Placeholder

May I invite you into my newly painted office, with a gallery wall of book cover art? We patched all the nicks from its previous life as the rec room, and picked a warm white (called "Adorn") to cover the light blue that got tired. I call this post "Placeholder" before I share what is going on with writing and events for June and July! Here are the covers for Meet Your Muse: The Dance of Creativity, art by Kate Kroska, and Striking Light from Ashes, art by Rahela Majidi. How did Frida Kahlo (art by Kaylee Collinson) get in there? She was a gift from my daughter, and seems to belong, a special guest. 

Cheers, 
Charise

Dancer-Poet

On this last day of National Poetry Month, here is a glimpse of dancer-poet as performing artist. I had the pleasure of joining the cast of "The Power and the Voice of Women in Dance through the Millennia" on April 19th, directed by Karen McLane. There was narrative, and dances that women dance to heal, to celebrate, to speak in a language based on the female body and psyche. 

"Bacchanal" 

I raise a glass to all the other dancer-poets who are speaking, speaking... 

Cheers,
Charise

The Dance of Creativity

Happy April and the Fool's Day, which points to new beginnings!

Please welcome my new book, co-authored with my dear colleague Kate (who also did this smashing cover), Meet Your Muse: The Dance of Creativity.

https://mybook.to/MeetYourMuse

Inside, you'll find practices to tap into your creative nature, more of Kate's art, writing prompts, poetry, food (well, a "menu for rituals of self-care"). We've had a wonderful experience working with our publisher, Springtime Books. Click the link above to view more about the book and to order!

From the foreword by Jeff Kaplan, PhD: “What sets this book apart is the authors’ ability to combine the concepts of Eastern philosophy, Greek mythology, and modern psychology to create a holistic approach to creativity.”  It’s not stuffy—it’s spacious, in a zen and heartful way. 

Cheers,

Charise

Banned Bird

You never know what you'll find at an arts festival in Hardy County, West Virginia. When I prepare my poetry table at the annual Art on Cullers Run, I am surrounded by extraordinary artists and makers. Last year I fell in awe with an art piece by Michele Mouré: a sculpted book that pays homage to Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou's book has been banned in certain areas of the United States, and Mouré's art exists in this context.

A photo doesn't capture the three-dimensionality of this piece, but it gives you a view. An eye-opening view. 

Warm wishes,

Charise

Streetcar & Stage

These photos, taken a week apart, show how related the two arts of dance and poetry really are. I could say more about this, but the images speak clearly. One is from a streetcar poetry reading for Art All Night H Street, DC and the other is from a performance for "The Power and the Voice of Women in Dance through the Millennia."

Art to Art

Photo by Salwan Georges, The Washington Post

Sandbags are used to protect this monument in Odessa, Ukraine. At the same time, the installation of sandbags makes a new statement of art. It's arresting. 

I'm thinking that an ekphrastic challenge is at hand. Write a poem that speaks to this image, art to art. Will you take up the poetry prompt? It's the first prompt of this blog, probably way overdue.

Warm wishes,

Charise

"Art in an Age of Uncertainty"

Among the many cancellations due to the pandemic, an annual arts festival in Mathias, West Virginia––where I was scheduled to have a poetry table––has led to an interesting turn of events. 

Joshua Miller, who hosts the event on his property, commissioned a poem on the subject of art in uncertain times. I am indebted to him for inspiring the creation of a poem that has found a literary home at High Shelf Press. 

The photos are from my contributor copy. You can view the entire March issue on their website at: https://www.highshelfpress.com/issuexxviii

To inspire others is such a gift. 

Warm wishes, 
Charise

"Poetry is not a luxury"

 Let's bask in the words of Audre Lorde:

"Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action. Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought. The farthest horizons of our hopes and fears are cobbled by our poems, carved from the rock experiences of our daily lives." 

Upcoming Book

My dear friend, JP Normile, has taught me most of what I know about gardening, has teamed up with me for a poetry reading and art show, has shared his incredible talents for composition in music, art, and writing, and...we are collaborating on a book.

His ink drawings will be paired with his stories and my poetry. We are going about this in a purely inspirational way––you could say that his art is the ground where I keep my focus until something blooms into a poem. We look forward to announcing the publication date! For now, we've got our hands full...bringing our work to fruition.



~ LCMH

Flow Follow-Up

Here we are––studio owner Tara Huber, Josephel-Padraig Normile, his dog Juno, and myself––celebrating art and poetry!

 

Then follow me into the future, where my poem "Flow," written for this occasion, will be part of the chapbook Muse in a Suitcase.

Poetry + Art + Meditation in DC

First Friday Dupont on May 4 in Washington, DC: Join me for a poetry reading combined with an art opening, and experience a meditation class (or two) at Take Five Meditation.

Borrowing from Hamlet

Scene at the Tate

Even in the gallery, there’s gossip.

Strangers talk about what was staged
––the model with silver gown
stayed hours in a tin tub, laid out
like caviar––to the general view,
a maiden voyage. And Millais, 
Pre-Raphaelite, realist
to the manner born, grappled
with the Surrey flies, windy gusts,
and a notice for trespassing––
murder most foul of the hay. 

He confided to a friend,
“painting of a picture under
such circumstances would be greater
punishment to a murderer
than hanging.” Not to mention
the medical bill for Lizzie Siddal
of the bath, as warmth elapsed
for the sake of painstaking detail.  
Art exacts a price and so the heart––

Ophelia floats in her perpetual spring.

~ LCMH

Portrait

Author and Artist

Meet Rahela Majidi, the artist for the cover of Striking Light from Ashes. She emigrated from Afghanistan to the United States two years ago. She is a self-taught artist, without the luxury of materials or art teachers while living in her native country. Rahela was the only girl from her village to go to university, after passing the required high school exam. And her mission with painting, both oils and watercolors, is "Dreaming Peace through Art". 

In her own words: "As an Afghan woman, I fought for basic rights to education and freedom for myself and many other girls in Afghanistan for a long time. I have since left my beloved country to live in freedom in America. However, everyday, I dream that women in my country will achieve freedom from repression...I have decided to dedicate my life to express this dream through my painting." The image on the cover of the chapbook is titled "Reaching for the Sun". To see more of her work visit: https://www.facebook.com/pg/RahelArts/about/