I recently created a spoken-word set for Carolina Poets‘ online series, #poetrygoesviral. The four-piece performance includes a sampler, a looper, and three MoogerFooger pedals, on loan from my friend Dave Hamilton.
Find three more videos from this performance here, here, and here.
Inspired by the life and music of Margie Hendrix and the “Wake” installation by Mel Chin. This is my first video in which I produced and edited all the components, and I’m so thrilled to share it!
Like many other creatives, I’m trying to spend my COVID-19 quarantine learning new skills, working on projects that feed my soul, and making badass art. I’m offering daily creativity prompts (Monday through Friday) on Instagram — please join me, tell your friends, share the 1-minute video series as you like.
The prompts are intended to foster some deep thought, new perspectives and (most importantly) fun. No prior artistic experience required. No judgement, no agenda, no wrong answers.
Sweetheart/Bitter heart is an exploration of the juxtaposition of environmental decline and relationship anxiety (fear of abandonment, fear of engulfment, fear of intimacy, etc.) as told through spoken word and party games. This reluctant Valentine’s Day celebration for the romance-averse promises weird dancing, kissing games, exorcism and sweet treats.
The show is a double feature with OKAPI, who will perform “Carousel (part II).”
Tickets for all three shows are available here.
FLYER IN A DARK CHAMBER: Meditations on Lilith is a collaboration between performance poet Alli Marshall, musician Liz Lang (Auracene); dancers Sharon Cooper and Coco Palmer Dolce, Butoh artist Jenni Cockrell, and with imagery from artist Alli Good. Soundscapes, words and movement lead viewers through a series of vignettes delving into the many faces of Lilith, from the original woman who refused to be subjected by a man in the Garden of Eden to the miracles of the Black Madonnas of the Christian faith to the recent clemency of Cyntoia Brown who was accused of killing a sex trafficker.
The show will be performed on Saturday, Aug. 24, 7 p.m. at Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, 120 College St., Asheville.
$10 for BMCM+AC members and students with ID / $15 non-members.
Tickets at brownpapertickets.com.
Join me Thursday and Saturday, Jan. 24 and 26 for The Oracle of Everything (as part of the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival). There will be costume changes, interpretive dance, a smoke machine and I made my own tarot deck. Show at 7 p.m. at The Sly Grog Lounge. Tickets go on sale Jan. 1.
Culminating my year as the UNC Asheville Ramsey Library Community Author Award recipient, I will be giving a reading on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 6-7 p.m. Local musician Heather Taylor will accompany me. There will be snacks.
Photo Adam Taylor
Much of the work I’ve been focused on for the past year has been around themes of women’s wisdom, the mythology and archetypes of femme-identifying people, and social justice. I’ll be sharing pieces from a collection about the Oracle of Delphi (and my contemporary interpretation of that phenomenon) as well as a new piece that seeks to weave the mythology of the Appalachian/Cherokee Wampus Cat with that of the 16th century Mayan jaguar goddess Ixchel. There will likely be an f-bomb or three.
More details here.
My talented singer-songwriter friend Heather Taylor recently invited me to collaborate with her on one of her songs. Jesse Hamm of Acoustic Asheville filmed this video of her performing “Up on a Mountain” with my poem “Collar of Wasps” in the middle.
A performance from this year’s Asheville Percussion Festival. Soundscape by Bonnie Whiting, movement by Brandi Mizilca, words by me. It’s a poem about creative work and women’s work and the intersection of the two: the point at which an artist steps through fear to meet a challenge. (At least that’s what I think it’s about — but it’s totally open to interpretation.)
Video and audio by Joshua Messick, live soundboard audio mix by Steve Beatty and Edward Link at Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville, video editing by Asheville Rhythm.