Grace Cavalieri Blends Art Mediums at this Special Event
On November 10th, the Poet Laureate returns to St. John's College to perform in this unique blend of poetry and music.
As an active Poet Laureate and ambassador for the arts, Grace Cavalieri is no stranger to the mixed medium. Her own artistic career has certainly taken many unorthodox and creative turns into and out of genre and form. Her poetry often has the feel of high drama, and many times it is the case that from her poetry comes theater. Such is the case of her 2010 play Anna Nicole: Blond Glory, Anna Nicole being the model and actress famous in the '90s who led a troubled life and for whom Grace wrote 2006's poetry collection Anna Nicole: Poems.
On Sunday, November 10th, Grace takes to the stage yet again for a blending of medium and genre when she performs with poet and St. John's College Professor, J.H. Beall, and musicians Agnes Fuller Wynne and Ruth Winters. While Grace and J.H. Beall will be reading from their poetry Fuller Wynne and Winters will be breaking up the reading with a special musical performance. Fuller Wynne, a soprano, will be accompanied by the piano playing of Ruth Winters as they perform an obscure but special piece of music that is itself poetry in melody.
Ventriloquist Acts of God is a composition by famed American composer Adolphus Hailstork in which he ensconces five poems by Ellen Wise in melodies for voice and piano. The very performance of the piece is notable not only for how rare it is to see it performed but for its proximity to poetry powerhouses Grace Cavalieri and J.H. Beall.
In Grace and J.H. Beall the spoken word is celebrated, and in Fuller Wynne and Winter's performance of Ventriloquist Acts of God it is elaborated. Such an occasion is not to be missed AND the event is free and open to the public.
Other Voices, Other Lives: A Grace Cavalieri Collection is a selection of poems, plays, and interviews drawn from over forty years of work by one of America’s most beloved and influential women of letters. The author of 23 books of poetry and 26 produced plays, and the founder of the legendary radio interview program, The Poet and the Poem, Grace Cavalieri has won multiple national awards for her writing and her service to literature. She currently resides in Annapolis, Maryland.
Note: OVOL includes selections from Anna Nicole: Blond Glory and Anna Nicole: Poems.
This book represents a lifetime achievement in the literary arts. Grace Cavalieri has the Midas touch and every genre she touches turns to gold. And as the very last line of the book says, ‘love is the bed of gold we lie on.’ –Richard Harteis, President of The William Meredith Foundation
Cavalieri’s contributions to American letters cannot be understated, and this collection showcases the eye and the ear of a poet and playwright, as well as her role of provocateur and reviewer with the Library of Congress. –Stephen Scott Whittaker, Literary Review Editor for Broadkill Review
The poet Grace Cavalieri is a…truly generous friend of poetry and poets. In her writing and all she does her large-minded generosity shines. –Robert Pinsky, US Poet Laureate 1995