Tag: knoxville

SAFTA and the Knoxville Museum of Art Combine for Workshop Combining Poetry & Photography

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Poetry and photography intertwine as Sundress Academy for the Arts and the Knoxville Museum of Art present Not About But Through: Poems in Response to Photos, a poetry writing workshop open to writers of all experience. The workshop will focus on the museum’s exhibition “This World is Not My Home: Danny Lyon Photographs.” Poet Deborah Bernhardt will lead the workshop, which will take place 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24 at the Knoxville Museum of Art.

Bernhardt will guide participants through the exhibition of photographs spanning Danny Lyon’s career, including his 1967 Knoxville photos. Discussion of traditional and alternative ways of seeing will be followed by a writing session at the museum. Participants will be encouraged to write not only about what they see but also elements and circumstances of their own invention. The workshop will conclude with an opportunity for participants to share their work and receive feedback.

The cost of the workshop is $45 per person and includes afternoon refreshments; however, a discounted rate of $35 per person is available for individuals who paid by July 31. A discounted rate of $75 is also available for two participants who register together. To purchase tickets, visit the Workshops section of the Sundress online store, here.

The Knoxville Museum of Art celebrates the art and artists of East Tennessee, presents new art and new ideas, serves and educates diverse audiences, and enhances Knoxville’s quality of life. For more information on the Knoxville Museum of Art, visit their website here, and for more on Danny Lyon’s exhibition and photographs, click here.

 

Deborah Bernhardt Spring 2007 by Christine Krikliwy

Deborah Bernhardt is the author of Echolalia, which was published by Four Way Books in 2006 and was the winner of the Intro Prize for Poetry. Her second collection, Driftology, won the 2013 New Michigan Press/DIAGRAM Chapbook Prize. She received a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, an MFA from the University of Arizona, and fellowships and grants from the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing (Jay C. and Ruth Halls Fellowship), the Wisconsin Arts Board (Literary Arts Grant), Penn State Altoona, Writers@Work, Fishtrap, Summer Literary Seminars in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the Hessen Literary Society, Germany.

First-ever Holler Salon planned for August 17 at Firefly Farms!

Introducing a creative extension to our award-winning reading series!

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The Sundress Academy for the Arts is excited to present poet Laura Madeline Wiseman and local artist Chris Johnson in “Art, Myth, and Martians,” the first installment of Holler Salon, an extension of the award winning SAFTA reading series. The event will be held at Firefly Farms in Knoxville at 4 p.m. on Sunday, August 17th.  Holler Salon is an occasional salon series featuring local and national writers and artists. Hosted at Firefly Farms in Knoxville, each salon will provide an intimate setting conducive to discussing and developing the ideas and inspirations of creative individuals from a variety of disciplines.

Laura Madeline Wiseman is the author of more than a dozen books and chapbooks and the editor of Women Write Resistance: Poets Resist Gender Violence (Hyacinth Girl Press, 2013). She holds a doctorate from the University of Nebraska and has received an Academy of American Poets award and the Wurlitzer Foundation Fellowship. Her work is imaginative and provocative and has appeared in Prairie Schooner, Mid-American Review, Margie, and Feminist Studies.

For Holler Salon, Wiseman will discuss her playful sci-fi book, American Galactic, as well as selections from Some Fatal Effects of Curiosity and Disobedience, her unique, romantic take on the classic Bluebeard myth.

Chris Johnson is a local, self-taught visual artist with Gallery 133. His work is edgy and engaging and hangs in both public galleries and private collections. For Holler Salon, Johnson will feature his paintings “A Study on Berserk”—an homage to his favorite graffiti artist, Berserk—and “The Madness Vase”—based on the Andrea Gibson chapbook The Nutritionist.

 

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RSVP for this event on the Facebook page!

OUTSpoken Director, Adam Crandall, Reflects on This Year’s Performance

Two weeks after a breathtaking premiere, Adam Crandall, SAFTA’s Performing Arts Assistant, reflects on his experience organizing and producing OutSpoken, his first original production for SAFTA in which members and allies of Knoxville’s LGBTQ community combined to share their unique stories of love, loss, and life. 

 

It’s been about two weeks since SAFTA’s performance of OUTSpoken, and it has taken this long for me to truly grasp what we accomplished through this program. As director, designer, actor, and organizer of this production, I was so absorbed with the technicalities of all the pieces coming together that I never really had the chance to reflect on the completed puzzle.

Before I directed OUTSpoken, I had previously learned a little about the directing process through an All Campus Theatre’s production of Almost, Maine. However, I quickly realized that directing an already established play is very different than building a production from the ground up. With OutSpoken we were constantly adding and changing different scenes as the writers and actors worked on translating written word into performance pieces. It became a completely organic process—one in which I had to sometimes just step back and let develop on its own.

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As a member of the Knoxville queer community, June was a very special (and busy) month for me. I performed with the Knoxville Gay Men’s Chorus for the first time at a crowded Bijou Theatre in front of an amazing and positive audience. I then had the opportunity to march in my first Knoxville gay pride parade with my SAFTA family and enjoyed the largest Pridefest the city has ever seen.

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After all this celebration, it was then time to share OUTSpoken with the rest of the community. Leading up to the performance on June 28th, I had no idea what to expect. Would all the pieces come together? Would our planned blocking work out in the actual venue? Would anyone even show up to watch us crash and burn?

Luckily, plenty of people showed up and they didn’t have to watch us crash and burn. The amazing performers and crew created a very intimate experience for the audience that I have never witnessed before. That night, the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church became a safe place where Knoxville’s LGBTQ community could come together to share their experiences of love, loss, and life. Many times during the evening as I sat on stage as a performer, I forgot I was acting and became lost in the stories being shared—some of which I had never heard until that night.

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Throughout my internship with SAFTA—which started way back in January—OUTSpoken has taken many different shapes. Although the end product looked very different than many of our initial ideas, the end goal was always the same: to share the voices of Southern LGBTQ people with the rest of the community. We accomplished our goal.

 

 

Adam Crandall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee’s Theatre program, where he was involved with both Clarence Brown Theatre productions as well as student productions with All Campus Theatre, including his directorial debut Almost, Maine. He serves as the Director of Theatrical Arts at SAFTA.

 

SAFTA Reading Series: TA Noonan and Marcel Brouwers

KNOXVILLE, TN – Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA), a branch of Sundress Publications, is pleased to announce an upcoming reading from writers TA Noonan and Marcel Brouwers. Part of the SAFTA Reading Series, both writers will be reading from their collections, which will be for sale after the event during a meet and greet with the authors.

 The event is free and will be held at The Birdhouse, at 800 N 4th Ave in Knoxville on Sunday, June 22, at 3:00PM.

T.A. Noonan is the author of several books and chapbooks, most recently four sparks fall: a novella (Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, 2013) and, with Erin Elizabeth Smith, Skate or Die (Dusie Kollektiv, 2014). Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Reunion: The Dallas Review, West Wind Review, Hobart, Ninth Letter, and Phoebe, among others. A weightlifter, crafter, priestess, and all-around woman of action, she serves as the Associate Editor of Sundress Publications, Founding Editor of Flaming Giblet Press, and Literary Arts Director for the Sundress Academy of the Arts.

Marcel Brouwers is the author of the chapbook, The Rose Industrial Complex (Finishing Line Press, 2009). He lives in Knoxville, TN, with his wife, LA Hoffer, and works at the University of Tennessee. A lecturer in the English Department, he is currently the Acting Director of the Writing Center and teaches creative writing, literature, and composition classes. His first full-length poetry collection, The Old Cities, was released by Sundress Publications in 2012.

 

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The Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) is an artists’ colony on a 29-acre farm in Knoxville, Tennessee, that hosts workshops, retreats, and residencies for writers, actors, filmmakers, and visual artists. All events are guided by professional instructors from a variety of creative disciplines who are dedicated to cultivating the arts in Eastern Tennessee.

 

Web: http://www.sundresspublications.com       Twitter: SundressPub

Email: safta@sundresspublications.com               Facebook: SundressPublications

Sundress Academy for the Arts Presents Steampunk Storytime

 

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Sundress Academy for the Arts Presents Steampunk Storytime

 

Knoxville, TN—The Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA), an artists’ colony on a 29-acre farm in Knoxville, Tennessee, is pleased to be a part of the Second-Annual Steampunk Carnivale, taking place on June 7, 2014. Due to popular demand, the event will be having longer hours and more kid-friendly events for families to enjoy.

Actors and performers from the Knoxville area will be reading Steampunk spins on classic tales, every hour on the hour from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Steampunk Storytime will conclude with a final tale at 10:00 PM, just before the evening’s adult festivities.

1:00 PM – “The Four Skillful Brothers” by Larkin Grimm – Four brothers travel the world and learn very different trades, each of which proves valuable in rescuing a princess from a mechanical dragon—but whose skill is most valuable?

2:00 PM – “The Machinist” by Darren Jackson – In a desperate attempt to secure his daughter’s future, a father’s wild lie puts his daughter in an impossible situation. She is saved by a technological marvel, but the price of salvation is higher than she expected.

3:00 PM – “Candy Heaven” by Larkin Grimm – Two children discover a candy store in the heart of the city. From the outside, it looks abandoned; inside, they find a world that is not quite as sweet as it seems.

4:00 PM – “The Clockwork Girl” by T.A. Noonan – Fashioned by a master craftsman, the clockwork girl dreams of becoming real. The journey, though, will take her places she never dreamed and teach her things she never expected.

5:00 PM – “Tiger’s Bride” by Angela Carter – After being lost by her father in a game of cards, a woman becomes the captive of a mysterious beast-man known as “Milord.” What neither of them knows is that each is the other’s perfect mate.

10:00 PM – “Little Red Fascinator and The Wolf on Her Tail” by Larkin Grimm – A milliner’s granddaughter receives advice and a gift that seem to contradict one another, and it’s up to her to decide which is more her style.

SAFTA Reading Series Presents Joseph Bathanti, Kevin Brown, & Erin Elizabeth Smith

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The SAFTA Reading Series is excited to be hosting the Southern launch of the anthology, St. Peter’s B-List: Contemporary Poems Inspired by the Saints from Ave Maria Press!  The reading be hosted by The Birdhouse, on the corner of Fourth and Gill, at 3PM on June 8th, 2014.  Anthology contributors Joseph Bathanti, Kevin Brown, & Erin Elizabeth Smith will be reading from their work and have books available for sale after as well as copies of the anthology itself.

Joseph Bathanti is the Poet Laureate of North Carolina. He is the author of eight books of poetry: Communion Partners, Anson County, The Feast of All Saints, This Metal (nominated for the National Book Award), Land of Amnesia, Restoring Sacred Art (winner of the 2010 Roanoke Chowan Prize), Sonnets of the Cross, and a new collection, Concertina, from Mercer University Press. His novel, East Liberty, won the 2001 Carolina Novel Award. His latest novel, Coventry, won the 2006 Novello Literary Award. His book of stories, The High Heart, won the 2006 Spokane Prize. His new novel, The Life of the World to Come, is forthcoming in 2014 from University of South Carolina Press. His collection of personal essays, Half of What I Say Is Meaningless, winner of the 2012 Will D. Campbell Award for Creative Nonfiction, is forthcoming from Mercer University Press. Bathanti is Professor of Creative Writing at Appalachian State University.

Kevin Brown is a Professor at Lee University.  He has published two books of poetry–A Lexicon of Lost Words (winner of the Violet Reed Haas Prize for Poetry, Snake Nation Press) and Exit Lines (Plain View Press, 2009)–and two chapbooks: Abecedarium (Finishing Line Press, 2011) and Holy Days: Poems (winner of Split Oak Press Chapbook Contest, 2011).  He also has a memoir Another Way: Finding Faith, Then Finding It Again (Wipf and Stock, 2012), and a book of scholarship, They Love to Tell the Stories:  Five Contemporary Novelists Take on the Gospels (Kennesaw State University Press, 2012). He received his MFA from Murray State University.

Erin Elizabeth Smith is the Creative Director at the Sundress Academy for the Arts and the author of two full-length collections, The Fear of Being Found (Three Candles Press 2008) and The Naming of Strays (Gold Wake Press 2011).  Her poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Mid-American, 32 Poems, Zone 3, Gargoyle, Tusculum Review, and Crab Orchard Review.  She teaches a bit of everything in the English Department at the University of Tennessee and serves as the managing editor of Sundress Publications and Stirring.

Sundress Publications Announces OUTSpoken Contest Winners

 

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Knoxville, TN—Between January and May, the Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) and Sundress Publications, its parent organization, invited submissions of poetry, prose, theater, film, and other forms of socially conscious performance for its OUTSpoken program. Making final decisions was difficult, as we were stunned by the power, beauty, and variety of the entries received.

Our overall winner is Dee Stribling for her dramatic monologue, “Why Poetry.” Stribling will receive a $100 honorarium to travel to Knoxville, Tennessee, a free workshop at SAFTA, and tickets to and a DVD of the final performance. Her work will also appear in the June 2014 issue of Stirring, the flagship journal of Sundress Publications.

We have also selected two finalists as winners in their individual genres: Gemma Cooper-Novack’s “Straight Girls” in Poetry, and Kelly Barth’s “Complication” in Prose category. Both Cooper-Novack and Barth will also receive publication in Stirring, along with a free workshop at SAFTA and tickets and a DVD of the final performance.

OUTSpoken’s goal is to create a platform for the LGBTQ community of Knoxville, Tennessee, and its surrounding areas to record and perform the experiences of sex- and gender-diverse individuals in the South. Both Stribling’s and Novack’s work will be performed as part of this program.

The event will take place on Saturday, June 28th, at 7:30pm at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Tickets can be purchased in advance from the SAFTA website for $10 or at the door for $15. A percentage of the proceeds will go to support the East Tennessee Chapter of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network).

Meet Our New Editorial Intern, Chelsea Faulkner!

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Hello, all! My name is Chelsea Faulkner and I am honored and ecstatic to be working as an editorial intern with Sundress this summer under the wings of some of the greatest creative minds Knoxville has to offer. At the end of this summer, August 16th to be exact, I will turn twenty-five years old—that’s a quarter of a century in case you were wondering. While many twenty-five year olds are starting their careers or even families, I will be graduating with an undergraduate degree in English Literature from The University of Tennessee and slowly dipping my toes into the terrifying pool of adulthood.

I am a non-traditional student. I have attended three different colleges and switched majors multiple times, yet I would not change one moment of my journey. Looking back now, it is fascinating to see how every failure and every altered course played a role in shaping the person and student I am now. In December, when I finally walk across the stage to receive my diploma, I imagine I will feel like I’m standing at the edge of a spectacular precipice, filled with the joy and sense of accomplishment that accompanies a long, difficult hike.

I love trying new things and meeting people and, therefore, I possess a long list of hobbies. I like to sing and play my guitar and can often be found stretching my vocal chords at Toot’s Karaoke on the weekends after a few drinks. My parents always hoped I would become famous, but I am unfortunately plagued by terrible stage fright. I also marched in The University of Tennessee Pride of the Southland Band Colorguard for four wonderful years and made some incredible memories—and went to a lot of football games. Additionally, I love to craft, decorate, and garden and I am constantly working on one new project or another. Needless to say, I stay busy!

But, above all, I love to read. Any book lover can relate when I say that every time I buy a new book, it feels like Christmas morning. A love of literature is one that never fades and I hope to find a career that allows me to hone and share my literary enthusiasm. Therefore, I am anxious to start my new adventure at Sundress and surround myself with individuals who also maintain a passion for the artistry of the English language.

As F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.”

 

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Chelsea Faulkner is an undergraduate senior at The University of Tennessee majoring in English Literature. One of her greatest college experiences has been marching with The Pride of the Southland Band Colorguard from 2009-2012, in which she served as both squad leader and captain. Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, she possesses passions for reading, crafting, and bluegrass music. Chelsea hopes to one day find a job that will incorporate all three of those things. Until then, she spends her time collecting books, singing, arranging flowers, and decorating her tiny apartment. 

 

SAFTA to Host First Undergraduate Poetry Writing Weekend at Firefly Farms

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Sundress Academy for the Arts, a branch of Sundress Publications, is pleased to announce its inaugural Undergraduate Writers Retreat, which will be held from Friday, June 13th to Sunday, June 15th, 2014. The three-day, two-night camping retreat will be held on SAFTA’s own Firefly Farms in Knoxville, Tennessee and focus on poetry writing, particularly with an eye towards creating, editing, and finalizing a graduate school application portfolio.

A weekend pass includes instruction, writing supplies, food, drink, transportation to and from the airport, and all on-site amenities for $200, with tents, sleeping bags, and other camping equipment available to rent. Payment plans are available!

The event will be open to all undergraduate and recently graduated college students and provides an opportunity to work with many talented and published authors from around the country, including Erin Elizabeth Smith, T.A. Noonan, and Rhonda Lott.

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Erin Elizabeth Smith is the Creative Director at the Sundress Academy for the Arts and the author of two full-length collections, The Fear of Being Found (Three Candles Press, 2008) and The Naming of Strays (Gold Wake Press, 2011). Her poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Mid-American, 32 Poems, Zone 3, Gargoyle, Tusculum Review, and Crab Orchard Review. She earned her PhD in Creative Writing at the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi and teaches a bit of everything in the English Department at the University of Tennessee. She also serves as the managing editor of Sundress Publications and Stirring.

T.A. Noonan is the author of several books and chapbooks, most recently four sparks fall: a novella (Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, 2013) and, with Erin Elizabeth Smith, Skate or Die (Dusie Kollektiv, 2014). Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Reunion: The Dallas Review, West Wind Review, Hobart, Ninth Letter, and Phoebe, among others. A weightlifter, crafter, priestess, and all-around woman of action, she serves as the Associate Editor of Sundress Publications, Founding Editor of Flaming Giblet Press, and Literary Arts Director for the Sundress Academy of the Arts.

Rhonda Lott, an alumna of the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi, recently earned her doctorate in creative writing with an emphasis in poetry from Texas Tech University. She has worked with Sundress Publications since 2008 as both an editor and artist-in-residence with contributions of poetry broadsides and book covers. Her writing has appeared internationally and locally in a variety of venues, including Hayden’s Ferry Review, cream city review, and The Los Angeles Review, as well as the Knoxville Film Festival 7-Day Shootout.

Space at this workshop is limited to 10 poets, so reserve your space today!

SAFTA Looking for Performers and Accepting Submissions of Sonnets & Shakespeare-influenced Writing for Event

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Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) runs a series of weekend workshops centered on writing, theater, filmmaking, and visual art. We are starting off April with ShakesQUEER: Shaking Up the Bard for our First Friday event on April 4th from 6-9PM at The Jack Cellar in downtown Knoxville. We will be showcasing Rob Simpson’s post-apocalyptic film adaptation of Macbeth. 

Following the film, there will be a live gender-bending performance of famous Shakespearean monologues, sonnets, and more! If you would like to participate as a performer for the event contact us at sundresspublications@gmail.com.

You may also submit your own writing for the event. Submissions of original sonnets and/or Shakespeare-inspired poetry, prose or monologues for performance will be accepted by at sundresspublications@gmail.com until March 31st. Winning pieces will be performed at the event!