FORMER US POET LAUREATE ROBERT PINSKY AS A HEADLINER AT JAZZMOUTH THIS YEAR; TICKETS ON SALE NOW!!!
Jazzmouth Poetry and Jazz Festival is celebrating its Sixth Jazzmouth Extravaganza and this year will be no less explosive than the ones that came before. Having roped in Billy Collins, David Amram, and Donald Hall in the past, this year the Jazzmouth committee proudly announces former US Poet Laureate and professor at Boston University Robert Pinsky. Early on, Pinsky was inspired by the flow and tension of jazz and the excitement that it made him feel. He said it was an incredible experience that he has tried to reproduce in his poetry. The musicality of poetry was and is extremely important to his work. He received a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship in 1974, and in 1997 he was named the United States Poet Laureate and Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. He now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and teaches in the graduate writing program at Boston University. As Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky founded the Favorite Poem Project, in which thousands of Americans of varying backgrounds, all ages, and from every state share their favorite poems. Pinsky believed that, contrary to stereotype, poetry has a strong presence in the American culture. The project sought to document that presence, giving voice to the American audience for poetry.
In addition to Robert Pinsky, Jazzmouth has put together an earthshaking collaboration between legendary Beat poet, playwright, songwriter and novelist Michael McClure and Ray Manzarek, the founder and keyboard player of The Doors, one of the most iconic bands in the history of rock and roll. Nationally acclaimed poet Gary Snyder writes that McClure and Manzarek’s “transformative appearances are just the tip of the iceberg of aesthetic and spiritual energy….Michael and I have been conspirators in the cultural rebellion of our times since we were both in our twenties…and Manzarek is a clear-eyed musical and cultural craftsman, a professional in the best sense.”
For more information about Michael McClure and Ray Manzarek, or to hear an interview with Manzarek on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, see: http://www.mcclure-manzarek.com/lightmyfire.html
The weekend of the festival will include other acts throughout the Portsmouth community which are known to draw people from surrounding areas near and far. These events include a workshop, readings, events for children and youth, a film and others. (See http://jazzmouth.org/jazzmouth-2010-schedule/ for details).
Event Listing: Jazzmouth Poetry and Jazz Festival with Former US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky and Former Keyboardist for The Doors Ray Manzarek, Portsmouth, NH. April 22-25th, 2010. Tickets for all events are on sale now at www.jazzmouth.org. Tickets for the 6th Annual Extravaganza on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. at The Music Hall (28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, tel. 603.436.2400) can also be purchased at www.themusichall.org.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – too marvelous to miss!!
