WEEK OF FEBRUARY 4-11
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Thoroughly Thoreau by C. S. Satterwhite
Henry David Thoreau once pondered, “It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” If Thoreau were to pose this same question to Pensacola’s Jamey Jones, the answer would be clear: poetry. Thoreau might also be surprised to find out that he was the inspiration of Jones’ latest poetic project based on the famous writer’s work, “Beyond the Quiet Desperation: Poets Respond to Henry David Thoreau.” Part of Artel Gallery’s current Thoreau-inspired show “Thoreau-ly Natural,” Jones’s poetry event builds on Artel’s call
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to artists to use “natural materials” to create works inspired by Thoreau. Visual art in the exhibit incorporates Thoreau’s themes, made famous in his book “Walden”, by featuring aspects of the environment while incorporating motifs of solitude and selfdiscovery. To bring these subjects together in poetry was a challenge Jones—along with a fairly large and diverse group of local poets—was anxious to accept. Jones, a professor of English at Pensacola State College, currently holds the post of Poet Laureate of Northwest Florida. In his role as Poet Laureate, he’s held numerous readings, poetry workshops and community discussions on the role of poetry in the larger community. Since his appointment, Jones has shared the stage with interesting groups, from Girl Scouts to punk bands. His most recent major reading was at Pensacola’s New Year celebration, reading on the same stage as city officials and local clergy. Since the late 1980s, Jones gained accolades within the local art scene for gathering a wide range of acts to bring the literary arts to the community. While no stranger to bringing poets together or editing poetic journals, “Beyond the Quiet Desperation” is a different type of occasion. “For our event,” Jones said, “I’ve invited roughly 30 local poets to write poems specifically responding to any piece of writing by Thoreau.” To be clear, criteria for this production is not simply poetry inspired by Thoreau, but work “specifically responding” to Thoreau.
would follow the same constraints while Besides Thoreau, Jones’s other inspiration having the freedom to write whatever.” for this public exercise is contemporary poet Of the 30 invited, 24 accepted the chalC. A. Conrad’s “Somatic writing exercises.” lenge. Many of these poets will read their work Somatic poetry uses elements of the physiat the Artel reading. cal environment, very broadly defined, as Participating poets include Quincy “Q” inspiration for poetic work. The concept Hull, Ian Be, Annie Reilly, Patricia Edmisten, rests upon constraints being a means of Katherine Born-Nelson and David Baulch, to creative expression. name but a few. “These experiments are structured “It’s going to be awesome,” said Jones. to make us more present, or what Conrad To complement the reading, a chapdescribes as an ‘extreme present,’ in the act of book of the poems gathered for “Beyond writing,” said Jones. the Quiet Desperation” is being created “The minute details of wherever we may especially for this event. be are recognized more clearly, revealing the “Joseph Smith at Artel has agreed to creative viability of everything around us. They publish the poems in a chapbook specifically specifically cause us to write in situations, for the occasion,” said Jones. Local photographysical or mental, that we would not otherpher Rachael Pongetti, of the Graffiti Bridge wise be in,” said Jones. Project, produced a photograph for the cover Conrad goes further. In his “The Right to “after doing her own reading and meditation Manifest Manifesto,” Conrad states that “the on Thoreau,” Jones added. most vital ingredient to bringing sustainable, Jones hopes to do similar projects with humane change to our world is creativity.” Artel during his tenure as Poet Laureate. Conrad’s description of somatic poetry is fit“Such events are so important for both the viting, considering the event. In the American sual art and poetry communities,” said Jones. canon of literary figures, few come closer to “We are all artists, after all, and I love the idea embodying sustainability and creativity more of mixing the art forms in collaborative ways than Thoreau. and bringing these worlds together.” {in} “I created a list of instructions that require reading Thoreau for a certain amount of time for three to five days, making notes of each reading,” explained Jones. The WHAT: “Beyond the Quiet Desperation: Poets poets would then create poems Respond to Henry David Thoreau” from the notes. WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6 “The poems do not have to WHERE: Artel Gallery, 223 S. Palafox refer to, or be about, Thoreau, COST: Free but they can,” said Jones. “What DETAILS: artelgallery.org I envisioned is that each poet
THOREAU-LY MODERN POETRY READING
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