Join the Writers In Performance series for a two-part birthday celebration for acclaimed poet Walt Whitman, on Thursday, May 7 at Lone Star College-Montgomery and Dosey Doe Music Café in Conroe. Enjoy Walt Whitman discussions by author Ed Folsom, open-mic poetry readings, live music and more. |
verse, the Writers In Performance series hosts a two-part birthday celebration for acclaimed poet Walt Whitman, on Thursday, May 7.
The celebration will bring together more than 20 of the region’s best-known poets for what, according to Dianne Logan of the Montgomery County Literary Arts Council, is known as one of the longest-running Whitman birthday celebrations in the world.
The first event, which takes place at Lone Star College-Montgomery at 3 p.m. in the General Academic Center (Bldg. G), Ed Folsom, Ph.D., author of Walt Whitman: The Measure of His Song and other works on Whitman, will discuss nineteenth-and twentieth-century American poetry and ways poets have talked back to Walt Whitman over the years, and how Whitman tapped into the American culture.
As a professor of English at the University of Iowa, Folsom has written, edited, and co-edited a number of books on Whitman, including Walt Whitman’s Native Representations and Walt Whitman and the World, as well as directed and co-directed a number of Whitman conferences around the world. Other poets and authors Folsom has penned about include William Carlos Williams, Frederick Douglass, and Emily Dickenson.
Then, at 7 p.m. at Dosey Doe Music Café in Conroe, the celebration will continue with the traditional gathering of poets in an open-mic reading and birthday bash. All Whitman enthusiasts are invited to read a favorite work of Whitman’s during the open mic segment of the celebration.
Additionally, soprano Dr. Marion Russell Dickson, pianist Shannon Hesse, and clarinetist Richard Nunemaker will perform several selections from twentieth and twenty-first century composers Ned Rorem, Ulf Grahn, and Kurt Veil, incorporating Whitman text.
This event, which is open to the pubic, includes a cake cutting, book sale and autograph signing. Cash bar and food sales are available through the restaurant.
Writers in Performance is a reading program dedicated to bringing the most distinguished minds and their brightvisions to the citizens of Montgomery County through thought-provoking literature and cultural diversity. The series’ events are made possible by the partnerships between Lone Star College-Montgomery, SWIRL Literary & Arts Journal, the Conroe Commission on Arts & Culture, the Greater Conroe Arts Alliance, and the Montgomery County Literary Arts Council.
For more information, visit www.literaryartscouncil.org; or contact Dave Parsons at (936) 524-6537 or david.m.parsons@lonestar.edu.
LSC-Montgomery is located at 3200 College Park Drive, one-half mile west of Interstate 45, between Conroe and The Woodlands. For more information about the college, call 936.273.7000, or visit www.LoneStar.edu/montgomery.
Lone Star College System has been opening doors to a better community for 40 years. Founded in 1973, LSCS remains steadfast in its commitment to student success and credential completion. Today, with 78,000 students in credit classes, and atotal enrollment of more than 90,000, Lone Star College System is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area and the fastest-growingcommunity college system in the nation. Dr. Richard Carpenter is the chancellor of LSCS, which consists of six colleges including LSC-CyFair, LSC-Kingwood,LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, LSC-Tomball and LSC-University Park, fivecenters, LSC-University Center at Montgomery, LSC-University Center at University Park, Lone Star Corporate College, and LSC-Online. To learn more visit LoneStar.edu.