associated with Black Mountain College and the ’08 Lenoir-Rhyne observance of the school’s 75th anniversary. The two-volume set, Far from the Centers of Ambition, will be launched this week. Though Pope seems slightly embarrassed about having his own book as part of the deal, he does like the way it came out. Most of his collected works appear in their hand-written, ripped-from-the-pages-of-hisjournal form. Many pages contain sketches of aliens, trees, faces and flying saucers. Some pages were part of Pope’s ’08 Lenoir-Rhyne installation, “The Black Mountains of Mars.” “i used to think people would make / themselves into indestructible machines. / but now i think biology will surpass it. the / next step in evolution will be / designed anyway,” he writes. The poet’s work is powerful on the page and even more so when performed live, though he downplays that, too: “It’s not like I’d do a writing exercise and then go
somewhere and inflict that on someone,” Pope says. “I try to take me out of it. If I had a bunch of poems that wanted to be read, I’d go read them.” It’s an attitude to which literary vanguards like Black Mountain College alum Michael Rumaker (one of the artists to whom Pope dedicates Varve) might relate. Pope was introduced to Black Mountain College by his wife, who gave him a book on the school. “I’m almost glad for my ignorance, because I’m not influenced by much,” he says. But these days, “I definitely feel embraced by that community.” Ted Pope gives a poetry performance on Friday, Oct. 11, 3 p.m., as part of Black Mountain Museum + Arts Center’s ReVIEWING Black Mountain College 5: Shaping Craft + Design conference. A book launch and reading (free and open to the public) for Far From the Centers of Ambition takes place at 7:45 p.m. Events are held at UNCA’s Reuter Center. blackmountaincollege.org. X
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37th
Acoustic Syndicate, & more!
FESTIVAL
At beautiful Lake Eden BLACK MOUNTAIN NC
October 17-20 advanced tickets only
Fall in LEAF again, or for the 1st time! mountainx.com
octoBER 9 - octoBER 15, 2013
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