31 minute read
J.D. Pinkus to play Water’n Hole
Rolling down that lost highway
A conversation with J.D. Pinkus
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Hunkered down at a table in the depths of the cavernous DeSoto Lounge in West Asheville, J.D Pinkus takes a sip from his vodka soda. He adjusts his cowboy hat, leans back into the vinyl bench seat and grins — in awe of the road to the here and now.
Hailing from Georgia, Pinkus left home at 15 and found himself in the seminal 1980s Athens music scene. A well-regarded bass player by age 17, he was soon scooped up by groundbreaking psychedelic hard rock act Butthole Surfers, only to be whisked off on a European tour with the notoriously raucous band and its legions of die-hard, frenzied fans.
From there, he followed the Surfers back to its native Texas, a place Pinkus called home for the better part of the next four decades. Leaving the Surfers in 1994 (only to return in 2009), Pinkus has found himself immersed in several other groups and projects, ranging from Honky to Daddy Longhead to Pure Luck.
Of late, he’s also been the bassist for The Melvins, arguably one of the most influential and innovative hard rock/metal bands of alltime.
Eventually, Pinkus circled back to his Southern Appalachian roots, trading in the high-desert landscape of Texas for the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. These days, his work is a hearty blend of Appalachian folk and psychedelic music, as heard on the latest release, “Fungus Shui.”
It’s a whirlwind of sonic textures and a sincere, pure intent to shift one’s perspective through Pinkus’ trusty banjo, gravelly voice and constant pursuit of life’s mysteries — onstage and off.
Smoky Mountain News: You call your music nowadays “space grass.” What does that term mean to you?
J.D. Pinkus: Well, to me, there are no boundaries. I don’t play traditional style. There are plenty of people who do that already.
SMN: Why the banjo?
JDP: The guitar bores me. With the banjo, I’m just a songwriter, man. I get the textures and all of the layers that I want. And I can keep a percussive thing going on, while still being able to add effects to it to get what I want out of it. The loops that I make are with just what I have. I don’t use outside things like synthesizers, I use the organic sounds that I’m making.
J.D. Pinkus. (photo: Garret K. Woodward)
Want to go?
Singer-songwriter J.D. Pinkus will hit the stage at 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Water’n Hole Bar & Grill in Waynesville.
Fort Worth, Texas, acoustic duo Whiskey Dick will also perform. The show is free and open to the public. Ages 21 and over.
For more information, click on facebook.com/waternhole.bar or call 828.456.4750.
JDP: No, I ended up that way. And I think a lot of it had to do with the ayahuasca experiences that I’ve had — it humbled me.
It also made me realize one of the reasons why I do solo [music/performing] now. Because I used to have an issue with getting upset with people that did not have the same goals as I had. They’d say they did, but they really didn’t and nobody really wanted to make the leap.
I put a lot of faith into working with people that weren’t “lifers,” that weren’t [ride-or-die] musicians. Don’t half-ass it — if you do, be honest about it. [That’s why] I left Austin. I thought that I needed to stay around because of the bands that I was in. But, then I realized that the bands weren’t really going to do what I wanted to do.
So, I left Austin and luckily landed here in Asheville.
SMN: There’s always been this psychedelic thread running through you and your music. Whether it’s a distorted reality, alternate reality or just reality as you see it. Why is that thread such a part of you?
JDP: Because to me there’s a window. And I’ve been lucky enough to see a glimpse of things that I don’t think are normally seen.
If you look at how a bat interprets the world, how an eagle interprets the world, how a jaguar interprets the world, there’s different spectrums that we all see and what our reality is.
Think about radio frequencies, there’s a spectrum. And we’re all limited in certain ways, in what we see and experience in our different realities.
To me, when you go off and you go up [in your psychedelic experiences], you kind of end up in a little place that might be uncomfortable to some people, but to me [it’s a happy medium]. And I’m lucky to have people in my life that are psychonauts.
There was one ayahuasca trip where I had a “death experience.” It was extremely intense. The DMT (aka: ayahuasca) gave me confusion. I heard happy songs and sad songs. All of these different emotions were going on and all of these different entities were coming at me.
I couldn’t tell if they were happy songs because I was coming back or because I was going somewhere. It was this sense of confusion, but it was a really [pleasant] time — my fear of death went away.
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD
An excerpt from ‘On the Road.’
Ode to being real, ode to the dude who felt otherwise
It was Saturday. Having just strolled into my neighborhood bar in Waynesville, I walked over to say hello to my new musician friends at a nearby table who were performing that night.
One from Nashville, the other Kentucky. I helped them get the gig when they needed a connector show to end their East Coast tour en route back to Music City. Said hey and proceeded to walk towards the bar counter to order a cold domestic beer.
And just as I made my way through the crowd, I saw a familiar face standing by himself next to the front window. I knew who he was. I knew his significant other. His crew are good folk, too. But, I couldn’t remember his name at that moment in time. I drew a blank. Shit.
A week prior, I saw the same dude behind the kitchen counter of an Asheville spot. Again, I recognized him and said hello. He just blankly stared at me, eyes piercing through me from above his mask. He shoved my burrito across the counter to me and immediately turned away.
It was an odd interaction, truth be told. So, curiosity got the best of me. Did I do something wrong? Was it the same dude? As he stood next to me near the front window of the bar, I stopped and tried to make same talk. I asked if it was him at the Asheville joint. He just stared at me with the same eyes. Well, that answered that question.
In that fleeting moment, I tried to formally introduce myself to him. He looked right through me. That 1,000-yard stare. The worst stare. Again, I couldn’t remember his name, only to say, “What’s your name again?” A lastditch effort to make friendly conversation. He just walked away. I was like, WTF?
So, I walk over to him again. Me: “Hey, man, sorry about that. I remember faces and not names.” Him: “I just don’t like you.” Me: “Huh? Did I do something to offend you? If I did, I apologize.” Him: “You didn’t do anything. I just don’t like you. You’re fake.”
His words took me back. I stood there bewildered for a moment. Me: “So, you don’t know me or know anything about me, but you don’t like me?” Him: “Yeah, you’re fake.” Me: “Well, I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m a real person and I am a human being. I laugh and cry like everyone else. What’s fake is your attitude.”
HOT PICKS
1Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host Whiskey Dick w/J.D. Pinkus (rock/folk) at 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13.
2The Haywood County Arts Council’s upcoming “Small Works” exhibit will kick off with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts showroom in downtown Waynesville.
3Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Andrew Thelston Band (Led Zeppelin tribute) at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12.
4There will be a special stage production of “The Little Mermaid Jr.” by Kids at HART at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 and 20, and at 2 p.m. Nov. 14 and 21 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.
5The Veterans Day Parade & Ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, on Main Street in Franklin.
Thus, I just walked away. You may not like me or who I am or what I do and how I conduct myself, but don’t call me “fake.” That is a lie. I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve, transparent to a fault.
And now, here we are. It’s Tuesday morning. I’m at my desk within the walls of the newspaper. We’re trying to kick this publication you’re currently reading out the door to the printer, to be delivered tomorrow morning at newsstands around the region.
But, I can’t get that interaction on Saturday out of my mind. Sure, don’t let others buy real estate up in your head. And yet, it’s more so this thing to behold and understand. Why do I feel this way about one interaction? Is it the person or what was said? Hell, was it me?
Like most jarring, unexpected moments in your daily life, thoughts swirl in your head replaying the interaction like reruns of the Zapruder film of the JFK assassination. Analyze each moment, frame by frame, to see where it all went wrong and what could have been done to prevent what ultimately occurred.
Normally, I would go the Zapruder route. It’s what most folks do. Truth. But, as I’m getting older and realizing more about myself and those who surround me, I’ve also come to several conclusions.
They are as follows. Sometimes it’s not you, you just happened to walk into the wrong space at the wrong time. You can’t ever assume what someone is going through (past or present) to trigger such a reaction (this goes for both sides of the interaction). And, as the Butthole Surfers sang in the hit song “Pepper” — “you never know just how you look through other people’s eyes.”
Or maybe it’s that lingering Catholic guilt from my long-gone childhood of pleasing people and taking things to heart. Maybe it’s the unrelenting torment and bullying that I experienced as a kid from others who simply didn’t like me because I was different (or “real” to myself and not the status quo), which is why being called “fake” hit hard, and deep.
In closing, it’s nothing and everything and whatever resides in-between. The yin and yang of people, places and things. The only thing we have control over in this universe is how we react in a situation. And don’t forget: kindness begets kindness. Brush off your shoulders and continue onward with head held high.
And to the dude who felt otherwise, I hope you know I came in peace and was simply looking to make a connection. No ill will or hidden agenda. You seemed like an interesting human being. I dig those bands that you have stitched on your jean jacket, especially the one on your shoulder.
So, why not try and spark conversation in the name of human connection and fellowship, eh? If not, then it is what it is. I digress. Maybe someday you might feel otherwise. If so, the first round is on me.
Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all. (Garret K. Woodward is the arts and entertainment editor for The Smoky Mountain News. He’s also the music editor for Smoky Mountain Living magazine and a contributing writer for Rolling Stone. You can reach him at garret@smokymountainnews.com.)
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Want to learn the dulcimer?
The Pic’ & Play Mountain Dulcimer Players has resumed in-person jam sessions at the St. John’s Episcopal Church basement fellowship hall in Sylva.
The group welcomes all beginners and experienced dulcimer players, including mountain (lap) dulcimer and hammered dulcimer players. Songs played include traditional mountain tunes, hymns, and more modern music. The group meets at 1:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturday of every month in the basement of St. John’s.
Pic’ & Play has been playing together since 1995. The more experienced members welcome new players, help them navigate their instruments, and guide them through some of the basics of tuning, strumming, and playing.
The mountain dulcimer, also known as a fretted dulcimer or a lap dulcimer, is a uniquely American instrument. It evolved from the German scheitholz sometime in the early 1800s in Appalachia and was largely known only in this region until popularized more broadly in the 1950s.
For more information, call Kathy Jaqua at 828.349.3930 or Don Selzer at 828.293.0074.
Holt to receive N.C. Award
David Holt is one of nine North Carolinians who will receive the state’s highest civilian honor, the North Carolina Award, on Thursday, Nov. 18, at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.
Gov. Roy Cooper will present the award in person. The award was created by the N.C. General Assembly in 1961 to recognize significant contributions to the state and nation in the fields of fine arts, literature, public service and science.
In addition to Holt, the 2021 honorees are Dr. Dudley E. Flood for Public Service, Maria F. Spaulding for Public Service, André Leon Talley for Literature, Dr. Timothy B. Tyson for Literature and Dr. Blake S. Wilson for Science. The 2020 honorees (not awarded live last year because of the pandemic) are Dr. Ralph S. Baric, Dr. Francis S. Collins and Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett, all of whom will receive the North Carolina Award for Science in recognition of their work to develop treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.
“Through their extraordinary accomplishments, these individuals have enriched North Carolina and our nation,” said Reid Wilson, secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “Each of them has enhanced the lives of North Carolinians through their lasting achievements in the arts, sciences and public service.”
Award-winning musician and storyteller, Holt has spent more than 50 years collecting and performing the traditional music of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
In 1975, he founded and directed the Appalachian Music Program at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa. Since 1981, Holt has pursued a full-time career in entertainment, bringing the spirit and fun of oldtime music to the concert stage.
As the host of several acclaimed television series, including “David Holt’s State of Music,” “Fire on the Mountain” and “Folkways,” he has introduced traditional mountain music, stories, people, and places to viewers across the country and around the world.
His many recordings have garnered numerous awards, including two Grammy Awards in 2002 in the Best Traditional Folk Recording category for “Legacy,” a retrospective of the life of Doc Watson.
“David Holt’s State of Music” is currently shooting its sixth PBS season and will be distributed nationally in 2022. The series is produced by the Will and Deni McIntyre Foundation, a 501(c)(3) based in Hendersonville.
• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host an open mic from 8 to 10 p.m. every Thursday.
Free and open to the public. 828.631.1987 or balsamfallsbrewing.com.
• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host karaoke at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, trivia at 7 p.m. on Thursdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.
• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host
Sheila Gordon (piano/vocals) Nov. 13 ($10 cover) and Nathan Hefner (piano/vocals) Nov. 20 ($10 cover). All shows begin at 7 p.m.
Limited seating. Reservations required. 828.452.6000 or classicwineseller.com.
• Elevated Mountain Distilling Company will host an Open Mic Night 7 to 9 p.m. on
Wednesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.734.1084 or elevatedmountain.com. open to the public. 828.454.5664 or froglevelbrewing.com.
• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends and Liz
Nance (singer-songwriter) Nov. 10 and Cam
Cokas Nov. 17. All shows begin at 7 p.m.
Free and open to the public. innovationbrewing.com.
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Scott
Stambaugh (singer-songwriter) Nov. 13 and
Troy Underwood Nov. 20. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Andrew
Thelston Band (Led Zeppelin tribute) Nov. 12 and Urban Soil Duo w/Eric Chesson & Sarah
Reinke Nov. 19. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.
• Long’s Chapel Methodist Church (Waynesville) will host the Voices in the
Laurel children’s choir “Songs of Hope for the
Season” concert at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 21.
Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door.
Tickets available at voicesinthelaurel.org.
ALSO:
Bird in Hand.
Americana at Mountain Layers
Jackson County Americana/folk duo Bird in Hand will perform at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, at Mountain Layers Brewing Company in Bryson City.
The road less traveled has always been the way for husband-and-wife duo Bird in Hand. Bryan and Megan Thurman call the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina home, and the region is directly reflected in their music. Bird in Hand is upbeat and new while still rooted in the traditions of American folk.
You can find their debut EP, “Due North,” online at birdinhandmusic.com. The show is free and open to the public. mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.
Bryson City community jam
A community jam will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.
Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, anything unplugged, are invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or just stop by and listen. The jam is facilitated by Larry Barnett of the Sawmill Creek Porch Band.
The community jams offer a chance for musicians of all ages and levels of ability to share music they have learned over the years or learn old-time mountain songs. The music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month — year-round.
This program received support from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment of the Arts. 828.488.3030.
• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Bird In Hand Nov. 12, Granny’s Mason
Jar Nov. 13, Alma Russ Nov. 14, Aces Down
Nov. 19 and Scott Stambaugh Nov. 20. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.
• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host Brandon Morris Nov. 11, Rock Holler Nov. 12, UpBeats Nov. 13, Blackjack County Nov. 18, Dottie The Band Nov. 19 and Carolina
Freightshakers Nov. 20. All shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.538.2488.
• Valley Tavern (Maggie Valley) will host The
Lads AVL 6 p.m. Nov. 20. 828.926.7440 or valley-tavern.com.
• Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host karaoke on Thursday nights, Whiskey
Dick w/J.D. Pinkus (rock/folk) 9 p.m. Nov. 13 and Hooten Hallers (blues/punk) 10 p.m.
Nov. 20. 828.456.4750 or facebook.com/waternhole.bar.
• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will host the Western Carolina Civic Orchestra fall concert at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 in the
School of Music Recital Hall. Featured will be harpist John Wickey and a new work by
Damon Sink. Free and open to the public. wcu.edu.
ALSO:
• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at
Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown
Waynesville. waynesvillewine.com.
• The “BBQ & Brews Dinner Train’’ will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky ALSO: Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first class car. Craft beer pairings with a meal, and more. 800.872.4681 or gsmr.com.
• “Dillsboro After Five” will take place from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in downtown Dillsboro. Start with a visit to the Jackson County Farmers Market located in the Innovation Station parking lot. mountainlovers.com.
• There will be a free wine tasting from 6 to 8 p.m. every Thursday and 2 to 5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.
• The “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing
Experience” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on select dates at the Great
Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City.
Full service all-adult first class car. Wine pairings with a meal, and more. 800.872.4681 or gsmr.com.
The next installment of the “Where We Live: History, Nature, and Culture” lecture series will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, at the Cowee School Arts and Heritage Center in Franklin.
Dr. Barbara Duncan will be the guest speaker. This talk explores the details of what happened in Macon County in September 1776 when two armies invaded deep into the Cherokee Nation.
General Griffith Rutherford and Colonel Andrew Williamson led about 4500 men on a mission “to extirpate the Cherokees completely,” carrying out a scorched earth policy along the Little Tennessee, Hiwassee and Valley rivers.
The Cherokees, allies of the British, resisted strategically. They concentrated on preserving the lives of their women and children, and although outnumbered, created an ambush on Wayah Road, where they engaged in The Battle of the Black Hole.
Details of the actions of Rutherford, Williamson and their men come from primary sources — the journals, letters, and interviews of officers-and will be presented in their own words. The historical context leading up to these events and their aftermath will also be considered.
Duncan received her Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. She coordinated “Folk Arts in the Schools” in Macon County for several years, worked for The Foxfire Fund, and went on to spend twenty-three years at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, where she wrote grants, researched, wrote books, and coordinated festivals and community-based programs to revitalize Cherokee traditions.
Now retired from the museum, Duncan teaches Cherokee language as Assistant Adjunct Professor at University of North Carolina Asheville.
With a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, she has created a new method for learning Cherokee language and authored a series of textbooks and a website at yourgrandmotherscherokee.org.
Duncan has written award-winning books about Cherokee history and culture, including “Living Stories of the Cherokee,” which received the Thomas Wolfe Literary Award and the World Storytelling Award; and “The Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook” (coauthored with Brett H. Riggs) which received the Presidential Preserve Freedom Award and the Willie Parker Peace Prize. Both were published by University of North Carolina Press.
Her most recent book is “Cherokee Clothing in the 1700s,” published by the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.
Duncan has published two books of poems, has released a CD and lives in Macon County, where she enjoys gardening and spending time with her grandchildren.
The program will last approximately one hour. It is free and open to the public. Masks are required for the health and safety of all. coweeschool.org.
• The Veterans Day Parade & Ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, on Main Street in Franklin. ALSO: The parade will leave from the Franklin Town Hall. The Veterans
Ceremony will follow at 11 a.m. in the Gazebo on the Square. Lineup begins at 10 a.m.
• The annual “Polar Express” train ride will kick off the holiday season on Friday, Nov. 12, from the Great Smoky Mountains
Railroad depot in downtown Bryson City. For a complete listing of departure dates and times, call 800.872.4681 or visit gsmr.com.
• Mountain Makers Craft Market will be held from noon to 4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at 308 North Haywood Street in downtown Waynesville. Over two dozen artisans selling handmade and vintage goods.
Special events will be held when scheduled. mountainmakersmarket.com.
Handmade Holiday Sale
The 12th annual Handmade Holiday Sale will be held from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, at the Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at the Bardo Arts Center in Cullowhee.
Enjoy shopping, free snacks and holiday cheer. There is no entry fee to the event. However, if you would like to buy handmade items onsite, artists appreciate payments made by cash or check, although some do accept cards.
This event features high-quality, handmade gifts created by students, staff, and alumni. Items for sale include artwork, candles, ceramics, wearable accessories, woodwork, and a variety of other handmade craft items. Get an early start on holiday shopping by supporting local artists.
This event is presented by the WCU Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center and is located throughout the Bardo Arts Center lobby and Star Atrium. Learn more about this year’s vendors in next week’s paper.
Learn more about each vendor and the event at arts.wcu.edu/handmade. Free parking is available onsite. Masks are required.
The Haywood County Arts Council’s upcoming “Small Works” exhibit will kick off with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts showroom in downtown Waynesville.
The exhibit is open from through Dec. 30.
“This exhibit is our longest and last exhibit of the year, stretching through the new year, and encourages buying art for holiday gifts,” said HCAC Executive Director Morgan Beryl.
Sponsored by Linda & Allen Blount, Janet & Darrell Steinke, and Alison & John Parks, the reception will include libations, snacks, and jazzy holiday music from Clyde’s own Jaime Gardner.
This year, the exhibit is sponsored at the producer level by the Reece Family in honor of their father Jeff Reece, who owned the 86 North Main Street building for many years and is in the process of selling it.
“Jeff loved Main Street and spent a significant portion of his formative years in the family business, Massie’s Department Store. He talked longingly about his days as the projectionist at the Strand Theater as a teenager and eating hot dogs at Felix Stovall’s American Fruit Stand,” said Judy Reece. “As an adult, Jeff was one of the founders of the Downtown Waynesville Association and a Main Street Champion. As we approach the anniversary of his passing, his family wishes to honor his legacy.”
The Small Works Exhibit is an annual exhibit that expands the types of work for sale in the downtown Waynesville gallery, as well as who can display their work. Other than specially curated exhibits, which occur a couple times annually, this exhibit is the only one that allows any artist within the western mountain region to participate for a small fee. haywoodarts.org.
• An artist demonstration with painter
Gretchen Clasby will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Haywood County Arts Council in ALSO: downtown Waynesville. Clasby will showcase her unique acrylic painting technique. Free and open to the public. 828.452.0593 or haywoodarts.org. • Jesse Adair Dallas will be showing his artwork at the Macon County Public Library in
Franklin during the months of November and
December. Open to the public. For more information, email jesse@enjoyarttoday.com. • The “Thursday Painters” group will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays at The
Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Free and open to the public. All skill levels and mediums are welcome. Participants are responsible for their own project and a bag lunch. For more information, call The Uptown Gallery at 828.349.4607 or contact Pat Mennenger at pm14034@yahoo.com. See more about
Macon County Art Association at franklinuptowngallery.com and like, follow and share the Uptown Gallery on Facebook.
Get Your Fall On
WCU to present ‘Nutcracker’
Affairs of the Heart
120 N. Main St. • Waynesville 828.452.0526 • affairsoftheheartnc.com
The Bardo Arts Center is pleased to present the Ballet Conservatory of Asheville, which will be returning with a stage production of the “Nutcracker” at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.
Showtime will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, and 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11. This magically festive, full-length “Nutcracker” production features professional classical dancers and the Ballet Conservatory of Asheville’s celebrated company.
In this classic ballet, Clara’s holiday dream comes to life, sneaking downstairs at midnight with her beloved new Nutcracker doll. Swept up in a fantasy toy-soldier battle, she saves her Nutcracker from the Mouse King. She is then whisked away to enchanted lands of snow and sweets, dancing the night away with a colorful host of captivating characters.
To learn more and/or purchase tickets, click on arts.wcu.edu/nutcracker. Tickets will be on sale Nov. 10.
Theatre in Waynesville.
The hour-long musical is based on the 2008 Broadway production and the 1989 animated feature film. The Kids at HART cast contains approximately 32 actors led by Shelia Sumpter.
The intricate underwater photography of Dr. John Highsmith will be on display in the theatre lobby for all to enjoy. Highsmith, who maintains a dental practice in Clyde, has displayed his work throughout the country and is a longtime supporter of Kids at HART.
The cast is under the direction of Sumpter with Candice Dickinson, music direction by Maria Frost, stage management by Nichole Sumpter, and numerous other volunteers.
Tickets may be purchased online at harttheatre.org or by calling the HART Box Office at 828.456.6322.
• “The Magical Lamp of Aladdin” will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Nov. 12-13 and 2 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Smoky ALSO: Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Tickets are $13 per person. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, click on smokymountainarts.com.
Joy Harjo is the current Poet Laureate of the United States. She is “Native,” “Indigenous,” of the Muscogee/Creek (Mvskoke) “Native Nations” as she likes to identify herself. I have followed her and her work — as a poet in the literary tradition and warrior in the tribal, indigenous tradition — for a long time. Long enough to watch her grow from a budding young poet to the wisdom-keeper she has now become in her early seventies.
Author of many books of poetry and memoirs, her latest, “Poet Warrior” (Norton, 2021), in many ways is a culmination of all of these and given to us as a gift of her arduous yet blessed life as an artist and storyteller who has, as Joseph Campbell says, “followed her bliss;” or in the words of the poet Robert Frost “taken the road less traveled.” And in Joy Harjo’s case this certainly has, as you will see, “made all the difference.”
In “Poet Warrior,” Harjo is an open book and takes us behind the scenes in her life to show us the roots to her compassion (given the history of native peoples on this continent) and wisdom — beginning with infancy, through the hardship and pain, the joy and the love, that led her home to her cultural identity and her spiritual status amongst not only her own people but to women and to peoples all across the planet through her poems and her stature, now, as America’s premiere poet.
Special books deserve special treatment. Being as this book is so unique in its vulner-
ability and its giving grace, I have decided that the only real way to share my impressions and the contents of this cultural classic with you is to let it speak for itself. This way, Joy Harjo’s humility and wisdom — her gift to us — will become evident and my job will have been better done with regard to and respect for this precious tome. So, here, from the book’s autobiographical notes and associative poems, are some of the starred passages I have marked as I was Thomas Crowe Writer reading “Poet Warrior.” “Enjoy.”
“In indigenous territory/Silence is ancient wisdom/We learn from the elders/To listen more than to speak.”
“Perception is always growing if you feed it, like a plant.”
“We are being brought to a place where we will once again remember how to speak with animals, plants, and life forms. We will once again know our humble place. Humans are not the only ones with a spirit, nor are we more important than everyone else. We are related to all life, all beings.”
“When I fail to trust what my deepest knowing tells me, then I suffer.”
“The Twentythird Psalm is a poem from people who knew the earth. From people who, much like the Navajo, tend sheep and in doing so learn respect for the plants, animals, and elements with whom we live.”
“There is no one way to God, no one correct spiritual path, no one way to write poetry. There is no one roadway, no one-way Bering Strait, no one kind of flowering plant, no one kind of tiger, no one way to knowledge. Diversity characterizes this planet, this galaxy, this universe.”
“Cut the ties you have to failure and shame. I cut the cord [to the sexism and the violence] and now I am free.”
“In these times and until we understand and act as if we are the earth, then each of us will experience the pain of separation from sacred knowledge, from ourselves.”
“Community is those with whom you live, from home to school, to your tribal nation, city, or state. You must remember to place community interest and benefits ahead of individual and personal gain.”
“We need to keep up strong women’s councils to work in tandem with the men’s circles. We need both female and male to make balanced posts for the doorway of life.”
“Ritual is how we make a community, how we open the door for respect for the source of life. Ritual nourishes our young men and women with the resources they need to spiritual growth for development.”
“Those roles in society filled by women and mothers, positions like teachers and childcare workers, became the least respected and valued even though they are the most crucial.”
“I came to see that all is spiritual and either we move about respectfully within it, or we are lost.”
“Fiction writers interact with their characters. Poets ride time. Painters open perceptual doors with line or color. Musicians hear what can’t be heard.”
“[For healing] raise your vibration. Make it faster. We keep our vibration higher by prayer, by kindness, by taking care of what we are given to do, by cleaning ourselves of negative thoughts that originate within or come from others, by humility, by being in the real world, away from concrete and square buildings, by speaking only that which holds truth.”
(Thomas Crowe is a regular contributor to The Smoky Mountain News and author of the multi-award-winning non-fiction nature memoir “Zoro’s Field: My Life in the Appalachian Woods.”)
Open call for ‘Milestone’ submissions
Submissions are now being taken for the 2021 edition of the Milestone, the biennial art and literary review published by Southwestern Community College.
Milestone showcases the creative expressions of local writers and visual artists. The periodical is representative of the abundance of talent in the region and seeks to foster creative potential by providing artists an opportunity to gain public awareness.
All residents of Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and the Qualla Boundary, as well as SCC students and alumni, are eligible. Only unpublished work may be submitted. Prose should not exceed 2,000 words and should be limited to two pages in length.
Literary submissions must be postmarked by Dec. 3, 2021, and sent to SCC Milestone, Attn. Hannah Sykes; 447 College Drive; Sylva, NC 28779 or via email to milestone@southwesterncc.edu.
Submissions in visual art must be postmarked by the same date and sent to the same address, Attn. Hannah Sykes or via email to milestone@southwesterncc.edu.
For more information, contact Hannah Sykes at 828.339.4463 or h_sykes@southwesterncc.edu.
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