Happy Halloween!
Well, it was another full week in the life of this children's poet.
Worked 3 different jobs again this week.
Attended two shows, including one that may be of interest.
The first was called THE BELLE OF AMHERST, a one woman show about the life of Emily Dickinson at the Westside Theatre in NYC.
Joely Richardson played Ms. Dickinson with heart, whimsy and twinkles of mischief. At the curtain call she gave a deep breath of relief, as well she should, that she got through this Herculean role. What an inspiration. Children's poets Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Sara Holbrook and Jane Yolen, among many, consider her writing to be among the greatest ever. They'll get no argument from me!
Attended a play called THIS IS OUR YOUTH at the Cort Theatre in NYC.
This 3 character play deals with young people, and the unfortunate choices they make while living in NYC in the 1980's. I wasn't expecting a play to have so much movement; Kieran Culkin especially was a crashing, dashing, leaping, adrenaline charged whirlwinds of motion. Very impressive. The play has a timeless quality to it in that we're all searching for meaning in life, but it's how you choose to go about the search that will make the difference in whether you find what you're looking for, or end up as lost as you've ever been.
Attending an art exhibit in the East Village for an artist named Candy Heiland.
Candy who specializes in Oil Crayon on Paper, displayed her works, which focus on the sights of Coney Island. Candy and I will be doing teaching artist work in February for The Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. I'm so proud of her!
Read the anthology MANGER edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins, and what can I say, he's done it again! Delving in from the point of view of what the animals would say to Baby Jesus upon his arrival, Lee weaves different poetic voices to create a heartfelt look into a blessed day for so many people.
I continue to await word on 3 bits of poetry news that I'm not at liberty to share. However, I can share something that excites me. I've been commissioned by
The Coney Island Museum to perform and conduct workshops for them tomorrow at 1pm! Thank you Marie Roberts for this opportunity. What a great person. There's another commisssioned show/workshop at The Poets House on November 22nd as well. I'll tell you all about that one in due time.
Yep, it's all starting to come together!
TREASURES IN THE ATTIC
While moving Grandpa’s knickknacks from the attic
I discover a dusted, scuffed shoebox.
In it, an array of amber coated photographs.
There’s Grandma dancing in white lace gloves,
Mom and Dad walking down the aisle with confetti
Falling like a snowstorm, Grandpa holding me as an
Infant, his dark horn rimmed glasses unable to camouflage
The sparkle in his eyes.
(c) Charles Waters 2014 all rights reserved.
