Broad Ripple Gazette vol 10 no 21

first published in the Broad Ripple Gazette

“A Company of Women: New and Selected Poems”  Mary Sexson, Lylanne Musselman, Jayne Marek
Friday, October 25, 2013
Big Hat Books & Arts
6510 Cornell Avenue
6:00 PM,  free, all-ages

Big Hat Books & Arts is hosting an evening of poetry by the members of A Company of Women, a three-woman writing group based in Indianapolis. Their poems are insightful, frank, and humorous and draw upon their experiences as women, touching on friendship, family, loss, sexuality, and hope. 

I used to be afraid of poetry. I assumed that I assumed that I wouldn’t get it. I thought that I wasn’t smart enough or in-touch with my feelings enough to understand poetry. I was wrong. I now think of poetry like songwriting; lyrics without the music. And like music, I connect with some of it and don’t with others. I think we can all connect with this group of women (even if you’re not a women).  

Jayne Marek is the author of “Women Editing Modernism” and a book of poetry, “Imposition of Form on the Natural World”. Lylanne Musselman is the author of three books and her one-act play, Surfacing, has been performed at Ball State University, and her monologue "Of Mother and Men" appears in “Mother/Daughter Monologues Vol. 2.” Mary Sexson is the author of the book “103 in the Light: Selected Poems 1996-2000.” Her work has been included in many journals and poetry projects and she is a kick-ass Scrabble player (I know this from painful experience). 

The evening promises to be full of laughter and wonderful poetry. 

Writer’s Harvest with John Green, Ben Winters, Susan Neville, Allyson Horton,
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Butler University
Atherton Union Reilly Room
4600 Sunset Avenue
7:30 PM, suggested donation: rice or pasta for Second Helpings, all-ages

Writer’s Harvest features a bounty of writers. Writers so amazing that I get nervous just by typing their names. Seriously, my palms are sweaty.   “The Fault in Our Stars” author John Green will headline Butler’s first-ever Writer’s Harvest. Green, who delivered Butler’s 2013 commencement address, has recently been spending time on the set of the film adaptation of his #1 New York Times bestselling book. 

The evening will also feature other Indianapolis-based writers. Novelist Ben H. Winters is the author of Edgar Award-winning “The Last Policeman” and its 2013 sequel “Countdown City.” Susan Neville is a short-fiction writer who teaches English at Butler. Poet Allyson Horton is a Butler graduate student. 

Admission is free and open to the public. Those who attend are asked to bring a bag of rice or a box of pasta for Second Helpings. If you’re wondering what type of pasta to bring, elbow macaroni is great – kiddos will eat any vegetable that is tucked in in macaroni noodles. 

www.butler.edu www.secondhelpings.org

 

The Failers, Rick Dodd and the Dickrods, Finest Grain
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Birdy’s Bar & Grill
2131 East 71st Street
21+, doors open 8:00 PM

After you’ve tucked your little ghosts and goblins in bed or feel safe turning on your lights back on from hiding in the dark after running out of Halloween candy or however you celebrate the ghoulish evening– swing into Birdy’s for a night of great music and good people. 

I always say that all Indianapolis bands are related to each other in some way. In the case of this show it is pretty easy to connect those dots. 

The Failers is made up of Aaron Adelsperger, Jim Borders, Chad Dressler, and Stephen Fields – musicians that have played in some of my favorite local bands from days gone by; Paging Raymond and Odyssey Favor.  

Rick Dodd and the Dickrods members are Rick Dodd, Sean Jackson, Erik Styles, Andy Shutz and Chad Dressler. Chad also plays in The Failers. 

Finest Grain is the duo of Sean Jackson and Kent Vernon. Sean also plays in Rick Dood and the Dickrods. 

Sean also used to have legendary Halloween parties and his guests wore some of the cleverest costumes that I’ve seen. In fact I meat Sean when we lived on the same street and one Halloween I crashed his backyard party. I can’t wait to see what costumes appear for this show. 

Expect an evening of delightful original music leaning towards the singer-songwriter, pop, and folk sensibilities. 

www.birdyslive.com

 

Sunset Stomp Jazz Band Tuesday, November 5, 2013
The Jazz Kitchen 5377 N College Avenue
7:00 – 10:30, 21+, $10

The Sunset Stomp Jazz Band was born in 2010 after a show that Robin Hopkins and Kathleen Miller both performed in. The result is a seven piece plus vocalist ensemble performing the music of the Jazz Age. The band name comes from Louis Armstrong’s “Sunset Cafe Stomp”, which came from the Sunset Cafe on Chicago’s south side, where Louis Armstrong played before going on to New York.

The group performs Dixie music, combining the traditional with new arraignments.  Whether you want to bring your swing dancing shoes or just sit back and enjoy a good time is promised. 

And did you know that The Jazz Kitchen was voted one of the “World’s Top 100 Jazz Clubs in the World” by Downbeat Magazine? How cool is that? 

thejazzkitchen.com