Archive for the ‘Events’ Category
Bonnie Friedman
Who: Bonnie Friedman
When: Thursday, September 12, 7 pm
Where: Salon, Private Residence, RSVP 214-838-3554, wordspace@wordspace.us
Bonnie Friedman was born in the Bronx, New York, and to her amazement was accepted into the Bronx High School of Science despite the fact that math made her weep and the only thing she liked about biology was spelling agar agar.
She continued her studies at Wesleyan University, where she majored in Third World Politics, and the University of Iowa, where she earned an MFA in fiction writing. She has won fellowships to both MacDowell and The Fine Arts Work Center of Provincetown, and was awarded a 2013-2014 fellowship by the Institute for the Advancement of the Arts at the University of North Texas
Her first book, Writing Past Dark: Envy, Fear, Distraction, and Other Dilemmas in the Writer’s Life (HarperCollins) was a Village Voice bestseller and is widely anthologized.
Her next book, The Thief of Happiness: The Story of an Extraordinary Psychotherapy(Beacon) was called “eloquent” by Library Journal, “excellent,” by Publisher’s Weekly, and “compulsively readable” by O., the Oprah Magazine.
Her writing has been selected for inclusion in The Best American Movie Writing, The Best Writing on Writing, The Best Spiritual Writing, and The Best of The Oprah Magazine. She has published frequently in the New York Times, and her work has appeared inO., the Oprah Magazine, Redbook, Self, and The Ladies Home Journal, as well as many literary journals. Her very first short story was published in Playgirl magazine (a mixed blessing), and she’s been accepted to be a Fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and at the MacDowell Colony.
Most recently, her essay “Becoming Visible” was selected by Kathryn Harrison for a special memoir issue of Ploughshares. She has been the keynote speaker at many writing conferences, as well as at the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis.
She has taught writing at Dartmouth College and at NYU, and is currently an assistant professor in the creative writing program at the University of North Texas. She divides her time between Brooklyn and Denton.
She is not the same Bonnie Friedman who writes travel guides to Hawaii, much as she wishes she were!
Summer Culture Melt: Anant Kumar, Charley Moon and Bunny Trahan
Charley Moon and Bunny Trahan join Anant Kumar, as he pitstops his Greyhound ride around the U.S. teaching, meditating, reading his poems and sleeping on the floors of ashrams and American bookstores.
What: Summer Culture Melt
Who: Anant Kumar, Charley Moon and Bunny Trahan
When: Friday, August 9, 7:30 pm
Where: Lucky Dog Books, 633 West Davis (Oak Cliff)
What else: Refreshments Served
And: Free
Anant Kumar was born in the Northeastern Indian state Bihar. He learned German as a foreign language in New Delhi before he moved to Germany in 1991 to study German literature and linguistics. He has published 13 books of prose and poetry. His most recent book is “Fredo A German Voice”. He is a member of the Association of German Authors and Literary Society of Hessen and has been awarded numerous prestigious prizes.
Charley Moon is a poet, photographer, designer, and beauty queen of Dallas night life. One of Dallas’s seminal neo-beat writers, she has presented her work in galleries, theaters, universities, nightclubs and festivals. Her photography has been featured at the South Dallas Cultural Center and many other venues. WordSpace is honored to present Charley Moon as homeland cultural ambassador in this event.
Bunny Trahan is 19 years old, born in Corpus Christi, raised in Dallas, living in Chicago and Home For The Summer. She’s been studying and creating art at School of the Art Institute of Chicago for a year and loves flowers.
JANIS KEARNEY-Author, Publisher and Personal Diarist to President Clinton
SALON ON THURSDAY! RSVP: 214-838-3554 or wordspace@wordspace.us
Janis Kearney-Author, Publisher and Personal Diarist to Presdent Clinton
What: WordSpace Salon
Who: JANIS KEARNEY
When: Thursday, November 7, 7 pm
Where: Private Residence, RSVP 214-838-3554
Hosted by: Sanderia Smith and Charles Dee Mitchell
BONUS: Her new book Cotton Field of Dreams: A Memoir will be availble for purchase and signing
Admission: Members-Free! Non Members-Suggested Donation, Thank You.
Janis F. Kearney, book publisher and author; former publisher of the Arkansas State Press Newspaper, and former Personal Diarist to President William J. Clinton, is one of 19 children born to Arkansas Delta Sharecroppers, and cotton farmers. She graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a B.A. in Journalism, and 30 graduate level hours toward degrees in Public Administration, and Journalism.
In 2003, Kearney founded Writing our World Press, a micropublishing company. The Company’s current slate of books include: the award-winning Cotton Field of Dreams: A Memoir; Quiet Guys Do Great Things, Too – as told by Frank Ross; and Conversations: William Jefferson Clinton…from Hope to Harlem, an oral biography centered around the Clinton presidency and political legacy; Once Upon a Time there was a Girl: a Murder at Mobile Bay; Kearney’s first fiction, and Something to Write Home About: Memories from a Presidential Diarist, her second memoir, nominated for the Small Independent Booksellers Award (SIBA) for 2009. In 2009, WOW Press published Black Classical Musicians in Philadelphia, by Elaine Mack. In 2013, WOW! Press debuted Kearney’s sixth book, Daisy: Between a Rock and a Hard Place, a biographical memoir chronicling the life of civil rights leader Daisy Lee Bates.
Kearney completed a two-year W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship at Harvard University’s Center for African and African American Studies, in 2003, and was also appointed that year, as Chancellor’s Lecturer at Chicago City Colleges, which included lecturing at Chicago’s seven city colleges. In 2004, she began a two-year Humanities Fellowship at Chicago’s DePaul University Center for the Humanities. She was appointed, in 2007, to one-year Visiting Humanities and Political Science Professorship at Arkansas State University (ASU), teaching Memoir Writing, Writing Arkansas Culture, The Clinton Presidency, and the American Presidency: Inside the White House.
Kearney served as Personal Diarist to President William Jefferson Clinton from 1995-2001. She was the country’s first personal diarist to a U.S. President, serving as the White House liaison to the U.S. National Archive’s presidential records office. In her role as diarist, she attended numerous levels of meetings throughout the day led by the President, as well as official events at the white house. She also participated in White House management meetings, and worked closely with the White House Information and Records Management office – an extension of the National Archives – to help collect and maintain Presidential records for future presidential library. She served as personal diarist during the six-month Presidential Transition Office, January – June 2001.
Kearney was appointed by President Clinton, in 1993, as Director of Public Communications, for the Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration, serving for two and one-half years. As Public Affairs Manager, she was responsible for the agency’s national media coordination, including new product rollouts, briefing and preparing SBA Administrator for all media interviews, coordinating press conferences, and all other media events. She also supervised, trained and evaluated all regional information directors.
She took the role of Managing Editor of the Arkansas State Press Newspaper, founded by Arkansas civil rights legends, Daisy and L.C. Bates in 1987. She became Publisher and Owner of the Arkansas State Press in 1988 with overall responsibility for the operation of the company, which included hiring and supervision of all full time and part-time staff, development and building creating new image for the newspaper, and expanding into new market niches. In 1991, Kearney was elected by publisher colleagues to the board of directors for the National Newspaper Publishers Association; as well as the outreach committee for the Arkansas Press Association.
Currently, she serves on a number of volunteer boards and committees, including Director of the Arkansas Writers Conference; and President of Arkansas’ Pioneer Chapter of the National League of Pen Women. Awards and Recognitions include: Arkansas’ Small Business Administration’s Minority Business Award, 1992; the PUSH for Excellence Award for outstanding communications; induction into the History Makers Archives of Outstanding African American leaders; University of Arkansas Outstanding Alumni Award, and the University of Arkansas’ distinguished Journalism Lemke Award; and a Special Recognition Award from the National Association of Black Journalists.
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Da’Shade Moonbeam at Dallas Poetry Slam
What: Da’Shade Moonbeam at Dallas Poetry Slam
When: September 13, 2013 at 8pm
Where: Heroes, 7402 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75231
Admission: $5
Hosted By: Rock Baby and Alexandra Marie
To say that I am simply a Poet or a Hip-Hop artist, would not be an accurate description as to what I do, or who I am. I choose to express myself through many artistic mediums, and I am constantly pushing the limits of these artistic forms to avoid categorization. But if I must classify myself, then I choose to be called, an Artist. My mentors have always told me that I am so far ahead of my time that my work may not truly be appreciated by human beings, until we’ve mastered the science of Terraforming distant planets throughout the Universe. Life has taught me that a person can be many things, so I trek beyond conventional definitions of titles and boxes, to shed the spotlight on what I am, and where I am currently. Da’Shade Moonbeam is; a Martial Artist, a Poet, an Emcee, an Actor, a Cinematographer, a Stage & Film Fight Choreographer, a Photographer, a Film Editor, a Script Writer, a Sketch Artists, a Teacher, a Mentor, a Sound Constructor, a Singer and a Warrior. This list is constantly expanding, and I may be one of these art forms more than the others, at any given time. I am a self-proclaimed -Street Nerd- that has had a Love affair with the Martial Arts since the tender age of 7 years old. The Martial Arts were my first love, shortly after came Poetry, the Spoken Word, and Music in the form of Rap and Rock. I am a two-time National Poetry Slam finalist, and an internationally ranked Slam Poet. The subject matter covered throughout my collective catalog of work, include, but are not limited to: the on-going exploitation of women, men, and children through human-trafficking, slave labor, and sexual exploitation; love lost and obtained, happiness, the hood and Nerd-dom.
MasterPiece at Dallas Poetry Slam
What: MasterPiece at Dallas Poetry Slam
When: October 11, 2013 at 8pm
Where: Heroes, 7402 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75231
Admission: $5, WS Members FREE
Hosted By: Rock Baby and Alexandra Marie
MasterPiece the poetess was born in Dallas, Tx. She also lived in Arizona for seven years while studying Theatre Arts and Business Administration at the University of Arizona. She began performing and acting at the age of 6 and also discovered a love for poetry at 13. Her passion for poetry and performing arts has inspired many people. The debut album Mind of MasterPiece introduces a new genre of music coined by MasterPiece herself: rhythm and poetry. The cd chronicles her story through powerful words, emotions, rhyme, thought provoking lyrics and smooth rhythmic music that has a hint of hip hop, soul, and jazz all mixed into one. Fans recognize her as a dynamic writer with poise, talent, and beauty. She continues to maintain a balance between the arts and business by being an extraordinary poet/performer and business woman. Her hobbies include basketball, dancing, cooking, designing webpages, traveling, and watching movies. Her poet name MasterPiece stems from the idea that all artists strive to achieve and put forth their best work possible. It is a metaphor for a successful artist. She continues to travel to Phoenix, Tucson, St. Louis, Austin, and Dallas to perform spoken word.
Big Ant at Dallas Poetry Slam
What: Big Ant at Dallas Poetry Slam
When: November 15, 2013 at 8pm
Where: Heroes, 7402 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75231
Admission: $5
Hosted By: Rock Baby and Alexandra Marie
Anthony “Big Ant” Gordon is a father, poet and educator. He was born in Detroit, MI where he began writing at a very young age. Gordon moved to Fort Worth, TX in 2002 and found a new home. In 2008 Gordon was introduce to the world of Slam Poetry and instantly fell in love. Some of his accomplishments include three- time member of the Fort Worth National Poetry Slam Team (2009- 2010, 2013), Three- time performer at the prestigious MLK Evening of Spoken Word at UTA, 2009 Waco Arts Fest Slam Champion, the 2010 Arkansas Southern Fried Slam off Champion and the 2013 Fort Worth Poetry Grand Slam Champion. Big Ant is a teacher in Dallas, one of the top spoken word DJ’s in the Metroplex and a coach/mentor for the 2013 Fort Worth Poetry Slam Team.
Imani Cezanne at Dallas Poetry Slam
What: Imani Cezanne at Dallas Poetry Slam
When: December 13, 2013 at 8pm
Where: Heroes, 7402 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75231
Admission: $5
Hosted By: Rock Baby and Alexandra Marie
Born and raised in San Diego, CA, Imani Cezanne enlightens, empowers and inspires audiences with her words. As the youngest member ever to make the San Diego Slam team, she helped the team place 6th in the Nation at the 2010 National Poetry Slam in St. Paul, MN. She has participated in countless poetry slams throughout California including the Individual World Poetry Youth Slam in 2009, in which she came in 3rd. Imani always thrives to better herself through the power of the spoken word and loves to share her passion with anyone willing to listen. She is now pursuing her Bachelor’s degree at San Francisco State University.
Imani is also the Founder and President of Spoken Poetry Expressed by All Kinds (S.P.E.A.K.), an on-campus organization that creates and plans events that elevate, empower, inspire, and motivate not only the entire San Francisco State University community, but the surrounding areas as well. S.P.E.A.K. thrives on the interest and the sharing of the arts. Open-mic events, writing workshops and poetry slams are just a few of the ways we stir the creative pot. We not only allow students to feel comfortable with their talents, but create an environment for networking and collaborations. Imani’s goal is to continue to help S.P.E.A.K. thrive on the SFSU campus, and expand to other campuses nationwide.
Dallas Poetry Slam Youth Series
When: Saturday, December 7, 4-6 pm
Where: Half Price Books, 5803 NW Hwy
Hosted by: Alexandra Marie and Joaquin Zihuatanejo
Dallas Poetry Youth Slam When: Every first Saturday at 4-6 pm Where: Half Price Books, 5803 E. NW Highway, Program Room- Hosted by: Alexandra Marie and Joaquin Zihuatanejo. WordSpace is honored to partner with Dallas Poetry Slam to bring Poetry and Slam outreach to area youth for workshops and performance.
Dallas Poetry Slam Youth Series
When: Saturday, November 2, 4-6 pm
Where: Half Price Books, 5803 NW Hwy
Hosted by: Alexandra Marie and Joaquin Zihuatanejo
WordSpace is honored to partner with Dallas Poetry Slam to bring Poetry and Slam outreach to area youth for workshops and performance.
Dallas Poetry Slam Youth Series
When: Saturday, October 5, 4-6 pm
Where: Half Price Books, 5803 NW Hwy
Hosted by: Alexandra Marie and Joaquin Zihuatanejo
WordSpace is honored to partner with Dallas Poetry Slam to bring Poetry and Slam outreach to area youth for workshops and performance.