Join us for a special edition of Poetry in the Boro, co-sponsored by our friends at Photography Connect Murfreesboro, on Sunday evening, August 28, when poet Marie Harris and photographer Charter Weeks will share their work and discuss the role of the artist in advocating for both the self and others in response to socio-political issues, tough times, and more.
Doors open for mingling at 5:30 PM, with the program beginning promptly at 6:00 at Gallagher Guitar’s Gallagher Unplugged venue, 118. N. Walnut St. As usual, we’ll have about an hour of open mic, for those who want to participate, after the features. Harris and Weeks will be available for book sales and signings after their portion of the program.
More about the features
Marie Harris, a former Poet Laureate of New Hampshire, is the author of numerous books for adults and children, most recently the poetry collection Desire Lines from Hobblebush Books. Among other distinctions, she is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and is a member of one of the country’s first women-centered poetry cooperatives, Alice James Books. For three decades Marie has also performed and taught poetry to all ages, published essays and business writing, edited anthologies, and voiced documentaries, industrial films, public service spots and other radio assignments.
Reflecting her lived experiences, Harris’ poetic work often veers toward social commentary. In one section of Desire Lines she focuses on healthcare and advocacy in the aftermath of a horrific car accident; in her prose poem memoir Your Sun, Manny she unfolds the story of adopting a 14-year-old Puerto Rican boy with learning disabilities.
Charter Weeks has been a documentary photographer for over 50 years, with projects in Asia, Europe, Africa and the US. His most recent project is the book Prosperity Gospel: Portraits of the Great Recession, which includes text by poet Keith Flynn. From Red Hawk Publications, the book documents the effect of the Great Recession of 2008 on the lives of many working Americans. Flynn and Weeks interviewed and photographed nearly 100 people at homeless camps, dirt racetracks, gold stores, homes, churches and other environments within a 200-mile radius of Asheville, North Carolina.
Prosperity Gospel has been compared to Walker Evans and James Agee’s Let Us Now Praise Famous Men which chronicled the Great Depression of the 1930s. Its images and stories remain highly relatable as the recession continues, or has deepened, for millions of ordinary American workers struggling through the pandemic.
Weeks began his career as a commercial photographer working for major NYC agencies and the BBC. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the US and appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Corvette Fever, and many other publications.
Photo by Charter Weeks from PROSPERITY GOSPEL. Francena Griffith and Ceretha “Bubbles’ Griffin founded Just Folks, an Asheville, NC, community service organization whose outreach includes car pools, child care, a food bank, murals that teach local history, and more. “Ageism is an issue,” Francena says. “People discriminate worse against older people than they do against minorities, it seems to me.” 
Photo by Charter Weeks from PROSPERITY GOSPEL. Roger Hunter, a Vietnam vet “trying to cobble money together” for another season of dirt track racing. “This country is upside down. All the politicians spend their time raising money to get re-elected and their ain’t much difference between the parties, if you ask me.”
About the open mic
Open mic readers can share poetry or spoken word: 2 pieces or 4 minutes, whichever comes first. Reading a favorite poem by another writer is fine, too.
We ask that readers be prepared to keep their pieces “PG-13” depending on our venue and audience, which sometimes includes younger people.
Challenge words
If you like, write a piece to share that includes one, some, or all of the following words chosen by our audience last time:
sneeze | star | hotline | disingenuous | juxtapose | mystery | gauge | peacock | vernacular | transform | quake
With our focus on arts and advocacy this month, we also encourage you to write in some way about a social issue that concerns you.
About the venue
Gallagher Guitar’s cool venue, @GallagherUnplugged, is located at 118 N. Walnut Street in downtown Murfreesboro. Street parking is available and no fee or time limits apply on the weekend. Gallagher has a great line up of live music scheduled – check them out at https://gallagherguitar.com/live-music/
Health precautions
While the CDC has recently relaxed social distancing requirements, we want to help those most vulnerable to feel safe among us. Masks are always welcome.
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