The Somerville News Blog

Met on the internet, artists now share space

By Pam Rosenblatt

Joy Street Studio artists Ramadi Asati and Madelyn Mann never knew that their casual interactions over the internet four years ago would develop into the personal and artistic union it has today.

“I saw Madelyn's art online and I liked her style,” said Asati, a Somerville resident. “I started a friendship online just through art and then we met at a café and then it all started like six months later after we'd been talking about each other's art.”

Somerville produces a mighty reggae star

by Kimberly Geronimo

It was a tiny, neglected room: a tarnished mirror stuck on one wall, forgotten duck-tape hanging off the  door frame, and one lonely, naked light bulb in the middle of the ceiling were all the decor it could muster.

The musicians and their singer had somehow managed to maneuver themselves and their equipment into the space, although to say it was cramped might be an understatement. The keyboard took up a third of the room, the drum set another third, and three big stereos were stuffed into a corner, which left the two guitarists and the singer squeezed into whatever space was left.

Nave exhibit celebrates Somerville and its Villen's

By Walter Smelt

“You need to feel good, to do good things.” These words, along with many others, were inscribed on an unorthodox art-object: a skateboard deck that had been painted gold and suspended from a ceiling. The transmogrified skateboard is part of “Be a Villen,” an exhibit of work by young Somerville artists that opened Friday night at the Nave Gallery in the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church.

Despite the suspicious-sounding nickname “villen” (an acknowledgement of their Somerville roots), the artists were certainly doing “good things” -- a portion of the proceeds from the show will go to a scholarship fund for Somerville High School students.

Gloria Mindock: A doyenne of the Somerville arts scene

By Doug Holder

On an early Friday morning a slightly soggy Gloria Mindock came out of a torrential rain to talk to the staff of The Somerville News about her longtime involvement in the Somerville arts scene.

Mindock has an impressive literary pedigree in our artistically endowed city. She moved from a small town in Illinois to Somerville in 1984. She told the News it took her 3 years to get used to the relatively fast pace of her new hometown.

Community on canvas

By Pam Rosenblatt

It was artist Kelsey Russell’s dream for people to walk into the gallery and see the blank canvas, pick up a paintbrush or a pen and work off each other’s artwork and creativity. And last week people from all walks of life entered Out of the Blue Art Gallery to draw, paint, and silk-screen their own images onto her large communal canvas.

The different people were there “working together to create one piece,” she said. “I am inspired by creativity and people. Mainly people because I think creativity comes from the influences of the world. The world influences the creativity within an individual.”

Brickbottom artists open their studios

Photos by Ethan Backer

 

Artists prepare for change in health insurance law

By Pam Rosenblatt

When Somerville’s Christopher Poteet, a self employed artist was hit by a car in October he did not have the same initial thought he did when he was struck by a vehicle a few years ago. In
compliance with Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006, Poteet now has health insurance coverage so
he didn’t need to worry about going to the hospital and not being insured.

“One of the first things that happened when I was laying in the road on Broadway [was a different reaction then I had in the past]. The last time I got hit by a car was several years ago, the first thing I was thinking about was ‘Oh no, what if I have to go to the emergency room? It could cost me thousands of dollars. "

Writer's fest brings out the literati

Photos by Ethan Backer

In a dimly lit VFW hall a clan of fiction writers and poets gathered
Sunday night to celebrate the power of prose. Featured readers at the fifth annual Somerville News Writers Festival included a former US poet laureate, an Academy Award nominee, a "Candy Freak" and Doug Holder. An Irish punk band played between readings and comedian Emily Singer hosted. Holder and Timothy Gager spent 6 months organizing the event and said they have already begun contemplating next year's fest. If you didn't make it to the VFW post and missed the night's sounds, here are its sights.

Pinsky to receive lifetime award in Somerville Nov. 11

By Doug Holder

Somerville’s Ibbetson Street Press will be awarding former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky the Ibbetson Street Press Lifetime Achievement Award at the Somerville News Writers Festival, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. at the Dilboy VFW Hall, 371 Summer St. in Davis Square. The award, like the festival, is in its fifth year. It is awarded to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the poetry and or the small or alternative press world. Former recipients of the award have been Robert K. Johnson (poet and retired Suffolk University professor), Louisa Solano (former owner of the Grolier Poetry Book Shop), Jack Powers (founder of Stone Soup Poets), and David Godine (founder of David Godine publishing). Tickets for the Festival  are $15 and will be available at the door or by calling 617-666-4010.

Robert Pinsky was born on Oct. 20, 1940 in Long Branch, New Jersey. He received a B.A. from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and earned both an M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from Stanford University, where he was a Stegner Fellow in creative writing, and studied under the poet and critic Yvor Winters.

Electric Ave. poet brings the South to Somerville

By Lazarus Morrison

One of the first things you might notice about C.D. Collins is the cast and sling on her right arm, tagged in marker with the phrase “Please do not bump me.” The request, like the woman who wrote it, is polite but firm. 

The broken arm is a recent accident, but “September has always been a bad karma month for me,” she said, motioning to older scars on her back and shoulder.  “It’s a karmic curse.” 

A conversation with CD Collins leaves no doubt the woman is tough. She ran away from home in Kentucky, lived on Beacon Hill, and has taken residence in Somerville for the last decade.

Almond: Funny in any language

By Eleanor Goodman

Steve Almond’s book of essays, “Not That You Asked” has just been published by Random House to widespread praise.  He is the author of two collections of short stories, a candy-centered memoir, and a novel written in collaboration with Julia Baggott.  He also teaches at Grub Street and is the proud father of a baby girl.  He will be one of the featured readers at the Somerville News Writers Festival on Nov. 11.

Q:  I found your newest book, (Not That You Asked) shelved next to Woody Allen’s latest in the bookstore.  Is this a good thing?

SA: Yeah, I guess. I’m happy to be in the company of the man who made “Annie Hall.” And we’re both self-doubting Jews with wives who are way too good looking for us.

Duehr and Tuitt:

Photographers with city perspectives

By Pam Rosenblatt

Urban Interpretations, a photography exhibit exploring the human behavior, diversity, spirit, rhythms and patterns of everyday life in a densely populated urban environment is in its final week at the Nave Gallery, ending on Sept. 28. But the show does not end there as it moves on to the Mayor’s Office in City Hall from Oct. 4 through Dec. 6.

Curator Michelle Fiorenza said the relationship between people and their physical urban surroundings and the ensuing impact is reflected throughout the show.

Somerville artist develops parallel worlds of abstract art and graphic facilitation

By Pam Rosenblatt

A lot has developed for Somerville artist Kelvy Bird since she was interviewed by The Somerville News in May 2006.

In summer 2007, some of her “Pulse” series was published in Salamander Vol. 12, No. 2, a nonprofit literary magazine affiliated with Suffolk University. Her work is on show in the Window Arts Malden project, Malden, through October 7. On the Board of Directors of Somerville Open Studios for 2007 and 2008, Bird helped develop the online registration for SOS 2006 and 2007.

Bird is an abstract painter whose creative art pieces evokes her own inner emotions or outward emotions from her audience. She is a professional graphic facilitator, a career chosen to help make ends meet while she also pursues her artistic career. She is one of about five hundred graphic facilitators in the world. Graphic facilitation is a field she thinks many struggling Somerville artists may like to look into for a profession.

Is Somerville following the paths of Fort Point and Greenwich Village?

By Pam Rosenblatt

It happened to Greenwich Village. It is happening to South Boston, especially Fort Point. Will it happen to Somerville?

“It” is gentrification, and it happens when low-cost, physically deteriorated neighborhoods experience physical renovation and an increase in property values, along with an influx of wealthier residents who push aside the prior residents. For years, once overlooked artist enclaves have become trendy communities with the original inhabitants eventually getting pushed out.

A mix of cultures, starlight and a silver screen

By Andrea Gregory

A new community organization is hoping for clear skies on Friday nights as it plans to launch open-air movie showings in September.

Under the Stars International Movie Nights is a celebration of mixed cultures and heritages in the community. The selection came via recommendations from local residents. While some residents may reminisce about home, hearing actors speak in their native tongues, other movie watchers will be welcomed into new experiences and have the opportunity to meet new people, said Carrie Dancy, executive director of East Somerville Main Streets, the events sponsor.

FAMILY FUN DAY - Saturday, June 30th

Location: Trum Field, Broadway
Dates: Saturday, June 30

Independence Day celebrations continue with one of the City’s most enjoyable days for the entire family. Scheduled from 12:00-5:00 p.m., the day’s activities include: softball games, face painting, BBQ and DJ, numerous children’s games, and even an opportunity to dunk an elected official in the dunk tank!

Rain date: Sunday, July 8

Thespians in Davis Square

by Michael T. Steffen

A local theater company will offer introductory and intermediate acting classes, as well as private coaching, throughout the winter at their studio at 259 Elm St. 

“Drama gives you the chance to vent feelings you would not otherwise get the chance, or dare, to express,” said Amanda G. Hennessey, co-director of Essayons Theater.

Most students are drawn to Essayons to learn techniques, character development, improvisation, text analysis, and to get ideas about auditioning in the Boston theater scene, said Hennessey. Some attend classes to build confidence in public speaking and to improve communication skills, she said.

After attending Wheaton College, Hennessey received a Master of Fine Arts from the Actors Studio Drama School in New York City, she said. As an undergraduate, Hennessey said she spent her junior year in India, where she found the time to read and contemplate the direction of her senior year. On returning from India, she decided to study acting under Pam Bongas and fell in love with drama, she said.

Along with her classes at Essayons, Hennessey said she teaches at the Huntington Theater Company and at Boston University. Hennessey’s performance experience spans from commercials to stage and film, she said. She recently appeared in the Boston based theatre company SpeakEasy’s hit show “The Women,” and in “The Child King,” a feature film that premiered in the Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival in October and, early in her acting days, she played the character Shelby in a dramatic production of Robert Harding’s “Steel Magnolias.”

Scat honors Holder

by Pamela Rosenblatt

The arts editor of The Somerville News received a Certificate of Appreciation for his community access television program at the organization’s annual meeting Jan.25.

“I think Doug Holder really provides an excellent service to the larger writer community in Somerville.  And it’s not just ‘Poet To Poet/Writer To Writer’ that he does.  Besides ‘Poet To Poet/Writer To Writer’, he also writes his column in The Somerville News, and produces The Somerville News’ Writer’s Festival.  He’s really a dynamo in support of Somerville’s writers and readers,” said Wendy Blom, executive director of Somerville Community Access Television.

As a major local poet, writer, journalist, and inter-viewer, Douglas Holder is highly regarded in the Somerville and surrounding areas, said Wendy Blom.

She met Holder the first week she started at SCAT in 2005, she said. “And I was immediately impressed by the commitment to the show that he does and the ease with which he draws out his guests,” she said.

Holder said he developed such an admirable reputation in the writing community through years of study and dedication to his craft. 

He said his story begins when his mother’s family first came to the United States at the turn of the 20th Century.

Off the Shelf by Doug Holder for the week of Oct. 25

Off the Shelf by Doug Holder for the week of Oct. 25

A Night in November. Play by Marie Jones. Starring: Marty Maguire. Directed by Tim Byron Owen. (Jimmy Tingle’s Off Broadway Theatre
255 Elm St. Davis Square, Somerville http://www.jtoffbroadway.com)

  If I had to describe “A Night in November” in a few words; I would say it is about a man in a cage. He is trapped by his past, by his petty bureaucratic job, by the entrenched divide between Protestant and Catholic Ireland.

Off the Shelf by Doug Holder

Off the Shelf by Doug Holder

The Boston Area Poetry Scene: A Plethora of Poets and Poetry

There is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t bump into a fellow poet or writer of my acquaintance. In Somerville, where I live, a poet-couple lives in a house behind me, another lives on the adjacent street, and my landlord, a poet and writer of some local fame lives downstairs. The cafes of Somerville Cambridge and Boston overflow with Bards tapping away on laptops and scribbling in dog-eared notebooks. There are poets of the “academy,” poet/scholars of the street, slam poets, black-clad avant-gardes…you name it. And there is room and a venue for them all.