Coming up this weekend, Phillip Levine will be hosting the monthly Woodstock Poetry Society reading at the Colony Cafe in beautiful Woodstock with featured poets Bobbi Katz and George Nicholson. This is a great series in one of the finest poetry venues in the Hudson Valley.
Hers is the information on this weekend’s reading from Phillip:
Woodstock Poetry Society & Festival (www.woodstockpoetry.com) as part of the Woodstock Arts Consortium is sponsoring the following poetry event as part of the Woodstock “Second Saturdays” Art Events. For a full listing of “Second Saturday” events, see: www.artsinwoodstock.org.
Poets Bobbi Katz and George Nicholson will be the featured readers, along with an open mike, when the Woodstock Poetry Society & Festival meets at the Colony Cafe, 22 Rock City Road, on Saturday, May 12th at 2pm. Note: WPS&F meetings are held the 2nd Saturday of every month.
The readings will be hosted by Woodstock area poet Phillip Levine. All meetings are free, open to the public, and include an open mike.
Bobbi Katz‘s witty and charming poems are the gift of a quirky imagination, perfectly in sync with what delights both children and adults. She is the author of over a dozen collections of poetry, as well as picture books, biographies and essays. Ms. Katz had given many workshops in writing poetry and fiction to children, parents, and teachers, as well as to aspiring adult writers.
The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme, a playful survey of the greatest monsters of all time, was a finalist for the Cybils, a literary award, as well as the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award. Her collection, Once Around the Sun, was a the Independent Booksellers Pick of the Lists for the Best Ten Poetry Books of 2007 on the adult list. History buffs will enjoy Trailblazers: Poems of Exploration and We the People, which chronicle in poetry the contributions to American life of figures both famous and unknown.
George Nicholson returns to the poetry performance stage after a hiatus of nearly five years with a presentation he has entitled:“PHOTO-POETICS”: The Curious Symbiotic Relationship Between Photography and Poetry.
During his recent absence from the poetry scene, George has experienced a renaissance of creative inspiration derived from one of his first creative mediums – Photography, the medium of expression that preceded his activity as a poet. This has not, however, diminished or deterred his poetic voice, as many of his photographs arrive accompanied by a free-flow of complementary verse – poems he had no intention of writing before stepping behind the lens. Reflecting on this somewhat odd occurance, he was reminded that it was a series of photographs captured in 1969 that catalyzed his first poetic efforts.
A number of friends have recently questioned this “bi-dexterous” form of expression: “Are you a photographer who feels the need to explain your images in words, or are you a poet who needs to visualize your words?” To which George really has no clear cut answer to offer, considering it a somewhat moot point as he cannot in truth separate words from images (can any of us?). George will share the fruits of his current dilemma in a presentation that is sure to be a little offbeat, but certainly colorful, engaging and provocative.
An accomplished nature photographer, graphic designer and poet, he is currently at work on a number of books that showcase his refreshed, conscious relationship to Gaia, the spirit body of our planet. Astarte, Voices of Winter, Aphrodite’s Winter Mirror, Tannery Brook Mirrors, and Echoes & the Muse are all nearing the final phases of publication.
Words began flowing simultaneously beside photographs for George in the early 70s after a series of undergraduate encounters with mystic-poet-photographer Minor White, then in residence at MIT. Echoes of the Ancient World as they inform modern life, the sacred mystery of Symbols and Archetypes and the processes of Transformation are the key themes evident as undercurrents throughout his work, regardless of medium. George has self-published the chapbook First Light; he also hosts the blogs Lens Upon the Clouds that journals remarkable cloud formations and Parking Lot Reveries that documents photographic reminders that city dwelling is lush with affirmative wonders of the natural world.
At the age of six, George was unwittingly introduced to Dante’s Divine Comedyand the haunting illustrations of Gustav Dore by his uncle Chris and considers this biographic tidbit to be the inciting incident at the root core of his creative calling and process.
George currently resides in Kingston, New York and can be reached at georgejnicholson@me.com.
