Libby Bernardin Book Launch at Stormwater

LIBBY BERNARDIN’S NEW BOOK LAUNCH

HOUSE IN NEED OF MOORING

 

Thursday, November 10; 5:30 – 7:00pm

 

Fellow poet, Jim Peterson, has written about Libby’s new book:

“These poems by Libby Bernardin are keenly sensitive to nature.  They also embody the losses, fears, sorrows, loves and simple pleasures of life lived deeply—a quiet mind seeing, and yes, reflecting, but never looking away from what has gone so wrong and so right in these times.  Bernardin’s poems reveal without explaining.  They conjure her beloved South Carolina—lowcountry wetlands, city streets and suburbs, mountains, the people and their endeavors—and yet at the same time embrace the unknowable.”

 

Poetry reading and book signing for her new book, House in need of Mooring:

Libby’s reading will start shortly after 5:30; other invited poets will also present readings.

Book signing: 6:30- 7:00pm.

 

About the Author:

South Carolina poet Libby Bernardin is the author of Stones Ripe for Sowing (Press 53, 2018) and two chapbooks, The Book of Myth (SC Poetry Initiative, 2009) and Layers of Song (Finishing Line Press, 2011). Journal publications include The Asheville Poetry Review, Southern Poetry Review, Kakalak. She has won poetry awards from the Poetry Society of South Carolina and the North Carolina Poetry Society, and has served as co-director of the highly respected Litchfield Tea & Poetry Series until 2019. Her new book, House in Need of Mooring (Press 53, 2022), is yet another testament to the silver lining of the pandemic. A retired English teacher from the University of South Carolina, she leads poetry workshops for the Georgetown County Library. She is a lifetime member of the Board of Governors of the SC Academy of Authors.

Announcing Fall Lines Volume IX Winners and Accepted Authors

The Jasper Project is delighted to announce the winners of the 2022 Fall Lines Awards and the accepted submissions to Fall Lines Volume IX.

The Broad River Prize for Prose goes to Tim Conroy for his short fiction, Nasty Bites and the Saluda River Prize for Poetry goes to Jo Angela Edwins for her poem, Stricken.

Fall Lines volume IX will be released on Sunday, February 5th, 2023, at the Main Branch of the Richland Library, 1431 Assembly Street in Columbia, SC. The event will begin at 3 pm and all contributors are invited to read one poem or approximately one page of their published prose. Contributors are welcome to two copies of the journal and additional copies may be purchased for $10 each. Proceeds from purchased journals will help defray the dramatically increased costs of publication. Watch this space for pre-order information.


Poetry and prose accepted for publication in this year’s Fall Lines journal include the following

Fruit – Gil Allen

The turning – Ken Autry

The last battle in Alabama – Ken Autry

Bachman's Warbler – Ken Autry

Bird – Libby Bernardin

with spoiled fruit – Evelyn Berry

Dear Raphael – Al Black

Porcelain doll – Al Black

If I were a man – Cindi Boiter

Prudent – Cindi Boiter

Seamstress – Carolina Bowden

Signs that say what you want them to say (not signs that say what someone else wants you to say) – Lucia Brown

Before we turn on the table saw – Lucia Brown

walking a half-marathon through your hometown – Lucia Brown

Members of the backyard church – Tim Conroy

Nasty Bites – Tim Conroy

How to cut up a chicken – Susan Craig

Touching Wyse's Ferry Bridge – Susan Craig

The Older Poet Yearns to Carpe the Diem – Debra Daniels

Dream Three – Heather Dearmon

Bring Me Something – Heather Dearmon

Across the River - Marlanda DeKine

talking to themselves -  Marlanda DeKine

For my cat, every Sunday afternoon – Graham Duncan

Ghosts in Poems – Jo Angela Edwins

Stricken – Jo Angela Edwins

Nana Lencha – Vera Gomez

You don't know what you don't know – Vera Gomez

Coattails – Kristine Hartvigsen

River – Kristine Hartvigsen

A Quiet Love – Jammie Huynh

A ghazal to my father – Jammie Huynh

Bad Idea Boyfriend, or White Jesus – Shannon Ivey

D. – Suzanne Kamata

Red Bird / Blue Bird – Bentz Kirby

Hunter's Chapel Road – Len Laurin

I love you 3000 – Len Lawson

Crown – Terri McCord

Space – Terri McCord

For a 20% Tip – Rosalie McCracken

"Yes, please" – Melanie McGhee

Cycles – Joseph Mills

Office hours – Joseph Mills

Those of us with bushy white beards – Joseph Mills

So long, Greenie – Eric Morris

Chopin all over her – Eric Morris

Old photos (for Ahmaud Arbery) – Yvette Murray

Thundering shadows – Frances Pearce

Gone to the birds – Glenis Redmond

"Praise how the ordinary turns sacred" – Glenis Redmond

Strangers in a Strange Field – Aida Rogers

Pre-Columbia Intersections – Lawrence Rhu

Meaningless – Michael Rubin

Small things I notice – Randy Spencer

Next Day Now - Randy Spencer

Above the poplars – Arthur Turfa

For the Love of Mz. Joe – Ceille Welch

Congratulations to

Tim Conroy and Jo Angela Edwins

and all the accepted poets and prose writers for

Fall Lines Volume IX!

 

PREVIEW: DEATH OF A SALESMAN AT WORKSHOP THEATRE BY JON TUTTLE

The grinding wheel of American capitalism has become a Catherine Wheel: if you’re not helping to turn it, you’ll get lashed to it. This is what Miller called, in his eponymous essay, the tragedy of the common man: “the disaster inherent in being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in this world. Among us today this fear is strong, and perhaps stronger, than it ever was.”

The watershed moment for American drama occurred at about 10:30pm on January 22, 1949, at the Locust Street Theatre in downtown Philadelphia. It consisted of a stunned silence.  

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman had been in rehearsals for several weeks but came to Philadelphia for a tryout before opening at the Morosco on Broadway. It would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best play, as well as a raft of other awards, and would be remounted on Broadway five times—including right now at the Hudson Theatre, with an all- African-American cast. There is no official count of such things, but it is surely one of the most-produced plays in history. At any rate, it ranks at or near the top of lists—such as a recent one by the Denver Post—of the most important American plays.  

But when the when the curtain came down on the first public performance of The Great American Play, there was no applause, no response at all. In his autobiography, Timebends, Miller recalls the strange moment: “Strange things began to go on in the audience. With the curtain down, some people stood to put their coats on and then sat down again; some, especially men, were bent forward, covering their faces, and others were openly weeping. People crossed the theatre to stand quietly, talking with one another. It seemed forever before someone remembered to applaud, and then there was no end to it. I was standing at the back and saw a distinguished-looking elderly man being led up the aisle; he was talking excitedly into the ear of what seemed to be his male secretary or assistant. This, I learned, was Bernard Gimbel, head of the department store chain, who that night gave an order that no one in his stores was to be fired for being overage.”

Salesman tells the story, of course, of Willy Loman, the disposable American Everyman who measures his worth only in dollars, and of his wife, Linda, whose every encouragement hastens his suicide. His sons, Biff and Hap, represent the competing halves of his personality and of the American psyche—one a rugged outdoorsman still invested in pre-Depression ideals of hard work and camaraderie, the other a wannabe cut-throat executive who equates price with value. Reunited for twenty-four hours, the Lomans can no longer live together under the same roof. By the end of the play, the family home—the artifact upon which the American mythos is based--is paid for—but empty.

We are living in the fallout from unchecked capitalism and patriarchy - burnout, classism, exploitation, income and wealth inequality, housing shortages, climate crises. We are poorer now than our parents were at our age, and without significant and sustained changes to our system, the future looks more uncertain than ever. Social media has turned many of us into salespeople, selling the version of our lives that we want others to see, angling for as many likes as we can get to increase our self-worth, believing as Willy does that it's important to be well-liked.” - Patrick Michael Kelly

“Attention, attention must be paid,” says Linda of her hapless husband, and by extension of every well-meaning, faceless citizen failing to fulfill their obligations to the economy, and that’s truer now than it was in 1949. The grinding wheel of American capitalism has become a Catherine Wheel: if you’re not helping to turn it, you’ll get lashed to it. This is what Miller called, in his eponymous essay, the tragedy of the common man: “the disaster inherent in being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in this world. Among us today this fear is strong, and perhaps stronger, than it ever was.” 

Patrick Michael Kelly, who is directing the Workshop Theatre production opening November 4, concurs. “Salesman speaks to many of the issues we grapple with today,” he says. “Miller sought to deflate the idea of the American Dream - that anyone could achieve anything with hard work and determination. My generation and younger generations believe less and less in that idea, and this play underscores our disillusionment. We are living in the fallout from unchecked capitalism and patriarchy - burnout, classism, exploitation, income and wealth inequality, housing shortages, climate crises. We are poorer now than our parents were at our age, and without significant and sustained changes to our system, the future looks more uncertain than ever. Social media has turned many of us into salespeople, selling the version of our lives that we want others to see, angling for as many likes as we can get to increase our self-worth, believing as Willy does that it's important to be well-liked.”  

Kelly’s production will emphasize, he says, the concept that originally informed the play—the stream of consciousness running through the mind of its protagonist. Miller composed the first act of the play in a single night in his backyard shed in Connecticut—emerging the next morning, he said, aching and exhausted. His working title was The Inside of His Head, and he imagined the setting of the play as an enormous face which would open, like French doors, to reveal the interior of the Loman household. Designer Jo Mielziner prevailed upon Miller to do away with the cranium, but the operative principle that drives the play—that Willy cannot separate his illusions and memories from his realities—remained part of its DNA. It’s that element that Kelly’s production will emphasize. 

“We are highlighting that much of the play takes place in Willy’s mind,” says Kelly, “in his memories, with moveable settings to illustrate the fleeting nature and impermanence of memory and time. Beyond a few period accents, our set largely eschews reality and instead looks to illustrate Willy’s true passion for building things and his desire to get ahead. A skeletal staircase to nowhere is the only permanent fixture - a visual metaphor for his thwarted dreams, which Biff declares in the requiem as being ‘all, all wrong.’” 

What’s different about this production, however, is that Kelly is seeking to “decolonize and deconstruct” it as much as possible. The cast is racially diverse because “we want audience members of all backgrounds to see themselves in this story,” and his set is “somewhat Brechtian” in its minimalism and desire to keep the audience asking the right questions. “Salesman is almost entirely devoid of references to race,” Kelly says, and is primarily “focused more on classism. Racism was very much alive in the ‘40s however, so it cannot be ignored, and casting this play with a diverse group of people presents new dynamics and problems that were not originally intended. At the end of the day, I wanted to work with the best actors I could find, and I believe I found them. We’ve got a stellar team.” 

Veteran Columbia professionals Paul Kaufmann and Libby Campbell as Willy and Linda head that team. “I always love working with my longtime friend and colleague Paul Kaufmann,” says Kelly. “Paul is a wonderful artist and will bring his expertise in creating a more sensitive version of Willy Loman, balancing the ferocity of his fears with his sweetness and sentimentality. This play is the third time I’ve had the pleasure of directing him. [And] Libby is Columbia theatre royalty. This is my first time working with her.” 

Kelly notes that Deon Turner (Biff) and Jon Whit McClinton (Happy) are fresh from Trustus Theatre’s True Crime Rep--Jason Stokes Composure and Charlie Finesilver’s House Calls, and that “Jonathan Yi (Bernard) was one of my students last year at the University of South Carolina, and actually played Biff in scene study in that class, so it’s a treat to work with him on this play. Ripley Thames (Charley) is an actor I’ve admired for some time, but never gotten to work with. Same goes for Emily Meadows (Woman/Letta). Caroline McGee is a 2022 UofSC theatre graduate, and Roderick Haynes, Jr. stepped in late in the process and has been a joy. Mostly, it’s just an honor to get to tell this story - it’s one of the greatest American plays for a reason, and it’s a privilege to get to work on it intensely. It’s intimidating, but I love a challenge, and I hope audiences love what we’re creating for them.” 

Likewise, he relishes the opportunity to work once again—in a new venue--with Workshop, for whom he’s performed in Some Girl(s) (2017) and The Little Foxes (2002). This production is the culmination of conversations he’d been having with Jeni McCaughan, Workshop’s executive director, about remounting American classics. “I don’t think we go back to the dramatic classics enough,” he says. “I am a champion of new work. I think fostering new voices and nurturing new plays is the most important work a theatre can undertake, but we can still learn a lot from producing the plays of Arthur Miller, Lorraine Hansberry, Tennessee Williams, and many others.”   

And he is “thrilled” about Workshop’s partnership with Columbia College. “I know it’s going to benefit both organizations in a big way - and I’m excited to direct a show in the historic Cottingham Theatre. It’s a beautiful space and an actor’s dream as far as acoustics are concerned. I’ve never directed in a true proscenium theatre that has wings and fly space before either, so it’s a real treat.” 

Workshop Theatre’s production of Death of a Salesman will run November 4 through 13 at Cottingham Theatre on the campus of Columbia College. Tickets are available here.

Janet Kozachek and the Power of Ekphrasis Within Art and Poetry

“Port in Sicily, World War II”

Janet Kozachek knows a thing or two about the universal connection between all forms of fine art. Not only is she an experienced writer, but Kozachek utilizes the power of written and spoken word to influence her visual art. This body of work, entitled A Rendering of Soliloquies – Figures Painted in Spots of Time, has been frequently displayed in galleries within South Carolina and across the nation; now, it’s coming to Stormwater Studios.  

The Jasper Project highly values fostering connections within the realm of artists to writers, writers to performers, and everything in between. Kozachek’s multidisciplinary work fits perfectly within this circle, and A Rendering of Soliloquies is a connection throughout her own personal, extensive portfolio.  

“I frequently, but not always, use visual art to illustrate specific texts. Although I write about my other work, like my musical instruments, mosaics, and paintings, the writing does not constitute a body of published work,” Kozachek shares. “This exhibition features visual art that accompanies a collection of my poetry from a full-length book, A Rendering of Soliloquies – Figures Painted in Spots of Time.”  

Audience response is crucial for this particular set of paintings. Kozachek describes the relationship of visual image to the written and spoken word in this exhibition as both “ekphrastic and emblematic.” Audiences may be familiar with the concept of ekphrasis through poetry, and Kozachek hopes for audiences to take away that the written word and visual art reinforce each other, explaining the other form in a different manner. This is in part due to both art and writing both existing within her own work, rather than a second party writing a poem about her art. The poems and pieces, however, still leave plenty of room for audience members to respond in their own ways.  

“The truly ekphrastic part of this exhibition/event will be how the guest poets respond to the work,” she says. “There will therefore be two interpretations of the visual art; the original juxtaposition of artist’s word and image, then a reinterpretation based upon outside observations and responses.”  

Her work is extremely ambitious and showcases just how talented Kozachek is within multiple artistic disciplines. If there’s one key takeaway for audiences to know, it’s that “an artist’s intent, while historically significant, does not restrict the art from growing beyond that original intent, and becoming something more universal. Visual art, in this way, becomes a public intellectual property, there being essentially no one ‘correct’ way to understand it.”  

And, of course, Jasper is always eager to hear what artists think the most important thing they took away from their years of creating and exhibiting is, especially when they’re unapologetically in love with what they do. Upon asking Kozachek what the one piece of advice she would tell herself back when she first started getting into art would be, she aptly said, “I suppose it would be to advise having a marketable back-up or skill trade. But I probably would not listen.”

Those interested can see Kozachek’s work at Stormwater (413 Pendleton St.) from September 21st through the 25th. The poetry collection A Rendering of Soliloquies – Figures Painted in Spots of Time is also available for purchase on Finishing Line Press’s website.

Jasper Talks with femme x About Story Slam -- in the Flesh -- September 14th

Looking for something in Columbia to itch that performing arts scratch, but with more of an edge and authenticity to it? femme x, a notable social gathering and coworking space in Columbia will be bringing back in person Story Slams, with the support and collaboration of the #whatshesaidproject. We talked to Nell Fuller, co-founder and managing partner of femme x, about the story slam and what audiences can expect from attending one of these recurring nights. 

 

Jasper: Have you partnered with the #whatshesaidproject before?

Fuller: Although we hadn’t partnered before, I have long admired the #whatshesaidproject and remember Shannon Ivey (founder of the #whatshesaidproject) winning a giveaway when we first opened. When Shannon and her business partner, Katie Zenger, pitched their Inspired Speaking Curriculum, it was a natural fit for our growing community of women, many growing their own companies and refining their storytelling skill sets. We saw an exciting need for a storytelling platform, particularly in a space that centers women. This story slam is a mix of seasoned and new storytellers, some of whom are in our Fall Inspired Speaking cohort. I am over the moon to collaborate with Ivey!

 

Jasper: What should audience members expect from the Story Slam? Does everyone in the audience have to participate, or can you attend to listen and offer love/support?

Fuller: Audience members can expect around 10 local storytellers to tell a 5–8-minute personal story connecting to the theme “In the Flesh.” Unless there’s rain, we will have it outside in the courtyard and all are welcome to attend and enjoy the community. The bar at femme will be open for drinks and snacks. 

 

Jasper: How does the Story Slam align with the aims and goals of femme x?

Fuller: Story Slams (and Shannon Ivey’s work in personal storytelling) aim to give women the opportunity and experience of crafting a personal story and then sharing it with a warm audience. These opportunities are rare, and femme x is a community that is aware of this and how it negatively impacts women and their quality of life. 

 

Jasper: Do you plan to have reoccurring Story Slams, or other live events with #whatshesaidproject?

Fuller: Yes! We will continue Story Slams on the second Wednesday of each month. The bar will open at 6 PM and the stories will start at 7 PM.

 

Jasper: Are there any other collectives like femme x in Columbia?

Fuller: Columbia has so much to offer, including a growing network of cowork spaces for entrepreneurs and creatives! NoMa Warehouse and SOCO both offer incredibly innovative, community-centered spaces. It’s been so energizing to come out of COVID and see the entrepreneurial community growing and thriving as we make space for one another to contribute to the larger ecosystem.

 

Fuller described femme x as a “social club and cowork space dedicated to changing the traditional systems of capital distribution.” The collective aims to nurture and create a safe, accessible, and empowering space for entrepreneurial women through “social events, peer engagement and programming tailored to their unique needs.” If you are interested in checking out their membership options, visit their website. 

The Story Slam is $5 for femme members and $15 for non members. You can register for the event online.

 

Columbia Author Carla Damron's New Fiction Deals with the Fight Against Human Trafficking

Advocate for human trafficking survivors pens thriller with a message of awareness and vigilance

Award-winning author and social worker Carla Damron, once named by NAMI as an Outstanding Mental Health Professional of the Year, uses fiction to address social justice issues, and her latest release is no exception. Emotion-driven, The Orchid Tattoo (Koehler Books, Sept. 30, 2022) is one part of Damron’s work as an advocate for human trafficking survivors and people with mental illnesses. Her previous work includes The Stone Necklace, winner of the 2017 Women’s Fiction Writers Association Star Award for Best Novel, which led award-winning author Pat Conroy to say “this is a novelist to be read again and again.”

In The Orchid Tattoo, social worker Georgia Thayer can balance her own mental illness with the demands of an impossible job. Mostly. But when her sister vanishes in the dead of night, her desperate quest to find Peyton leads to a multi-tentacled human trafficking network. When Georgia learns that her sister was brutally murdered trying to help a young victim called “Kitten,” she picks up where Peyton left off, and travels a treacherous path to expose the kingpin of the Estate, a luxurious brothel servicing rich and powerful men, and rescue his victims. Kitten is determined to escape. She won’t be trapped like the others. She won’t sell her soul like Lillian, victim-turned-madam, feeding the dark appetites of international business moguls and government leaders. Aided by Kitten, Georgia maneuvers to bring down the Estate and expose its dark secrets, but her efforts place her--and the very few people she allows to get close--in grave danger.

Continuing her advocacy work, Damron is partnering with Doors To Freedom, a non-profit that provides safe places for survivors of trafficking. They offer housing, education, treatment, and even vocational opportunities for teens and young adults who have been impacted by this issue. Their vocational program includes a cottage industry that makes cuff bracelets which you can purchase on their website. Damron hopes to promote the organization by selling bracelets at her signings, handing out information at her events, raising money, and donating a portion of her royalties. You can find out more at their website: 


“The Orchid Tattoo”

Carla Damron | September 6, 2022 | Koehler Books | Crime Fiction

Hardcover | $32.95 |978-1-64663-765-2

Paperback | $21.95 |978-1-64663-763-8

  

Carla Damron is a social worker, advocate and author whose last novel, The Stone Necklace (about grief and addiction) won the 2017 Women’s Fiction Writers Association Star Award for Best Novel and was selected as the One Community Read for Columbia SC.  Damron is also the author of the Caleb Knowles mystery novels and has published numerous short stories, essays, and op-eds. Damron holds an MSW and an MFA. Her careers of social worker and writer are intricately intertwined; all of her novels explore social issues like addiction, homelessness, mental illness, and human trafficking. In her spare time, Damron volunteers with the League of Women Voters, Sisters in Crime, Palmetto Chapter (President), her church, and Mutual Aid Midlands.


Columbia Theatre Stars Come Together for Jasper Project Staged Reading of MOON SWALLOWER

SUNDAY AUGUST 28TH

DOORS AT 3:30 - SHOW AT 4 PM

CMFA - 914 PULASKI STREET

$10 W/ RECEPTION

MOON SWALLOWER BY COLBY QUICK

left to right - Chad Henderson, Chris Cockrell, Michael Hazin, and Becky Hunter

 

Join some of the city’s most exciting theatre artists this Sunday as they bring a brand-new play to the stage of CMFA. Directed by Chad Henderson, MOON SWALLOWER by Sumter playwright, Colby Quick, is the winner of the 2022 Jasper Project Play Right Series.

A one-act coming-of-age exploration that embraces the world of Youtube, gentle drug use, family dynamics, performative Christianity, and yes, the possibility of werewolves, this is not your typical staged reading.

Check all your expectations of straight back chairs and music stands at the door. Henderson has included lights, music, sound effects and more in this tease of what a full-blown production would look like. And the actors are anything but sedentary. From fight scenes to actors climbing on tables and hissing like creatures of the night, this is an exciting look at an exciting new project coming out of Columbia, SC.

Tickets are only $10.

Join this accomplished cast and crew for a fun Sunday reading complete with wine, snacks, and an opportunity for you to learn more about the page to stage process courtesy of the Jasper Project!

BECKY HUNTER

CHRIS COCKRELL

MICHAEL HAZIN

LONETTA THOMPSON

RICHARD EDWARD

CHAD HENDERSON

Mark Your Calendars - Future Poetry Events with The Jasper Project and Al Black

For the poetry lovers and art appreciators in the Columbia area, Jasper’s own Al Black will host a plethora of live events for poets and readers to be a part of. Each of the events have their own schedules, allowing for plenty of opportunities to fit everyone’s schedules. 

Mind Gravy Poetry is a weekly event that meets on Wednesdays from 7-9 PM at Cool Beans Coffee Company. The event includes music and poetry features, followed by open mic time, allowing for new voices to let their creativity and written word be heard.

For monthly meetups and activities, the first Tuesday of every month holds Simple Gifts, from 7-9 PM at the Friends Meeting House. The meetup includes music and poetry features and concludes with an open mic session. On the last Tuesdays of every month is the Jasper Poetry Salon, from 7-9 PM. It occurs at 1013 Duke Avenue and encourages poets of all experience levels to come and share their writings and appreciation for the art form. On the last Sunday of each month is Front Porch Swing, an outdoor event with live music; don’t forget your lawn chairs and coolers! Front Porch Swing also takes place at 1013 Duke Avenue, from 2-4 PM.  These monthly events are sure to provide anything you’re looking for in the realm of Columbia’s poetry scene.

Words, Words, Words is a quarterly event hosted on a random Saturday in January, April, July and October from 2-4 PM at the Richland Library Southeast Branch on Garners Ferry Road. This event features a published poet with an original music introduction; the featured poet is often from out of town, providing a great surprise factor for those interested in attending each of the meetings for Words, Words, Words. The next event will be in October, and we’ll update when we know more.

Black often organizes and hosts ekphrastic poetry events that feature galleries and artists from the Southeast—showcasing the appreciation of the combination of the written word and visual accompaniment. 

What? Was that June 30th that just FLEW RIGHT BY? Lucky for us, FALL LINES is FLEXIBLE!

FALL LINES DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JULY 5TH!

At Jasper, we know how hard it is to keep deadlines in our headlights and out of our rearview mirrors!

And while we are thrilled with both the quantity and quality of the submissions we’ve received this summer, we have no reason not to take a deep breath and invite our beloved SC wordsmiths to do the same, take pen in hand once again, and send us even more poetry and prose for Fall Lines volume IX.

That’s right, you have until July 5th midnight to send us your first batch of work if the deadline passed you by.

OR, if you scrambled to get your submissions in on time, we invite you to send us another batch to double your chances of being published this year.

Same rules as the first time around - just an extended deadline.

How’s that for independence?

We Got Your Fall Lines Submission Guidelines Right Here.

The Supper Table Goes to Jasper County!

THE MORRIS CENTER FOR LOWCOUNTRY HERITAGE

We’re delighted to announce that the Supper Table, the Jasper Project’s most ambitious project to date, is traveling to the South Carolina Lowcountry this summer for a 6-month-long residency at the Morris Center for Low Country Heritage in Ridgeland, Jasper County, South Carolina.

The Supper Table, an homage to the 40th anniversary of Judy Chicago’s 1979 epic feminist art exhibition, is a multidisciplinary arts project celebrating the history and contributions of 12 extraordinary South Carolina women and featuring the work of almost 60 of South Carolina’s most outstanding women artists in the visual, literary, theatrical, and film arts.

Place setting honoring SC artist Eartha Kitt by Mana Hewitt

The Supper Table was created between 2018 and 2019 and began touring the state in November 2019, traveling from Columbia to Irmo, Camden, Florence, Lake City, and more, but its itinerary was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. For more information on the women honored with seats at the table created by outstanding SC women artists, as well as the writers, filmmakers, theatre artists, visual artists, and portrait artist Kirkland Smith, please visit the Supper Table page on the Jasper Project website.

Place setting honoring SC’s Dr. Matilda Evans by SC artist Rene Rouillier

The Morris Center for Low Country Heritage has a number of educational and interpretive events planned to further explore and celebrate the Supper Table including the following.


7/16/2022

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Table Talk: The Supper Table Opening

Kayleigh Vaughn/Cindi Boiter

Part history lesson, part art installation, all homage. The Supper Table, its origins and impact on South Carolina Women’s History is the topic of conversation with Morris Center Curator Kayleigh Vaughn and Jasper Project Director Cindi Boiter.

https://www.morrisheritagecenter.org/events/table-talk/

 

8/12/2022

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Take a Seat: Visual Artists' Panel

Tonya Gregg, BA Hohman, Flavia Lovatelli

Enjoy some lively table talk as several of the visual artists from The Supper Table discuss their role and process in contributing to the art installation.

https://www.morrisheritagecenter.org/events/take-a-seat-visual-artists-panel/

 

Many of the SC artists involved in the Supper Table project

9/20/2022

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM

South Carolina "Herstory"

Dr. Valinda Littlefield

Scores of women have left an indelible mark on “herstory” in the Palmetto State. This inspiring talk connects to The Supper Table.

https://www.morrisheritagecenter.org/events/south-carolina-herstory/

 

10/21/2022

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Take a Seat: Writers' Panel

Christina Xan, Claudia Smith Brinson, Kristine Hartvigsen

Food for thought? In conjunction with The Supper Table, several writers share about their role and process contributing to the exhibition.

 

11/18/2022

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Take a Seat: Filmmakers' Panel

Ebony Wilson, Carleen Maur, LeeAnn Kornegay

Food for thought? In conjunction with The Supper Table, several filmmakers share about their role and process contributing to the exhibition.

 


Chapin Theatre Company Announces CALL for 10 Minute Play Scripts

CALL FOR SCRIPTS!

Exciting News from our Friends at Chapin Theatre Company!

Submissions will be open from June 15 through August 26.  We will accept only one play per playwright this year, so submit your best piece!

Other rules:

  • Playwright must live in South Carolina

  • Play must be no longer than 12 minutes in length

  • Maximum of 5 characters

  • Simple production with limited set pieces

  • Keep it PG 13 or less

  • Play should be in a "play format" and saved as a pdf. Play title and page number must be written on each page

  • This is a blind submission, so your name must NOT be written on the script

Plays will be selected in early September.  The eight winning plays will be part of the 2nd Annual 10-Minute-Ish Play Festival on November 4-5 at the Firehouse Theatre in Chapin.

Good Writing and Good Luck!

Submit

here!

Launch Announced for Jane Zenger's New Book of Poetry - Night Bloomer from Muddy Ford Press

Saturday, May 21st

5:30 - 8 pm

Stormwater Studios

Muddy Ford Press is pleased to announce the publication of the latest book in the Laureate Series, Night Bloomer by Jane Zenger.

Zinger will welcome guests to Stormwater Studios on Saturday May 21st from 5:30 - 8 pm for readings from her debut poetry collection. Included among the guests will be city of Columbia poet laureate (and Jasper Poetry Editor) Ed Madden, who edited Night Bloomer, working closely with Zenger on the composition and structure of the book. Night Bloomer is the third book in the Laureate Series following works by Tim Conroy and Ann-Chadwell Humphries. Angelo Geter’s More God Than Dead, the fourth in the series, will be published in June.

“It is a delight to see Jane's work coming into print,” Madden says. “I love the way that her voice ranges through memory, from tragic loss to humor and anger (sometimes both at once). The loss of her husband grounds this book, the poems range widely through a lifetime of experience.”

Of Night Bloomer Zenger says, “This book is a compilation of poems written during several distinct periods in my life. Several poems chronicle my early days as a rambunctious student and traveler, others are based on people or events that influenced or upended my life. The book celebrates and reflects both my real life and my imagination. Having a book published is a dream come true for me.”

Night Bloomer is available at Amazon, WOB, Walmart. Books-a-million, and a number of additional outlets. Zenger will be offering the book for sale and signing at the event on Saturday afternoon.

Book Presentation/Discussion--The Verdict: The Christina Boyer Case by Jan Banning @ 701 CCA

Book Presentation & Discussion:

JAN BANNING:

The Verdict: The Christina Boyer Case

Featuring Richland County Chief Public Defender Fielding Pringle

701 Center for Contemporary Art director Michaela Pilar Brown and

world-famous Dutch photographer Jan Banning

Monday, May 16, 2022

7:30 pm

Admission Free

Richland County Chief Public Defender Fielding Pringle and 701 Center for Contemporary Art director Michaela Pilar Brown will lead a conversation at 701 CCA with world-famous Dutch photographer Jan Banning during the first American presentation of his new book, The Verdict: The Christina Boyer Case. The conversation and book presentation will take place Monday, May 16, at 701 CCA.

Banning, a former 701 CCA artist in residence who has had two solo exhibitions at the center, makes the case for Boyer’s innocence in the death of her three-year-old daughter Amber in Carrollton, GA, in 1992. Boyer has been incarcerated for three decades after she accepted – under duress and after receiving poor legal representation – a prison sentence without pleading guilty to avoid a death penalty trial.

“For decades I have admired Jan Banning’s socially focused and engaging portrait projects on menial professions and human conditions otherwise ignored,” said Anne Wilkes Tucker, curator emerita of photography at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, one of many museums that has Banning’s work in its collection. “This moving book calls for what should be and could be done for Christina.”

Boyer’s “heartbreaking case infuriates me,” Tucker wrote, “but came as no surprise. Bullied and abused as a child, she is one of thousands of women without resources who weren’t believed, and had inadequate defense.”

The plight of especially poor defendants in the United States’ judicial system, in which 95 percent of cases never go to trial, will be part of the conversation with Banning. Public attorney Pringle has decades of experience representing indigent defendants.

Banning’s book presents a complex and multi-layered approach to the Boyer case. Two chapters, by Banning and Georgetown University law professor Marc M. Howard, discuss the case and the American judicial system. Photographed pages from the local newspaper provide media context and show the papers’ biased reporting on the case. “The Family Album” shows family photos of Boyer and her daughter, while another section shows hand-written pages from Boyer’s prison diaries. In “Imaginations,” Banning presents interpretive and conceptual photographs, mixing photojournalism and staged art photography, to illustrate aspects of the case, though not literally. “Christina’s Associations” presents Boyer’s written responses to Banning’s photos of the Southern environment, an environment that Boyer has not seen in person in decades.

Banning came across Boyer’s case when he was making portraits of inmates at Georgia’s Pulaski Women’s Prison for his 2016 book Law & Order: The World of Criminal Justice, which examines crime and punishment in five different countries through photos and text. Since then, Banning – by training a historian, with decades of experience as a photojournalist – has spent years researching the Boyer case, spending more than six months in the small town of Carrollton, Carroll County, and elsewhere in Georgia.

New York Emmy-winning production company Latchkey Films, contributors to the Netflix series The Innocence Files, is making a documentary about the Boyer case and Banning. Banning’s and Boyer’s exhibition about the case, The Verdict: Beyond A Reasonable Doubt?, opened in February at the Nederlands Fotomuseum, the national Dutch Photo Museum, in Rotterdam.

Banning was born in 1953, in Almelo, The Netherlands. His work has been exhibited in some 30 countries and is in the collections of many museum, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Atlanta’s High Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Banning has published more than a dozen books of photography. Among his books and exhibitions are Bureaucratics, about government officials in several countries, including the United States; Comfort Women, about Indonesian women forced into sexual slavery by Japan during World War II; Traces of War, about forced laborers who survived the Japanese Burma and Sumatra Railways building project during the same war; and Down and Out in the South, about homeless people in Columbia, SC, Atlanta and the Mississippi Delta. Both Bureaucratics and Down and Out were exhibited at 701 CCA, where a residency for Banning provided the impetus for and beginning of the Southern homeless project.

701 CCA is a non-profit visual arts center that promotes understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of contemporary art, the creative process and the role of art and artists in the community. The center also encourages interaction between visual and other art forms. 701 CCA is located at 701 Whaley Street, 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201.

Announcing the Winner of the Inaugural Lizelia Augusta Jenkins Moorer BIPOC Chapbook Prize - Maria S. Picone

Maria S. Picone (photo courtesy of the artist)

It is with great joy that the Jasper Project announces that the winner of the inaugural Lizelia Augusta Jenkins Moorer Poetry Chapbook Prize is Maria S. Picone of Myrtle Beach, SC for her chapbook entitled, Sky Sea Edict.

Maria S. Picone/수영 is a Korean American adoptee who won Cream City Review’s 2020 Summer Poetry Prize. She has been published in Tahoma Literary Review, The Seventh Wave, Fractured Lit and Best Small Fictions 2021. Her work has been supported by Lighthouse Writers, GrubStreet, Kenyon Review, and Tin House. She is a 2022 Palm Beach Poetry Festival Kundiman Fellow and Chestnut Review and The Petigru Review's managing editor. 

Lizelia Augusta Jenkins Moorer (1868-1936) was a teacher and social activist in Orangeburg, SC. Born in Pickens, SC, she taught at the Normal and Grammar Schools at Claflin College for 40 years. Her published anthology of poems Prejudice Unveiled, and Other Poems (1907) examined the Jim Crow South’s propensity for lynching, racism, and social injustice. Moorer was also an advocate for women’s suffrage in South Carolina, especially in the Methodist Church. 

The purpose of the Lizelia August Jenkins Moorer Prize, affectionately called the Lizelia Prize, is to offer a BIPOC poet from SC a publishing contract with Muddy Ford Press to publish their debut chapbook under the guidance of an established poet. The inspiration of Dr. Len Lawson, who is a member of the Jasper Project board of directors and the author, editor, or co-editor of four books of poetry, Lawson will also serve as editor of Picone’s chapbook and will collaborate with them on the construction of the book. Picone will receive publication via Muddy Ford Press, a cash prize, and ten author copies of the book.

This year’s judge of the more than 10 submissions was Raena Shirali. Shirali is a poet, editor, and educator from Charleston, SC. Her first book, GILT (YesYes Books, 2017), won the 2018 Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award, and her forthcoming collection, summonings, won the 2021 Black Lawrence Press Hudson Prize. Winner of a Pushcart Prize & a former Philip Roth Resident at Bucknell University, Shirali is also the recipient of prizes and honors from VIDA, Gulf Coast, Boston Review, & Cosmonauts Avenue. She holds an MFA in Poetry from The Ohio State University and is an Assistant Professor of English at Holy Family University, where she serves as Faculty Advisor for Folio—a literary magazine dedicated to publishing works by undergraduate students at the national level. Her work has appeared in American Poetry Review, Academy of American Poets’ Poem-A Day, The Nation, The Rumpus, & elsewhere.

About Picone’s work, Shirai writes, “What does it mean to belong—to a country, to a culture, to oneself? Maria S. Picone’s work is defined by these questions, and her work joins a storied lineage of Asian American authors who have wondered the same. Dense, insistent, and endlessly rewarding, Sky Sea Edict studies loss through identity and identity through loss in poems overflowing with language and yet marked by their empty spaces. These poems defiantly experiment, crossing text out, attempting language by repeating, iterating, attempting, scrapping it all and trying, again, to learn a mother tongue. Sky Sea Edict is a glorious declaration of oppositional existence, a vibrantly musical exploration that—as Picone herself writes—“weigh[s] these lucks against the lacks.”

Lawson is also delighted with the outcome of the inaugural poetry competition, saying, “Maria S. Picone translates her experience as a Korean adoptee in the South into the language of poetry, filling in any gaps with compelling verse, connecting her timeline with her original and adopted tongues. She braves the unknown in her life with these courageous words, offering a free-spirited narrative we must observe from all angles of both sky and sea. Picone has a voice to remember going forward.”

Lawsone continues, “The legacy of South Carolina poets of color became the impetus of this project with the example of Lizelia Augusta Jenkins Moorer at the forefront. Her poetry and service to South Carolina presents a beacon for any artists of color seeking to make a permanent mark in their communities. My hope is for this project to endure as more gifted voices emerge from our state.”

For more information about Maria S. Picone please visit her website.

Fall Lines Call for Poetry and Prose is Open

Fall Lines – a literary convergence is a literary journal presented by The Jasper Project in partnership with Richland Library and One Columbia for Arts and History.

Fall Lines will accept submissions of previously unpublished poetry, essays, short fiction, and flash fiction from April 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022. While the editors of Fall Lines hope to attract the work of writers and poets from the Carolinas and the Southeastern US, acceptance of work is not dependent upon residence. 

Publication in Fall Lines will be determined by a panel of judges and accepted authors (ONLY) will be notified by October 1, 2022, with a publication date in January 2023. Two $250 cash prizes, sponsored by the Richland Library Friends and Foundation, will be awarded: The Saluda River Prize for Poetry and the Broad River Prize for Prose.

Ø  POETRY: Up to five poems may be submitted with each submitted as an individual WORD FILE.
Include one cover sheet for up to five poems. Submit poetry submissions and cover sheet to FallLines@JasperProject.org with the word POETRY in the subject line.

Ø  PROSE: Up to five prose entries may be submitted with each submitted as an individual WORD FILE.
Include one cover sheet for up to five prose submissions. Submit prose submissions and cover sheet to FallLines@JasperProject.org with the word PROSE in the subject line.

COVER SHEET should include your name, the titles of your submissions, your email address, and mailing address. Authors’ names should not appear on the submission. Do NOT send bios.

ALL ENTRIES SHOULD BE TITLED.

There is no fee to enter, but submissions that fail to follow the above instructions will be disqualified without review.

Simultaneous submissions will not be considered. Failure to disclose simultaneous submissions will result in a lack of eligibility in any future Jasper Project publications.

 __

 The Columbia Fall Line is a natural junction, along which the Congaree River falls and rapids form, running parallel to the east coast of the country between the resilient rocks of the Appalachians and the softer, more gentle coastal plain.

New Poetry and Songwriter Events from Jasper and Al Black

Jasper Project board member and local poetry event guru, Al Black, is bringing two brand-new, unique events to the Midlands: a poetry salon and an outdoor music concert. Both events are starting this month: poetry month.

 

Jasper’s Poetry Salon

 

The mission of Jasper’s Poetry Salon is to give both new and established poets a safe, communal space in which to share their work and connect with other poets.


This is not a workshop, nor is it a simple reading. Everyone at the Salon will be able to share at least one poem, and conversation about the poems read will occur organically. Participants will be able to step into a relaxed environment with like-minded individuals—a space with no judgment where the goal is to hear, share, and appreciate language and story. This event allows any and all poets to enter a singular dwelling space and establish a sense of community with other Columbia-based poets who they may not meet otherwise. This is a wonderful opportunity for poets who feel isolated or who want casual feedback on their work. Whether one has been writing and publishing poetry for decades or has only just written their first poem, they will be welcomed with open arms and warm conversation.  

Occurring on the last Tuesday of every month, the event will hold its first gathering on April 26th at 7:00pm at 1013 Duke Avenue.

 

Front Porch Swing

 

The mission of Front Porch Swing is to provide a space for local musicians to showcase their work and for people to share in said work without distraction from what is important: the music.

 

On the last Sunday of each month, a singular music act will set up on the porch of the co-op on Duke Avenue and play for two hours. Anyone interested can come at their leisure, completely for free, and enjoy the performance. This come-one, come-all experience asks patrons to bring their own chairs, blankets, food, and drink—or whatever they might want to enjoy as they settle under the South Carolina sun with friends, new and old, to hear local music, new and old. Unlike some music-related events, here there is no dance floor, no bar, and no simultaneous events; for the duration of the performance, the focus is on the music itself. Whether a long-term Cola-music lover or brand new to the scene, this relaxed environment is the perfect space for anyone wanting to view local talent. 

The first Front Porch Swing will take place on April 24th at 2:00pm, featuring the band Jazz Dog, also at 1013 Duke Avenue.

 In the coming week, we will feature deep dives with Al Black on each event, so if you aren’t following Jasper’s online magazine, scroll down and enter your email to be updated when the articles come out!

 

 

Al Black has Two April Poetry Events Planned featuring Lawrence Rhu, Miho Kinnas, and Lang Owen

Pre-pandemic, it was hard to find Jasper Project Board of Directors Member and Local Open Mic Organizer, Al Black, when he wasn’t sitting in a coffee shop or a church basement with poets and songwriters gathered around him, waiting for their turn at the microphone. But lock-downs and social distancing brought all of Black’s endeavors to a screeching halt once Covid worked its way into the city.

Thankfully (and fingers crossed) those days are over and we can start gathering into our little (and large) tribal enclaves once again to cheer each other on as we explore the assorted paths of the written word.

And Al Black is back at his post, hosting and encouraging Midlands area literary artists as they grow and learn more about themselves and each other by sharing their work.

Two events coming up in Columbia during April’s Poetry Month include:

Words, Words, Words

Saturday, 04/02 at 2 pm

Southeast Branch Richland Library

7421 Garners Ferry Road

Columbia, SC 29209

Singer/songwriter, Lang Owen opens

for Poet, Miho Kinnas

Organized and hosted by Al Black

https://www.richlandlibrary.com/event/2022-04-02/words-words-words-poet-miho-kinnas


SIMPLE GIFTS - poetry & original lyric songs

7-9 pm, Tuesday, 04/05 (Monthly)

Columbia Friends Meeting House

120 Old Pisgah Road

Columbia, SC, 290203

Featuring: Poet, Lawrence Rhu & Singer/songwriter, Lang Owen

Followed by open mic (original poetry and music only)

hosted by Poet, Al Black

POETRY FOR THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE - Premonition by Ellen Malphrus

This poem originally appeared in Fall Lines - a literary convergence volume VII-VIII

Premonition: January 2, 2020

by Ellen Malphrus

 

A castover hush of a day.

 

White tulips bend

to where there is no sun

as the dog naps

and the cat naps harder.

Little winter birds flit and flash,

awakened now from their own

long morning quiet

as a flicker drills at an oak.

The low growl of a Sunday plane

drifts back into silence and

the miles-away road buzz

goes entirely un-hummed.

 

I have lit a candle against the bleakness  

but why it seems like gloom

I cannot say.

 

Here on the cusp of the oncoming

year of perfect vision

maybe I’m afraid of

what I might see,

what I might not see.

 

Today I’d rather lie here in the porch swing

with my eyes closed

and listen to the dog snore,

the heedless woodpecker laughing.

You’re invited to share your poems and prose, dedicated to peace in Ukraine, with the Jasper Project.

Send to editor@JasperProject.com

WILL SOUTH - Sig Abeles Writes a Memoir

Sigmund Abeles (b. 1934), Self-Portrait in a Hat/Drawing, pastel on paper, collection of Nora Lavori.

            Sig Abeles was born in New York but raised in South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach. His mother had a bad, well, a horrible marriage, so she packed up little Siggy and headed for Dixie where relatives lived nearby. It was Mrs. Abeles’ (pronounced “a” as in hay and “beles” as in Belize) idea to start a seaside hotel (only it was cheaper to be off Highway 17, not quite on the water) and it would be there that her son grew up to love the sea, riding horses, and Brookgreen Gardens. From there, he would eventually make his way back to New York with dreams of becoming a great artist. After all, his pal, Jasper Johns, had not done so bad.

            And, in his own way, he did become that great artist and one of the more recognizable printmakers of the late 20th century. Which means he needs a book of some kind to declare that this is the case.

            “Sig, what about that memoir you’ve been threatening to write for the last twenty years?”

            “Oh, I got busy,” he drawls, with a manner of speaking that betrays echoes of a drawl mixed in with vintage New York aggro and a healthy dose of Yiddish inflection.

            “Busy with what?” I bug him. Most artists need to be pushed until they get to the edge of the cliff, then they’ll happily jump by themselves.

            “Well, there’s my lady, and I’m her man. We need time together.”

            After having been divorced three times, Sig got a girlfriend at the age of sixty-seven, and they are still together after twenty years. Their first date was a walk in the park, literally Central Park. For Sig, ever the romantic, it had been love at first sight.

            “I hope you found a nice Jewish girl, as your mom wished for you to do.”

            “"No, oddly, I didn't. Not even back when I lived with mom.” And he chuckles, ever the gleam in his sharp, highly trained eyes. “Not that I didn’t spend a lot of time looking.”

           “I’m happy for you, Sig. Really. That said, happiness schmappiness. You need to get your life story down in print. You are a first-class bullshitter, and your story would be a good read—the boy from down yonder who made good in the big city. It’s the great American story, isn’t it? Fate would have had you working in your uncle’s grocery story over in Florence, but you defied fate, or something like it, and followed your heart.”

            “Ah, yes. That I did. It really all started in Brookgreen Gardens.”

            “Tell me about that. Maybe later you can write it down and get this show on the road.”

            “Sure. I’ll tell you about it. That spot was where my living education took place at a time when the rural deep South lacked museums of history, nature, and art. I was given either a box of Ritz crackers or a box of Del-Monte raisins as a standard snack and would go sit on my perch and learn with my eyes. On any short list of why I became so damned lucky as a dreamer, human being, and artist, Brookgreen Gardens, a mere seventeen miles south of my Myrtle Beach home, comes in as a close contender for the top. It was where I cut my “art-teeth,” and I would doubtfully have become a professional artist without that magical collection of American figurative sculptures set in formal gardens. Throw in the zoo of local animals, which I also soaked in repeatedly until I was full, and I was able to learn what no one school or teachers could have possibly provided me.

            My lady friend, Nora, likes to tell folks about my “eagle-eye.” In a museum or at an antique show my eye leads me to the absolute best thing there almost instantly. That visual acuteness was developed at Brookgreen. The mystery of how in the world a sculptor could observe a model and somehow translate and transform clay into a convincing, living form for eternity still bowls me over, even though I now understand and practice those processes. The two huge subjects of my personal passion, the human, especially female, body and the grace and power of the horse remains fulfilling, thanks to that rich and exciting collection. From my vantage point on our rooming house’s steps overlooking US 17, I sometimes would spot a huge flatbed truck with a sculpture, sometimes wrapped in tarps with just a huge thigh or shoulder exposed on the way to that ever-evolving Brookgreen. I would run into the kitchen shouting, “Ma, a new sculpture is going to Brookgreen, please, when can we go down to see it, say really soon! OK? Please?”

            Because of Brookgreen Gardens, I knew the name and the sculpture of Anna Hyatt Huntington long before I had heard of Auguste Rodin. The same is true for the names of Gertrude Whitney and Malvina Hoffman before even knowing about Michelangelo, or the way-out, biting wit and satire of Henry Clews before Francisco Goya became a greater favorite and influence. It still seems like an odd happenstance of counter-intuition that it was the lady modelers who were the early heroes for me, not the men. In fact, the first time I “touched” art (and maybe it touched me) is evidenced in a snapshot of me as maybe a four-year-old on a family picnic where I was pulling the tail of a bronze lion by Ms. Huntington.”

            “And, from there to where, my friend? Tell me a little about your time at USC.”

            “My time at USC would prove to be a mixed bag, maybe even a mixed-up bag. In the 1950s, one could argue, correctly, that Columbia was at the epicenter of conservative American mores focused on truth and righteousness and was a national leader in the suppression of civil rights. No irony there, right? It was thus an unlikely place to be if one’s goal were to learn about mysterious creative strategies that might unlock the door to an artistic life. On the other hand, it might be a good place to learn business strategies involving tobacco and the manufacture of cigarettes and how to deny their danger to the health of the world. I knew instinctively things were going to be bumpy when I discovered the art department offered not one course in sculpture. Not. One. A place like Brookgreen Gardens never came up in conversation, however much I loved that place so dearly. It was my launching pad.

            The greatest professor there for me was Bob Ochs who taught American history and was a Lincoln scholar. God, how I loved hearing him dress down those students falsely proud of the Old South. He would happily tell them that their family were not plantation or slave owners, but rather were white trash who desperately needed to distinguish themselves one bare notch above Black Americans. Bob later became a friend, bought some work, had a house in Majorca, was awfully close to Jasper Johns, and was uniquely special—it was a privilege to have known him.

            I was supposed to be a pre-med student. Mom wanted me to be Chief Surgeon to the Free World. But I struggled with math, chemistry, and biology classes. I wanted art like no other desire; it was obsessional. USC's art faculty was comprised of interesting individuals. My favorite art professor was Augusta "Bucky" Wikowski, the adorable, eccentric art historian. She was widowed by the time I met her. Bucky was a great traveler and storyteller. She truly brought slides alive with her insights. Her pronunciation of profile as "pro-feel" delighted me as did her recounting to me over drinks on her Devine Street hillside home of the personae she assumed during her full summer travels to Europe and Mexico. Once she passed herself off as white Russian aristocracy, another time as a famous madam. Long after I left Columbia, the Columbia Museum of Art had arranged a show of her paintings, which were done either while traveling or from sketches made during those trips.

            However, Bucky was extremely modest about her canvases, very self-effacing. When it was time to deliver her exhibition, she stacked all her framed works against the back bumper of her station wagon and then proceeded to back over them all, busting frames and stretchers, doing grave damage to the best of her years of labors of love and remembrance.

            Often, I ranked myself in USC's art department as the fair-haired freshman (or fair-haired sophomore by the time I noticed my post pre-med mistake) while Jasper Johns was the fair-haired senior. The Jasper Johns event of memory was the farewell Mr. Graduate party for Jap after which he roared off in his snappy red sports car to fulfill his dream of going to New York to study at the Art Students League of New York with Yasuo Kuniyoshi. At the time, Jap's works were small watercolors leaning toward Paul Klee and rose period Picasso, sensitive and poetic. Jap's parting words to me were that when I made my way back to New York to look him up and he would help me find a place to live and work, which I did but neither a studio and apartment nor the job worked out for me. I do remember one day when Jap and I were at MOMA and he just said, “the New York Art World is run by four hundred male homosexuals.”

            In 1955, soon after the Supreme Court decision in favor of desegregation, I was called into the president of the University of South Carolina’s office. I had passed out leaflets around campus in support of civil rights, and taped fliers to walls. This work was modest in relation to what was to come in the 1960s, but it was enough to get you into plenty of trouble in South Carolina in the ‘50s. Certain of my views seem to have been influenced by northern proponents of freedom for all (radicals, that is), and the president, had this to say to me: "If you owe them so much (these radicals), why don't you move north to live with them?"

            I responded that I was at USC to get a degree and it was my intention to finish it. My records were on his desk, and he looked them over and proceeded to tell me that with the summer schools I had attended, I had enough credits to graduate. (I had put in five semesters of undergraduate work.) "If you agree to leave USC after this semester, we will send you a bachelor’s degree in June." In essence, he gave me a bachelor’s degree as a way to kick me out of school, similar in spirit to how Southerners will say, “Well, bless your heart!” when they mean “Screw you!” So, I finished that semester and moved to New York, took a small apartment in Greenwich Village on Charles Street and started making art.”

            You must have hundreds of stories.”

            “I do. But I wouldn’t know how to end it.”

            “That, Sig, is a good thing. Now, write the rest of it.”

 

Note: Sigmund Abeles has completed a first draft of his memoir, and, with a good deal of luck, should be out and readable in a year or two.

Will South is an independent artist, curator and writer based in Columbia.