Archive for July, 2016
Open Mic @ MFA Gallery
Don’t Miss Out!
Saturday, August 15 at 8 pm
Open Mic at Mighty Fine Arts
Hosted by Opaline Salas
Refreshments provided by WordSpace
Join us for a fun evening of OC poets doing what they do best: read and dance their work in the avant grade gallery setting of Mighty Fine Arts.
Mighty Fine Arts is located at 409A No. Tyler St. in historic Oak Cliff.
More info on Mighty Fine Arts: www.mfagallery.com
Love, Betrayal, and the Fall of a Dynasty: The Poetry of the An Lushan Rebellion
What: Love, Betrayal, and the Fall of a Dynasty: The Poetry of the An Lushan Rebellion
Who: Dr. J. Michael Farmer, University of Texas at Dallas
When: Thursday, October 6, 7 pm
Where: Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, 2719 Routh St, Dallas, TX 75201
An elderly emperor bereaved of his beloved empress spies his beautiful daughter-in-law at the imperial bath house. His heart stirs, and he quickly arranges to have her brought into his harem. A foreign-born general becomes the court favorite, frolicking with the Precious Consort and other ladies of the Inner Palace. Snubbed for a promotion, the general turns his troops against his ruler and patron, plundering the capital, sending the emperor and his entourage in flight. The consort is blamed for the rebellion and killed by the imperial guards. The tragic love story of Emperor Xuanzong, his Precious Consort Yang, and the general An Lushan is also the turning point in the history of the Tang Dynasty and traditional China. Poets of the time and period immediately following wrote of these persons and events, creating some of the most powerful poetry of China’s “golden age of literature.”
This lecture will set the historical background of the Tang Dynasty, the rebellion that brought it down, and the poetry that commemorated the event. Close readings of masterpieces of Tang poetry will be given, and translations of the poems will be provided in advance.
Brief Bio:
Dr. J. Michael Farmer is Associate Professor of Chinese Studies, specializing in in the literature, history, thought, and culture of early and medieval China. He holds Masters Degrees in both Chinese history and Chinese literature, and a Ph.D. in Chinese literature, all from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Farmer has published articles on various aspects of medieval China, including didactic illustrations in an early Chinese academy, the local historiography of medieval Sichuan, and the use of poetry in historical narrative. His book, “The Talent of Shu”, published by the State University of New York Press (2007) is a socio-intellectual history of early Sichuan told through a critical biography of a noted classicist and historian, Qiao Zhou. Dr. Farmer teaches courses on Chinese literature, history, thought, culture, and art history. He translates literary, historical, and philosophical texts from China’s early medieval period, and is engaged in a long-term project to translate the fourth century local history Huayang guo zhi [Records of the States South of Mount Hua]. Dr. Farmer has served as the Secretary-Treasurer for the T’ang Studies Society and on the Board of Directors of the Western Branch of the American Oriental Society, and is currently on the Board of Directors of the T’ang Studies Society and the editor of Early Medieval China.
Heimberg Salon
What: WordSpace Salon
When: May 18, 7 pm
Where: Private Residence, RSVP for Location
WordSpace@WordSpace.Us, 214-838-3554
Dr. Martha Heimberg presents one of her inimitable evenings of scholarly lens at a favorite writer. Adding wit and biographical / historical context in a very comfortable setting with refreshments, these Salons have been a staple of WordSpace for over 20 years.
Dr. Heimberg is a Professor of Literature at Cedar Hill College, published poet, award winning journalist and theater critic for Theater Jones.
Heimberg on Merwin
What: WordSpace Salon
Where: Private Residence, RSVP for Location
WordSpace@WordSpace.Us, 214-838-3554
Dr. Martha Heimberg presents one of her inimitable evenings of scholarly lens at a favorite writer. Adding wit and biographical/historical context in a very comfortable setting, these Salons have been a staple of WordSpace for over 20 years.
Dr. Heimberg is a Professor of Literature at Cedar Hill College, poet, and theater critic for Theater Jones.
William Stanley Merwin (born September 30, 1927) is an American poet, credited with over fifty books of poetry, translation and prose. During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin’s unique craft was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, Merwin’s writing influence derived from his interest in Buddhist philosophy and deep ecology. Residing in Hawaii, he writes prolifically and is dedicated to the restoration of the islands’ rainforests.
Merwin has received many honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (in both 1971 and 2009), the National Book Award for Poetry (2005) and the Tanning Prize, one of the highest honors bestowed by the Academy of American Poets, as well as the Golden Wreath of the Struga Poetry Evenings. In 2010, the Library of Congress named Merwin the seventeenth United States Poet Laureate to replace the outgoing Kay Ryan. Following his receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2009, Merwin is recognized as one of the principal contributors to poetry in the early 21st century.
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS: A SCREENING AND 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
JOIN WORDSPACE “BEHIND THE SCREEN” AT THE TEXAS THEATER FOR DRINKS, SNACKS, MINGLING AND A MOVIE ON AUGUST 25.
We are pulling together a great season for the coming year, and we are ready to announce a series of Headliner events at both The Kessler Theater and the Dallas City Performance Hall, a new season of Oral Fixation shows, a line up of featured performers at The Dallas Poetry Slam, as well as dozens of readings and salons.
Festivities begin at 7:00PM.
Tickets will be available for Headliners Advance Purchase
In honor of the screening of Valley of the Dolls at 8:30 in on the big screen, the cash bar will offer the exclusive “Neely O’Hara”, a craft cocktail designed by Dallas artist Brian Scott.
The party and movie are free to WordSpace members and a guest. (We will have a list of current members at the door.)
Normal Texas Theater admission applies to non-members – and that makes this the perfect time to buy or renew your WordSpace membership. In addition to discounts to ticketed events throughout the year, you get two $10 movie tickets on the spot.
For membership information visit
http://
And we will see you at The Texas Theater, August 25, 7:00 PM.
Dr. Michael Farmer presents The Golden Age of Chinese Poetry
In partnership with the Dallas Institute of Arts and Culture.
More Details Coming on this Salon covering T’ang Dynasty poets by Dr. Farmer, scholar of Chinese History and Literature and Professor at University of Texas at Dallas.
NICOLE DENNIS-BENN @ THE SOUTH DALLAS CULTURAL CENTER
Who: Nicole Dennis-Benn
What: African Diaspora: New Dialogues with Nicole Dennis-Benn
Where: The South Dallas Cultural Center, 3400 S Fitzhugh Ave, Dallas, TX 75210
When: February 2, 2017, 7:30 pm
Hosted and Facilitated by Author Sanderia Faye, Winner, 2016 Wright / Hurston Award for Debut Fiction
2017 will also feature:
March 2: Kiese Laymon, April 6: Tyehimba Jess
WordSpace and the South Dallas Cultural Center are pleased to kick off the 2017 season of African Diaspora: New Dialogues with the Jamaican author Nicole Dennis-Benn. Ms. Dennis-Benn published her debut novel, Here Comes the Sun, in July 2016. Marlon James, Ms. Dennis-Benn’s fellow countryman and Man Book Prize winning novelist, has said of Here Comes the Sun “… [it] stuns at every turn, especially when you think you have it figured out. It’s about women pushed to the edge, Jamaica in all its beauty and fury, and, more than anything else, a story that was just waiting to be told.”
Ms. Dennis-Benn will read from her novel and discuss her own journey from Jamaica to New York City.
Please join us for what promises to be an exceptional evening.
Sanderia Faye is an award winning writer, born and raised in Gould, Arkansas. She is the author of Mourner’s Bench (University of Arkansas Press, September 2015).
About Nicole Dennis-Benn
Nicole Dennis-Benn is the author of the highly acclaimed debut novel,HERE COMES THE SUN (Norton/Liveright, July 2016), which has received a starred Kirkus Review and is deemed one of the best books to read this summer and beyond by New York Times, NPR, BBC, BuzzFeed, Book Riot, Bookish, Miami Herald, Elle, O Magazine, Marie Claire, Entertainment Weekly, Flavorwire, After Ellen, BookPage, Cosmopolitan, Brooklyn Magazine, among others. New York Times Book reviewer, Jennifer Senior describes HERE COMES THE SUN as a “lithe, artfully-plotted debut”; Pulitzer Prize finalist, Laila Lalami, as well as Booklist have deemed it a “fantastic debut”; and Man Booker Prize winner, Marlon James says “[Here Comes the Sun] is a story waiting to be told”. Dennis-Benn has also been recently nominated for the 2016 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Her work has appeared in ELLE Magazine, Electric Literature, Lenny Letter, Catapult, Red Rock Review, Kweli Literary Journal, Mosaic, Ebony, and the Feminist Wire. Nicole Dennis-Benn has an MFA in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and has been awarded fellowships from MacDowell Colony, Hedgebrook, Lambda, Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, Hurston/Wright, and Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Dennis-Benn was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. She lives with her wife in Brooklyn, New York.
About African Diaspora: New Dialogues:
Three years ago, WordSpace met with Vicki Meek, the Manager of the South Dallas Cultural Center. SDCC had recently helped us promote Nikki Giovanni’s appearance at The Kessler and we realized a deeper partnership and think tank might just be the thing to do. Dee Mitchell and Vicki came up with the title: African Diaspora: New Dialogues. From there, we partnered in thought with folks like Sanderia Faye and are honored to have brought some of the best of new writing by the brightest stars of African Diaspora artists. Highlights have included Chris Abani, Mitchell Jackson, and Vievee Francis. These are important writers we want you to know about!
As Vicki Meek retired from 20 years of service from her position as Manager of South Dallas Cultural Center, we are now delighted to enjoy the same level of excitement in working with new SDCC manager, Harold Steward, to collaborate and bring this profound series.
Since its inception, thanks to local writer/educators, these writers have appeared Dallas schools offering meaningful visits and readings.
Sponsored by WordSpace and South Dallas Cultural Center
Special Thanks, Harold Steward and Vicki Meek
