Friday, April 14, 2005 Acclaimed poets to visit Erie Bookstore Pathwise Press Presents By Sean Mihlo student life editor Erie's Pathwise Press, which publishes chapbooks of poetry and fiction. in association with the Eric Bookstore's "Poetry Scene" reading series, will pres ent four American poets on Friday, April 21 from 6- 8:00 p.m. at the bookstore's location on 137 E. 13th Street. That night will also see the release of Pathwise Press' biannual magazine, the 2006 Summer/Spring issue of "Bathtub Gin," which features not only poet ry and fiction, but artwork and art and literary news as well. Of the four authors appearing next Friday, two hail from Bloomington, Indiana. The First, Joseph Kerschhaum, is a critically acclaimed poet whose work has appeared in numerous journals including "Poetry Motel, - the "Tipton Poetry Journal" and the "Red River Review" Last year, Kerschhaum received a fellowship award from the Bloomington Area Arts Council for his outstanding achievement in creative writing. In December of 2005. he was nomi nated for a Pushcart Prize. In addition to two previ ously published works of poetry, "The Human Remains" in 2002 and "The Composer Steps into the Fire" in 2004, Kerschhaum has also released a spo ken-word album entitled "I of 29" in 2003. "Dead Stars Have No Graves," Kerschbaum's latest book, was released earlier this month via Pathwise Press. Tony Brewer. the second author from Bloomington, is a performance poet who released his first hook-length collection of poetry, "The Great American Scapegoat," in February of this year via the Bloomington-based self-publishing company Authorhouse. In 1998, Brewer co-founded MATRIX, a non-profit arts and literary magazine, which also 3-week session 8-week session May 10-May 31 June 14-August 2 4-week session Late summer May 10-June 7 3-week session August 7-August 25 PENNSTATE Four Poets 4 1 1,' ter sin ni-180 (p . psu.edu For a complete course listing visit http://soc.cur.psuseciu Erie The Behrend College r' J ~ P U_D ifilii irri .Lii sponsors contests and other art and literary-related events throughout Indiana. Brewer continues to serve as MATRIX's senior director. His writings have also appeared in many publications including "Branches" and the "Blooming Independent" among others. The third poet appearing at next week's event is M. Scott Douglas. Originally from Erie, Douglas cur rently serves as publisher and managing editor of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based "Main Street Rag" literary journal. Since 1996, the magazine has pub lished all types of works, from poetry to fiction, inter views to essays, photographs to cartoons. Main Street Rag Publishing Company also publishes poetry col lections through its yearly poetry contests. The com pany's website also offers all of its titles and back issues for sale through its online store. Besides pub lishing its own titles, Main Street Rag Publishing Company also produces works for other small press es across the country. Finally, Pittsburgh-based poet Mike James will round out this month's "Poetry Scene" reading series. James has penned three works of poetry: "Not Here" in 2000. "All Those Goodbyes" in 2001 and "Pennies from an Empty Jar" in 2002. Poet Michael Wurster has called James "a particularly American poet, easy and natural in his voice." His poems have also appeared in "The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette," "Lummox Journal." "California Quarterly" and "Tar River Poetry." In July of 2004, James released his lat est work of poetry "Nothing But Love" on Pathwise Press. Pathwise Press and "Bathtub Gin" were both founded in 1997 by Christopher Hartwell, who recently relocated back to Erie after many years. Along with the four poets appearing at the Erie Bookstore, Pathwise Press will offer copies of the lat est "Bathtub Gin" as well as books by other authors who've been published by Pathwise. Student Life Snippets Poverty Neck Hillbillies look ahead to Behrend The Poverty Neck Hillbillies will bring their brand of country music to Behrend on April 20 The Poverty Neck Hillbillies are coming to Behrend next Thursday, April 20. They will be playing in Bruno's Café on April 20 at 9 p.m. The Hillbillies' music, as described on their web site, www.povertyneck.com, "was once heard only by a tiny slice of their native southwestern Pennsylvania, is now known and loved by fans throughout the Eastern United States. Their sin gles can be heard on radio stations from New York to South Carolina. The group also consis tently takes its show on the road throughout the mid-Atlantic region, and no matter what state they are in, they always find a packed house waiting to greet them." "One listen to their music and you know why these guys keep packing 'em in," said Crazy Doug Wilson of WANB's morning show. The Hillbillies members include Chris Abbondanza, Bob Crafton, Dave Cramer, David Guthrie, Chris Higbee, Ryan Lucotch and Jeff Volek. They have become a tight-knit group thanks to their talent and success. The Hillbillies are better classified as entertainers rather than musicians. They have played with Rascal Flats, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Lonestar, among many other country music greats. They are known to fill the stage with energy and their own unique brand of country flavor. Their accomplishments include: a debut at #73 on country's Billboard top 100 with the first single off their album "Mr Right Now." The band also brought more than 3,000 people to the Fayette County Fairgrounds, which was a record for that year. The band performed on the main stage at the YlOB Hot Country Jam at the Post-Gazette Pavilion. The band, working alongside Bob Corbin, sold more than 8,000 copies of their first CD "Hillbilly State of Mind" in less than eight months. The band is the first local country act to headline and sell out at the 1,000-seat Pepsi Cola Roadhouse. The band's fanclub has reached over 700 members. The Poverty Neck Hillbillies have played an outstanding show at Behrend before, garnering many new fans. Even if you are not into the country scene, the Poverty Neck Hillbillies guar antee that you will be stomping your feet and clapping your hands. The band's latest release, "Don't Look Back," was released last summer and will be onsale at their performance next week. OAS to host "African Odyssey" The Organization of African Students (OAS) will be hosting African Odyssey which is intended to present the culture of Africa in its authentic form. The purpose of the program is to introduce the true African culture to the Behrend and Erie communities in the hope of erad icating cultural misconceptions, which Africans often experience. Many people equate the African culture with the culture of savages; unrefined and crude in many ways. These miscon ceptions mainly stem from the lack of exposure to the true diverse cultures of Africa. This pro gram will celebrate the beauty of the African culture through the common language of the world: music. The program will consist of African food, a slide show, a video diary of Sudan, student presentations, an art display, a speaker and an African musical ensemble. The African food tasting will be prepared by Dobbins with the supervision of African stu dents and the OAS advisor. The slide show will highlight several African countries and the dif ferent ways African people present themselves. The video diary will show the struggle the peo ple of Sudan are faced with on a daily basis. Behrend students will also be a part of this pro gram by presenting poetry, modeling African garments, and dancing. Displays of African paint ing, carvings and clothing will also be on hand at this event. Dr. John Polley, an MIT gradu ate, will be the guest speaker at this celebration. For the musical aspect of the celebration, WACONGO Dance Company from Pittsburgh, Pa will be performing. This ensemble has 12 members who have a great deal of respect, love and experience with the beat of Africa. They use both traditional African drums as well as modern musical instruments to capture the current state of African music. They will also come in with beautiful African dancers to accompany their performance. The theme for this year will be "Aiding Africa through Unity." OAS wants to relay to the Behrend and Erie communities that everyone must come together and find ways to help and also educate the people of Africa. The celebration will be held on Saturday, April 22 in the McGarvey Commons. OAS encourages students and faculty members to attend the celebra tion. Happy Easter! From the Behrend Beacon Staff. Yi - n 1 1 1 ILI By Greg Lanich staff writer gdl 1 IX (a pstLedu By Hayolom Tadesse staff writer hgt 102(a psu edu The Behrend Beacon I 7
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