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JANUARY 9 - JANUARY 15, 2019
TIMES-HERALD
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‘Boys Made of Bugs’
Newnan poet,18, releases first collection BY REBECCA LEFTWICH
PHOTO BY REBECCA LEFTWICH
JohnPatrick VanSant, 18, recently published his first collection of poetry and photography, “Boys Made of Bugs.”
becky@newnan.com It to ok Joh n Pat r ic k Va nSa nt four yea rs to finish his first book of poetry, “Boys Made of Bugs.” While four years may not seem excessive to some writers, the project spa ns most of t he New n a n 18 -yea r- old’s adolescence – and not just h is physica l matu r at ion , but a n em o tiona l awa ken ing of sorts. “ T he bo ok i s about my persona l experiences, pa rticula rly about an abusive relationship I was in when I was younger,” VanSant said. “I was very young, 14, a nd I sta rted writi n g i n t he f i r st pl ace b e c a u s e I fe l t l i k e I cou ld n’t tel l a nybody anything.” A l t h o u g h Va n S a n t b e g a n ex p er i ment i n g wit h poetr y at age 1 2 , he sa id t he pieces he w rote wh i le work i n g t h roug h h i s emot ion s were the first he really liked. Poetry provided a way to tel l t he peo-
ple in his life what had happened to h i m , a nd for him to understand it himself. “I was manipulated,” he sa id. “But I put on a happy face, and most people h ad no idea . I h ad a l l t he red f l a g s . It wa s a l l r ig ht t here a nd I wa s st i l l t r y i ng to conv i nce mysel f it was OK . A rt is such a great medium for processing all of that – it p ut s e ve r y t h i n g i n to perspective.” Va n S a n t s a i d h e didn’t set a goal of publishing a book when he first began writing the pieces in “Boys Made of Bugs.” He only started work i n g on t he b o ok a ye a r a go , a nd e ven then he wasn’t certain h e wo u ld e ve r s e e it published. “When I first started putting it toget her, a sma l l pa r t of me thought I would chicken out,” VanSant said. “My biggest fea r is opening up to people and having them judge m e . T h a t ’s t h e m a i n reason I didn’t talk to
people about what happened to me. A lot of people who’ve read t he book a re people I know, and they had no idea what I was going t h rou g h e ven t hou g h it was right i n t hei r faces.” T h e p o e m s s t a r te d out as thoughts ty ped into his phone or re corded i n h i s jou rnal, he said, and some f it toget her to for m f u l l p o em s . Va n Sa nt , who was homeschooled a nd counts Cha rles Bukowski as one of his biggest i nspi rations, said he felt an urgency to complete others quickly. “Sometimes a wave of inspiration comes over me and I feel like I have to f i n ish it right now, and it takes me 10 minutes,” he said. “Boys Made of Bugs” is not only a compi lat ion of yea rs of VanSant’s writings but of h is photog raphy as well – and a nod to the h om e tow n w h e re h i s
POET • 2
‘Night To Shine’ organizers looking for community support BY CLAY NEELY
clay@newnan.com On Feb. 8 , hundreds of people w i l l be celebrati ng i n Coweta County and around t h e w o rl d a s p a r t o f t h e “ N i g h t to S h i n e ” event put on by the Tim Tebow Foundation. T he event be g a n i n 2014 when churches around the country aimed to prov ide a n u n forget table prom night experience for t hose w it h special needs, ages 14 and o l d e r. L a s t ye a r, 5 3 7 churches came together to ho s t t he e vent for 90,000 guests. Each guest enters the event on a red ca rpet, f la n ked on bot h sides by a n a dor i n g c r owd a nd papa razzi. Once inside, the royal treatment continues for the g ue st s who re ceive a crown or tiara. T he g uest s c a n ut il i ze h a i r a nd m a keup stations, shoe sh i n i ng areas, limousine rides, cor sa ge s a nd boutonnieres, a catered dinner, k a raoke, prom favors , and a dance f loor. For t he la st several years, SouthCrest Church has hosted the event and will continue the tradition in 2019. T h i s i s a n i g ht n o t only for guests to shine, but for chu rches to shine, for volunteers to shine, and most import a n t l y, f o r C h r i s t t o shine, according to Tim Camp, a volunteer and member of SouthCrest Church. Last yea r, Ca mp enjoye d t he opp or t unity to wheel one guest down the red carpet in her wheelchair. “ It ’s a n a m a zi ng experience to serve and help us refocus on what
COURTESY SOUTHCREST CHURCH
“Night to Shine” is a prom night experience, centered on God’s love, for people with special needs ages 14 and older.
ser ving Christ is a ll about,” he said. “These people don’t get a prom, a n d t h e y ’r e n e ve r i n the spotlight. They may have a disabi lit y, but wa nt to b e love d just like you or me. It’s a breath of fresh air to le ave yo u r s el f , s e r ve others and make a night
happen for people who h ave no ot her opportunity for an event like this.” With such a large event , volu nte er s a re working hard to secure funding and sponsors. Fundraising organizer Jim Dunnavant is hoping to raise money through the help
of loca l restaura nts t h rou g h t h e “ C owe t a Nig ht O ut ” event , set for Jan. 15. The idea is to get 100 rest au ra nts to don ate 20 percent of their earnings that night towa rds f u nd i ng t he “Night to Shine” event. “ R e t a i l a nd re s t a urants are typically a lit-
tle slower after Christmas, so this can be a w i n-w i n event for everyone,” he said. Orga n i zers a re st i l l looking for volunteers to help out with different parts of the events — ranging from being a buddy to helping serve the food. For i n for m at ion on
t he “ Nig ht to Sh i ne ,” v i sit w w w. n i g httosh i necoweta .com or send ema ils to R achel Henderson at rhenderson@southcrest.tv . If your restaura nt wou ld l i ke to pa r t icipate in “Coweta Night Out” send emails to Jim Dunnavant at jimd99@ bellsouth.net