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)