Hickory Community Theatre, Southern Exposure

The Hickory Community Theatre is one of about six or seven community theatres in the community counting those at the college and the university.  The talent is amazing and the presentations are delightful. 

Tonight, at the Hickory Community Theatre, we saw "A Southern Exposure".  This play is the story of a young college student, struggling to leave the nest, where she was raised by her grandmother and two great aunts.  

Callie Belle, a young Kentucky woman raised by her cranky, controlling grandmother and two eccentric, doting aunts, is about to tell them she’s moving to New York City — with her boyfriend!  Will her fairy tale hopes be dashed?  Will she realize her own self-worth?

Well, you will have to drop by and see the play, now playing until March 24, to find out the answer to these questions.  We saw it tonight and enjoyed it.

Hickory Museum of Art, Ekphrastic Poetry

Art of Poetry

Saturday, March 16

2 - 3:30 PM

FREE Admission

The Hickory Museum of Art (HMA) will conduct an ekphrastic (poetry about art) walking tour through its exhibits this Saturday. The public is invited to attend this free event. Enjoy poems written about works featured in the following exhibitions: A Tribute to Will Henry Stevens (1881-1949); IMAGE*INATION: Catawba Valley Camera Club Exhibition; The Birth of a Collection; The High-Speed Photograph of Harold “Doc” Edgerton; Discover Folk Art; and Studio Art Glass from the Museum’s Permanent Collection.

The poets featured during this tour include: Scott Owens, Ann Fox Chandonnet, Betty O’Hearn, Brenda Smith, John Womack, Anthony Rankine, Cynthia Rand, Doug McHargue, Mel Hager, Patricia Deaton, and Kelly Demaegd. 

The Movie "Amour".

The movie "Amour" was shown at the Carolina Theater in Hickory, Thursday night sponsored by the Footcandle Film Society and the Hickory International Council.

Not an easy story to take in.  A French couple, man and wife, both in their 80’s who live in Paris  and therefore probably lived through the German occupation and liberation of WWII .   Both are well-educated and they apparently have significant money for retirement and also the excellent French health-care system is available to them.  Still they strive to handle a health issue on their own resources –  which are non existent.  Their effort doesn’t work and they have problems they can’t handle.  They also have no real friends who can help, and one daughter who works elsewhere.  No professional medical help was present at any time, even after a major surgery had taken place.

I found the story hard to believe or accept and that detracted from the movie for me.  Symbolism was present but not really directive.   The acting obviously required extensive preparation and work by the female lead, Anne, (played by Emmanuelle Riva) and she played that marvelously.  The physical resources brought to bear by the actors in the story were constrained to bare minimum physical rehabilitation, no real mental activity was applied toward the illness and recovery, some emotional work was done with paintings that were very dark, and singing of childhood songs. The spiritual aspect was totally absent from the film and that seemed strange. 

Sandra Beasley in Hickory NC, Poetry Alive

Sandra Beasley spun out some of her poetry Tuesday night and wove it through an enchanted group of fellow poets who sat intrigued at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse in Hickory.  She showed us another look at ourselves, from a view we don’t believe if we ever even see it, while she kept sprinkling oogley-googley all over us.  Scary stuff for a guy like me.   “But it’s our first date”  she said, “Huh?” I replied, but then she kept on climbing out and all I got were references to Greek platypuses who play fugues on the piano about nailed troubadours – or trapdoors – I’m not sure which.  

Well, this probably began way back when I was still asleep, earlier in the afternoon.  When I woke up, Sandra was explaining "sestinas" to us and I thought she was joking.  She was really good.  She kept a straight face and I started chuckling.  Some of the others looked at me and held their fingers to their lips.

OK - enough of that.  Sandra Beasley is a resident of Washington, D.C., down here working for a while at LRU.  If you ever get a chance to see her and listen to her, then that will be your Lucky Day.  Meanwhile, she has been kind enough to put some of her poems in books, and you can view them by clicking one of the URLs below.   

http://www.sandrabeasley.com

http://sbeasley.blogspot.com

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/sandra-beasley

P.S. I've just started on my first sestina.  It will be about Sandra Beasley.