Christopher Busa/Publisher of Provincetown Arts Magazine, Nov. 2015

( Left to Right)  Professor Mark Herlihy, Porfessor Doug Holder, Christopher Busa,Walter Mannien)

George MacDonald Reading Sept 24, 2015

Left to Right ( Playwright George MacDonald and Professor Doug Holder)   Photo byTom Majkut

Christopher Busa--Founder of the Provincetown Arts Magazine-- Nov 19, 2015 12NOON

Christopher Busa

Christopher Busa, founder and editor of the Provincetown Arts Magazine, was born in New York City in 1946, the son of a painter who participated in the formative years of  Abstract Expressionism. Spending part of every year in Provincetown  since infancy, he slowly absorbed its mythology as a place where artists  and writers gather to work and live. After graduation from the University of Minnesota, he studied for a year in Paris at the Sorbonne, and then pursued a Ph.D. for ten years while teaching English at Rutgers University. His interviews and profiles of artists and writers have appeared in the Paris Review, Arts, Partisan Review, Garden Design, and other magazines. Two published pieces were reprinted in Interviews and Encounters with Stanley Kunitz, edited by Stanley Moss (Sheep Meadow Press). Another essay, “Being a Great Man Is a Thesis Invented by Others,” appeared in Such Desperate Joy: Imagining Jackson Pollock (Thunder’s Mouth Press). He has curated exhibitions and written catalog introductions for many artists. He co-edited and introduced the Erotic Works of D.H. Lawrence (Crown, 1989), the subject of his dissertation. He is the author of The Provincetown Artists Cookbook, with Written Sketches of the Artists Creating a Contemporary Portrait of the Town as an Art Colony (Abingdon, 1988).Over the past 20 years he has taped several hundred interviews and created files on over 1000 artists and writers in preparation for a comprehensive title about the century-long history of the art colony.  His WOMR FM 92.1 radio program, “ArtTalk,” airs three times a month over the past five years, introducing new and established artists, performers, and writers discussing their current project and what moves them to do it.He is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA), based in Paris, and he is one of 16 members of the American New England Chapter, which selects two dozen “Best of” exhibitions annually in museums, commercial galleries, and university art galleries in painting, sculpture, and architecture. He is on the board of the Norman Mailer Society and on the editorial board of the Mailer Review,published by the Society and by the University of South Florida. He teaches one semester a year in the low-residency Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania.

Sept 24, 2015 12PM Actor , Comedian, and Playwright George MacDonald

George MacDonald (On Top)

Actor, comedian and writer, George J. MacDonald is pleased to be artistically involved with Somerville once again. Stage plays that Mr. MacDonald has written include, Waiting For Whitey,  At The Funny Factory,  In A Better Place and Whistling Past The Graveyard. Screenplays include, Both Guns Blazing,  Still In The Picture and The Spider Sequence. Some of Mr. MacDonald’s film credits are,  Monument Ave. , Celtic Pride, Bluff and When Stand-up Stood Out.  His television credits include,  MAD-TV, The Michael Richards Show and A&E’s Comedy On The Road.  In 2005, George made his directorial debut with Why Work?, a sketch comedy show that appeared in The Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  Mr. MacDonald is a member of SAF-AFTRA, Actors Equity Association and The Dramatists Guild of America. 

X.J. Kennedy and Diana Der-Hovanessian: “A Uniqueness That Hasn’t Been”

X.J. Kennedy and Diana Der-Hovanessian:

“A Uniqueness That Hasn’t Been”

By Emily Pineau

“Words are not lifeless. They live in houses,” read poet and translator Diana Der-Hovanessian at Endicott College, as part of the Ibbetson Street Press/Endicott College Visiting Author Series.  Der-Hovanessian has been building houses for words ever since one of her editors asked her to translate Armenian poetry. Not knowing Armenian well enough to comfortably do translations, Diana studied Armenian at Harvard and Boston University, and sought help from friends and poets. She is now the author of 25 books of poetry and translations. Der-Hovanessian is an inspiration for poets, writers, and anyone learning a new language. She has “brought a new soul” to both Armenian and English with her translations, and has touched the souls of her readers.

Following Diana’s reading, X.J. Kennedy, children’s author, poet, and translator, took the stage. He said, “When you are writing a poem you have to pretend you are Jesus Christ and can do no wrong.” It was evident right away that he has just the right mix of humor and sensitivity in his personality to create a timeless voice in his work.  From his poem, “You Touch Me,” he read, “You touch me and each cell of my body, one at a time, a hearth comes on.” Deep, concrete images and feelings are revealed quickly in his poems, and they have the power to stay you.

“Poems have to be concise whether they are long or short,” Kennedy explains. It is clear that he follows this philosophy in his own work, because each line of his has the ability to speak volumes alone. In a poem Kennedy wrote about he and his wife going to The Guinness World Records, my favorite line is when he says, “A uniqueness that hasn't been.” Even in just this short phrase, there seems to be a whole story written here. This quality is especially important in children’s poetry because children are engaged by vivid images and strong emotions created in a short space of time. Kennedy’s poems also have a musical quality to them, because of the smooth sounding words in each line. In fact, Kennedy sang after he read his poems. “I have to sing my songs, because if I didn't, who would?” he explained. Though, the truth is that Kennedy’s words of wisdom, his poems (both children’s and otherwise), and his spirit, move the soul to want to do just that—sing.

April 16, 2015 Diana Der-Hovanessian, and X.J. Kennedy

(Left to right)  Diana Der-Hovanessian, Doug Holder. X.J. Kennedy.
photo by emily pineau

Crucial Conversations: Michael Gerhard Martin’s Reading of “Shit Weasel is Late For Class”

Crucial Conversations:  Michael Gerhard Martin’s Reading of “Shit Weasel is Late For Class”

By Emily Pineau 

Michael Gerhard Martin

“I wish that I were dead, mangled beyond recognition in a school bus accident, maybe, or popped like a balloon by an oncoming train,” read Michael Gerhard Martin from his short story “Shit Weasel is Late For Class.” This eye-opening piece, which is from Martin’s short story collection Easiest if I Had a Gun, plays a vital role in the universal conversation about bullying, depression, and suicide. When discussing these intense topics in literature it is imperative to find that delicate balance between seriousness and humor. Martin’s execution of this balance is spot on, and the main character Josh becomes even more relatable and realistic with comments like, “… and she also has some junk in the trunk and a weak chin, so I think I have a chance.” Josh, a severely bullied, overweight outcast, has a dry sense of humor that corresponds with his struggle to get through each day. This quality brings Josh to life, and makes him very memorable. In fact, when Martin read this story at Endicott College, it was difficult to remember that the characters and plot are fictional because of how authentic the details and emotions are.

    Martin’s raw, compelling, and honest language forces the audience to face the harsh reality of bullying, and all the implications that come along with it. As we follow Josh through high school, we witness the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that he endures. Although it is heart-wrenching to see Josh spiral deeper into his depression and contemplate his own death, it is crucial that these topics are discussed in works of literature like this, and that readers recognize the patterns found in regards to suicidal behavior, bullying, and depression. In my own writing I am interested in discussing serious topics like these as well, and I deeply admire Martin’s approach to this story.

**** Emily Pineau is an English major at Endicott College. She is the author of No Need to Speak  (Endicott College--Ibbetson Street Press-Young Poet Series)

Feb 26, 2015 Reading Michael Gerhard Martin

Professor Doug Holder (Left)  Visiting Author  Michael Gerhard Martin (Right)

   photo by Emily Pineau

Diana Der-Hovanessian and X. J. Kennedy

                                                              

Diana Der-Hovanessian

Diana Der-Hovanessian, New England born poet, was twice a Fulbright professor of American Poetry and is the author of more than 25 books of poetry and translations. She has awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Society of America, PEN/Columbia Translation Center, National Writers Union, Armenian Writers Union, Paterson Poetry Center, Prairie Schooner, American Scholar, and the Armenian Ministry of Culture. Her poems have appeared in Agni, American Poetry Review, Ararat, CSM, Poetry, Partisan, Prairie Schooner, Nation, etc., and in anthologies such as Against Forgetting, Women on War, On Prejudice, Finding Home, Leading Contemporary Poets, Orpheus and Company, Identity Lessons, Voices of Conscience, Two Worlds Walking, etc. Among the several plays written by DDH, two (The Secret of Survival and Growing Up Armenian) were produced and in 1984 and 1985 traveled to many college campuses in the 80s telling the Armenian story with poetry and music. After 1989, The Secret of Survival with Michael Kermoyan and later with Vahan Khanzadian was performed for earthquake relief benefits. She works as a visiting poet and guest lecturer on American poetry, Armenian poetry in translation, and the literature of human rights at various universities here and abroad. She serves as president of the New England Poetry Club.

X.J. Kennedy

X.J. Kennedy

(known to his friends as Joe) was born in Dover, N. J., on August 21, 1929, shortly before the crash of the stock market. Irked by the hardship of having the name of Joseph Kennedy, he stuck the X on and has been stuck with it ever since.
Kennedy grew up in Dover, went to Seton Hall (B.Sc. ’50) and Columbia (M.A., ’51), then spent four years in the Navy as an enlisted journalist, serving aboard destroyers. He studied at the Sorbonne in 1955-56, then devoted the next six years to failing to complete a Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. But he did meet Dorothy there.
He has taught English at Michigan, at the Woman’s College of the U. of North Carolina (now UNC Greensboro), and from 1963 through 1978 at Tufts, with visiting sojourns at Wellesley, U. of California Irvine, and the U. of Leeds. In 1978, he became a free-lance writer.
Recognitions include the Lamont Award of the Academy of American Poets (for his first book, Nude Descending a Staircase in 1961), the Los Angeles Book Award for poetry (for Cross Ties: Selected Poems, 1985), the Aiken-Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry (given by the University of the South and The Sewanee Review), Guggenheim and National Arts Council fellowships, the first Michael Braude Award for light verse (given by the American Academy & Institute of Arts & Letters to a poet of any nation), the Shelley Memorial Award, the Golden Rose of the New England Poetry Club, honorary degrees from Lawrence and Adelphi universities and Westfield State College, the National Council of Teachers of English Year 2000 Award for Excellence in Children’s Poetry, and in 2004 the Poets’ Prize (for The Lords of Misrule: Poems 1992-2002). In spring 2009 the Poetry Society of America gave him the Robert Frost Medal for lifetime service to poetry.
The Kennedys have five grown children and six grandchildren. They now live in Lexington, Mass., in a house half century-old and half new.

Feb 26, 2015 Michael Gerhard Martin author of "EASIEST IF I HAD A GUN"

Michael Gerhard Martin

 A native of rural Pennsylvania, Michael Gerhard Martin holds an MFA from The University of Pittsburgh and teaches writing for Babson College and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth. He won the 2013 James Knudsen Prize from UNO and Bayou Magazine for his story about bullying and gun violence, "Shit Weasel Is Late For Class." His fiction has been shortlisted for the Hudson Prize, The Nelligan Prize, and the Iowa & Simmons Prizes, and his work has appeared in Bayou Magazine, The Ocean State Review, and Junctures. His first book, Easiest If I Had A Gun, was just published by Braddock Avenue Books