for the City of Houston, and the Metro Light Transit in Houston.
More important to her is her extensive training in Kundalini Yoga and Meditation that sustains the holistic viewpoint that is inspiring her art.
She currently teaches Painting and Drawing at the Glassell School of Art/ St. Thomas University in Houston. View additional work at: www.ariellemasson.com
APRIL 7, 2012
Houston Mayor, Annise Parker
Architectural Historian, Stephen Fox
Houston Mayor, Annise Parker, will be the special guest of honor reading poetry at Public Poetry’s one year anniversary event in the Julia Ideson Building, 500 McKinney, 77002.
Stephen Fox is an architectural historian and a fellow of the Anchorage Foundation of Texas. He is an adjunct lecturer in architecture at Rice University and The University of Houston, and author of The Campus Guide: Rice University, The Houston Architectural Guide, and The Galveston Architecture Guidebook. Fox is a regular contributor to CITE Magazine and has been described by The Houston Chronicle as, “a sort of unofficial collective conscience for the city…”
MARCH 3, 2012
Public Art Partners
Paul Kittelson & Carter Ernst have been creating collaborative artworks in the public realm since their first joint venture in 1988 in 6th Ward Park in Houston, Texas. Since then they have created works for buildings, parks, schools, and most recently, Hobby Airport. The two live and work together in a rural industrial area in North Houston dubbed “Itchy Acres”, an artist community. The sculptors have followed distinct paths in their separate studios, but when working together, their sense of materials and playful nature becomes one.
February 4, 2012
TV news anchor, Art Rascon
As our local TV evening news anchor on KTRK ABC-13, Art Rascon is a familiar figure to us all. Over the course of his career, he has reported on wars and conflicts in Iraq, Israel, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and throughout Central America and elsewhere. He has reported on a host of political candidates during Presidential elections and Pope John Paul’s travels, death, and the Papal Election from Rome. Rascon reported terrorist attacks from New York City and Washington D.C, among other cities, and has covered disasters everywhere, from hurricanes throughout the Gulf states to tsunamis in Asia, and earthquakes, most recently being one of the first to report from Haiti the morning after the quake. He is also the executive producer of numerous 30-min Special Reports on a large variety of pressing issues.
January 7, 2012 – Ad Deum Dance Company
Ad Deum Dance Company is one of Houston’s leading professional contemporary dance companies. The company is comprised of dance artists that have relocated to Houston from all across the USA and also from several continents. Their work is described as soul stirring and passionately inspiring. The company performs locally and offers tours internationally. They have been invited by the governments of both Mexico and Malaysia to perform as special guests. In Houston, they have participated in Texas Weekend of Contemporary Dance at Miller Outdoor Theatre, Dance Houston at Hobby Center, East Meets West at Miller Outdoor, Dance Days at Discovery Green and seasonal shows at Barnevelder Movement Arts Complex.
DECEMBER 3, 2011 ~ KEN JONES
Ken Jones recorded and performed as a poet/musician in the Austin and L.A. underground music scenes in the 1980′s and 1990′s. A Writer member of ASCAP, his songs have appeared on dozens of CDs. videos, movies and other releases. His 2011 appearance at the Houston Fringe Festival with Live Ate won the Critic’s Choice Award. Currently he is touring Texas with “Poetry at the Piano,” which showcases his solo piano music. This music, as well as a seasonal offering, It’s Christmas Time, Baby, is available on CDBaby under PoetKen or on YouTube at ThePoetKen Channel. For more information, you can visit his website at www.poetken.com
Ken Jones is also a published poet and his work has appeared in academic and underground journals, magazines, anthologies, websites and other forums. For over 20 years, he has given readings of his original work at bars, bookstores, coffeehouses, conferences, and other venues. He earned an MA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Texas at Austin and is a full-time faculty member at the Art Institute of Houston, teaching Creative Writing among other subjects, His collection Unutterable Blunders and Palace Disasters was published by PlainViewPress in 2006. Ceaselee Greaspaint in Combat Stance Published by Slough Press in 2007
Jones’ most recent book is Pleadings from the Pleaides (Poetry in the Arts Publications), available at www.poetryinarts.org and his latest chapbook is Bones of Rebellion (Brave New Books chapbook series).
SPECIAL GUEST: NOVEMBER 5, 2011 @ DISCOVERY GREENDon Sanders is a singer, songwriter, storyteller, recording artist, and novelist. Sanders’ “Bayou Song,” was recently recorded and released by Lyle Lovett.
He began his career appearing at such legendary venues as the Kerrville Folk Festival, Sand Mountain Coffee House, the Old Quarter, Liberty Hall, Anderson Fair, the Grand 1894 Opera House, Hofheinz Pavilian and the Armadillo World Headquarters.
Over the years he has shared the stage with Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, Pete Seeger, Arlo Gutherie, Lightin’ Hopkins, Guy Clark, Eric Taylor, Vince Bell, Townes Van Zandt, Christine Albert, Bobby Bridger, and Janis Joplin. He was featured in the award winning documentary For the Sake of the Song about Houston’s legendary venue, Anderson Fair.
Don’s recording career stretches from vinyl to digital. His most recent CD “El Mosquito in My Kitchen” is available from YourTexasMusic.com, and a compilation of his early vinyl recording was digitally released in the Spring of 2011 on Red Boot.
Don is cited and quoted in biographies of Janis Joplin (Scars of Sweet Paradise) and Townes Vandt (A Deeper Blue and To Live’s to Fly). His songs, “Southern Coast of France” and “Heavy Word User” are featured along with interview footage in the Anderson Fair documentary “For the Sake of the Song.”
An honorary board member of Kerrville Music Festival, Don has served on the board of the Tejas Storytelling Association and was a founding member of listener-sponsored KPFT radio. Don is currently best known for his story and song performances in hundreds of schools, festivals and theaters throughout the Southwest.SPECIAL GUEST: OCTOBER 1, 2011 Mighty Orq (pronounced Ork) front man & guitarist for The Mighty Orq For almost nine years The Mighty Orq have been playing relentlessly around the South and Europe releasing five albums, their last two on Pepper Cake Records, and developing a distinct, recognizable sound as well as a tremendous grassroots following. Their music is a blend of classic rock energy, Gulf Coast blues, R&B, and pop with gospel undertones that are as unique as they are powerful.They started out playing the local haunts in their home town of Houston in late 2002, and over the last decade have developed into an internationally touring workhorse. The band just returned from their sixth European tour in May 2011 in support of their latest release, Lost In Germany In 2011, the band plans to record not one but two albums. The first will be a band effort showcasing all the new material that has been written over the last three years of non-stop traveling and performing. The second recording, sponsored by a grant from the Houston Arts Alliance, will be more in the solo vein showcasing Orq’s acoustic guitar and dobro acumen. The theme for this second CD will be ‘Houston Music’ highlighted with performances and songs by prominent Houston musicians both past and present.Check out this solo. To find out about upcoming events and listen to some mighty tunes visit the band at www.MightyOrq.com .
St. John FlynnSt. John Flynn joined KUHF as Programming Director for KUHF-Classical in March 2008, and now acts as Programming Director for Classical 91.7FM. In addition to his role as host and executive producer of The Front Row (Classical 91.7′s daily arts magazine), he supervises the classical announcing staff and the audio engineers responsible for the station’s concert recordings around town, including the Houston Symphony. Born and raised in Coventry, England, St.John received his B.A. (with honors) in French from the University of Liverpool. He lived and worked in France for two years before coming to the U.S. in 1986 to attend graduate school at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens. St.John started in public radio at WUGA-FM, the Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) affiliate on the UGA campus, as a part-time weekend classical announcer. In 1995, he was asked to host Night Music, WUGA’s weeknight classical program and was offered a part-time job. He was hired full-time at GPB as a cultural affairs producer in 1997; he continued to host classical music on the network but also began to produce arts pieces for GPB’s weekly news magazine. He also developed Cover to Cover, a monthly call-in book show focusing on Georgia authors. He was the GPB network host for NPR’s All Things Considered for a number of years before moving to Morning Edition which he hosted for eight years. In 2001 he was promoted to Radio Program Manager with responsibility for GPB radio operations around the state.
August 6, 2011: Katya Horner Photographer
Katya Horner is a professional freelance photographer based in Houston, Texas. Known as Slight Clutter in the photography community, her photos have been seen in over 50 print and online publications. She has also exhibited her work locally at the Houston Center for Photography, The Arts Alliance Center of Clear Lake, Houston’s City Hall Annex and both major airports. Six of her photos are in the permanent collection of The Methodist Hospital. She loves trees, the Foo Fighters, Dr. Pepper and her cat, Claudius. She also thinks her friends and family aren’t too shabby.
July 2: Mark K. Craig – NASA
Mr. Craig was raised in Midland, Texas and began his NASA career as a co-op student on the Apollo program. He then worked on the Apollo-Soyuz, Space Shuttle, Space Station, Mars Rover Sample Return, and Moon-Mars Exploration programs in positions ranging from engineer to program manager. At NASA Headquarters in Washington he was Director of Space Exploration and architect of the NASA Strategic Plan. He has been Director of NASA’s Stennis Space Center and Associate Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Mr. Craig is an advisor on space exploration to museums and themed attractions here and abroad. After a 38 year career with NASA, he is now VP of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).
Mr. Craig earned a B.S. in Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University in 1971, pursued engineering post-graduate study at Rice University, and completed MIT’s Program for Senior Executives. He is a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society and is a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus of Purdue. Mr. Craig was elected to the International Academy of Astronautics in 1992 and is past President of the American Astronautical Society. He is an elder at First Presbyterian Church and a patron of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.
Award winning artist, Margaret Smithers-Crump, creates floating imagery that appears as if in a state of suspension. Working with clear acrylic (also called ‘plexiglass’), lines and shapes appear to move inside the material, while simultaneously frozen and suspended within it like objects in ice. Their buoyant, floating nature allows for motion, yet stalls gravity. Working in varying thickness and preparing the surface so that it resembles polished beach glass, she creates “a kind of magical place; a kind of theater that creates its own rules.”
April 2 – Houston Mayor, Annise Parker (see separate pages)
May 7 - Dancer & Choreographer, Dominic Walsh
We’re excited to announce that dancer & choreographer DOMINIC WALSH will be the Special Guest Reader for Saturday May 7. As a principal dancer with Houston Ballet for over a decade, Dominic Walsh received national and international paise for his interpretations of both classical and contemporary roles. He burst onto the choreographic scene when he won the prestigious Choo-San Goh Award in 1998. In 2002, he launched Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, most recently named “Best Dance Company” by the Houston Press, and he is now hailed as a leading choreographer who is pushing the boundaries of ballet into new realms of theatricality. More awards have come his way: a second Choo-San Goh Award in 2007; one of only three choreographers to receive a 2008 Princess Grace Award; a winner of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s 2010 National Choreographic Competition; both Audience Choice and Judge’s Award winner in Ballet Austin’s 2010 New American Talent Choreographic Competition.
Dominic Walsh Dance Theater has built a stellar reputation for taking the techniques and skills of classical ballet into more inventive territory. The company features dancers of the highest caliber, performing works created by Walsh and by important international choreographers Mauro Bigonzetti, Jiří Kylián, and Matthew Bourne. In addition to producing a Houston season of performances and educational programs that enliven the senses, the company tours the U.S. and Europe. With its unique mix of innovation and collaboration, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater is one of this country’s leading contemporary ballet companies. For more information, visit www.dwdt.org.
Want the inside skinny on Dominic Walsh’s reading? Go see Dominic Walsh Dance Theater’s Third Course – MAY 5, 6 & 7 - Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, Zilkha Hall, 7:30 PM
Third Course closes their 2010-2011 season of “cultural dining” with dance that is all Walsh. It features Time out of Line, an inventive new creation that merges dance with visual art aspects and video, and the Texas premiere of a work set to Claude Debussy’s popular Clair de Lune, along with reprises of audience favorites The Dying Swan and For the Two of You. Pre- or Post- Public Poetry, this is a program you won’t want to miss.