Ed Madden Launches Newest Book of Poetry at Jasper's Degenerate Art II Closing Party

A new book by Ed Madden, postcard poems against the Trump deportation regime.

The Jasper Project is excited to announce that Ed Madden will launch his latest book of poetry — I Asked What He Needed (Squares and Rebels, 2026) — at our Degenerate Art Project II Closing Party on Saturday, February 28th at Stormwater Studios. Madden will read at 7 pm and sign books immediately after.

In addition to being a book of postcard poems, Madden’s I Asked Him What He Needed is part of the Chaps Poetry Series which is an imprint of the Squares & Rebels publishing house. Madden explains the series on the back cover of the book:

“The morning that I read Mahmoud Khalil had been arrested, I wrote a short meditation on a postcard. I had written postcard poems before, drawn to the brevity and the link between the poem and the image. I asked him what he needed for the journey. I dropped the card in the mail to a friend. But the stories kept coming. My morning meditations, contained by the small message space of the postcard, began to take into their ambit not just the deportation regime but the administration’s broader attacks on history, truth, law, democratic norms—and in the face of such fears, my own mortality. What kind of disaster did I think was coming?”

The title poem follows:

I asked him what he needed

for the journey. He said,

Write down what you saw.

Maybe, someday, the world

will want to know.

Join the Jasper Project Saturday from 3 - 9 for an exciting close to our Degenerate Art Project II at Stormwater Studios, 413 Pendleton, Columbia, SC. In addition to Madden’s book launch and reading we’ll have a banned book reading and performance by Marty McGuy, Swing Dance demonstrations and lessons from The Big Apple’s Richard Durlach and Breedlove, music from DJ Scotty Tempo, beer and wine from Curiosity Coffee, and delicious food prepared by Midi Marc.

We will also be awarding Jasper’s Degenerate Art Project II Zeitgeist Award as well as the Artists’ Choice Award, decided by a vote from the project’s participating artists.

This will be your last chance to check out the art exhibition everyone has been talking about. Don’t miss it!

SC Chapter of Authors Against Banned Books Joins Jasper’s Degenerate Art Project II with a Banned Books Free Library

The Jasper Project is excited to welcome the SC chapter of Authors Against Banned Books (AABB) to the Degenerate Art Project II opening Thursday Feb. 12th at Stormwater Studios. Headed up in SC by Columbia Poet Laureate Jennifer Bartell and Jonathan Haupt, founder of the Pat Conroy Literary Center, AABB SC is supporting Jasper's Degenerate Art Project II by providing a Banned Books Free Library that will be available at the exhibit.  

Authors Against Book Bans, a single-issue anti-censorship collaboration among published writers, poets, illustrators, editors, anthology contributors, and other book content creators engaged in protecting our freedoms to read and to write. AABB now has more than 3,500 members nationwide, and over 80 of them are here in South Carolina. 

In 2024, Jonathan Haupt and Jennifer Bartell Boykin took on the responsibility of serving as co-leads for the SC chapter of AABB. They work with the AABB national leaders, other state chapter leaders, and with our AABB members across SC to share information and resources, and to coordinate pro-literacy service activities and anti-censorship advocacy.  

According to Bartell, “Authors Against Book Bans SC has sponsored this Banned Books Free Library in support of Jasper's Degenerate Art Project II. Nazis banned and burned books. South Carolina currently leads the country in banned books.  

“Books in this library have been banned in SC and are books commonly banned across the country. This library will operate on a ‘take a book, share a book’ honor system, allowing anyone to take books for free without needing to return them, though replacing them is encouraged. Please limit yourself to taking only one book. When you have finished reading the book, please pass it on. Consider placing the book in a free library in your community for another reader to experience. You are welcomed to come back with a banned book to help us keep the library stocked.”

Banned Books List 2025 (National)

Books Banned in SC

 

Authors Against Banned Books SC needs your help! We encourage you to donate a book or money towards the purchase of banned books. We are looking for books banned in SC and books that are commonly banned across the country. See the list above to see if you have any copies of these books on your shelves that you are willing to part with: 

·  You can bring a banned book to contribute to the library when you visit the exhibit

·  You can mail a copy of the book to Bartell and she will drop it off

·  You can donate money and Bartell will purchase a banned book on your behalf. CashApp: jenniB2005; Zelle: jennifer.sharain@gmail.com; Venmo & PayPal: jennib55.

“We hope you’ll consider joining us in these efforts,” Bartell says. To learn more about AABB—and to join yourself (at no cost), please click here.     

For more about book bans in South Carolina and nationwide, Bartell recommends that you take the opportunity to stream the documentary film Banned Together, featuring many of SC’s DAYLO students alongside authors and advocates from across the country. 

Call for Sponsors of Jasper's Degenerate Art Project II - Please Spread the Word

The Jasper Project is in search of sponsors for our upcoming Jasper Degenerate Art Project II exhibition at Stormwater Studios, February 11 – 28, 2026.

We are asking for sponsors to help us defray the costs of facility rental, promotions, refreshments for attendees, performing artist stipends, and a cash prize for the juried Zeitgeist Award which will be given to the artwork that “most accurately represents the socio-political spirit of the times while also being technically well executed, engaging, and highly original.”  We are in need of a total of $2000 in contributions of any size.

To show our appreciation, sponsors and their guests will be invited to join us for Jasper’s Degenerate Art Project II Preview Event for Sponsors, Jasper Guild members, and Participating Artists. Our Preview Event will take place February 12 from 5 – 6:30 prior to the official opening reception from 6:30 – 8:30 the same evening. This puts you first in line to see and purchase all the art included in the exhibition as well as to toast and chat with the artists themselves.

With your permission, we will also show our appreciation at all events with a public thank you and you, or the name/logo of your business, will be listed in the following locations:

·         The Jasper Project Website

·         The printed Degenerate Art Project II Calendar of Events which will be distributed throughout the city

·         and, in a special Thank You Ad in the spring 2026 issue of Jasper Magazine. You, or your organization, may also remain anonymous if you prefer.

To serve as a sponsor for the Jasper Project’s Degenerate Art II Project please email Cindi Boiter at cindiboiter@gmail.com or by visit the Jasper Website and click on DONATE.

Thank you for your consideration.

We are happy to answer any questions you may have.