Monthly Archives: January 2024

Charlotte’s Banned Books Club

January 28, 2024 by Mark West
Categories: Storied Charlotte

For the past four decades, I have been concerned about the ongoing problem of book banning.  I addressed this topic in my first two books—Trust Your Children:  Voices Against Censorship in Children’s Literature and Children, Culture and Controversy.  These books both came out in 1988.  Since then, I have remained engaged in the anticensorship movement. I’ve written many articles and columns about censorship, and I’ve given countless presentations on this topic, including a high-profile speech in Singapore.   Given my track record in this area, it’s not all that surprising that my ears pricked up when I heard about the founding of a new group in Charlotte called the Banned Books Club. 

Every month I receive an email from Park Road Books about their “Upcoming Book Clubs and Author Events,” and that’s where I read the following announcement: “The Banned Books Club will discuss 1984 by George Orwell at Park Road Books in February.  The meeting will be on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at 6:30 pm.  The book club is open to everyone.”  For more information about this event, please click on the following link:  https://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/banned-books-book-club-discusses-1984

Intrigued, I contacted my friends at Park Road Books and asked them if they could tell me the name of the person who is in charge of the Banned Books Club.  They put me in touch with Michelle Bentley, the founder of the club.  In my communications with Michelle, I learned that she has been an avid reader since her childhood days growing up in a rural area in Rowan County.  In 1991, she moved to Charlotte where she worked for a while as a preschool teacher.  She is now the mother of three grown children.  While her children were growing up, she believed that it was important for her children, as well as for other children, to have access to a wide range of reading materials.  This belief caused her to object to the recent rise in book banning efforts.  She responded by founding the Banned Books Club in November 2023. I asked her for more information about the club.  Here is what she sent to me:

We are a newly formed and growing book club meeting monthly at Park Road Books. Our first meeting took place last November, with the discussion of one of the most consistently banned or challenged books, Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe. Since then, we have discussed The Bluest Eye and The Hate U Give. We formed as part of an effort to protest book bans. However, we do try to understand the concern or fear that caused an individual or individuals to challenge the books that we discuss. Seeking to understand this fear can illuminate underlying prejudices in our society. Only when we understand can we grasp how our world needs to change and grow.

What sparked the idea of starting this club can be traced back to my childhood.  As a child I did not live near a public library. However, a book mobile would park bi-weekly in an area that I could easily walk to. I spent many hours sitting inside that book mobile. I would look through as many books as I could and then checkout a stack to carry home. I felt relaxed and at home sitting between the shelves of books. It was a refuge for me as a young person.  Now I live near Park Road Books, and it has become my haven much in the same way.  Outraged about the increasing number of books being challenged, and in some cases banned, I decided to ask them about starting a book club. I have no experience in this area, but they have graciously guided me. My inexperience is masked by the individuals who are participating in the group. They naturally encourage thoughtful conversation, making everyone feel comfortable and connected. It feels powerful and hopeful to be in community with one another.

We have the first Tuesday at 6:30 reserved monthly with Park Road Books.  At our next gathering, February 6th, we will be discussing 1984 by George Orwell. For our following book we have selected The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. We are currently considering other titles we want to add to our reading year.  Additionally, we hope to occasionally invite a guest in to speak on related issues, such as the importance of representation in literature. 

I commend Michelle and the other members of the Banned Books Club for encouraging people to read banned books.  When one reads for oneself the books that are targeted by would-be censors, it often becomes clear that these books are being misrepresented by the people who want to ban them.  One of the themes that runs through Orwell’s 1984 is the problem of distorting the meaning of words and misrepresenting reality.  I think it is fitting the Banned Books Club will be discussing Orwell’s classic dystopian novel at their next meeting, for this book has a lot to say to those of us in Storied Charlotte who believe in the freedom to read.

Tags: Banned Books

Shaun “Shef” Williams Is Cooking at the Library

January 20, 2024 by Mark West
Categories: Storied Charlotte

When I first learned about the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s Around the World in 21 Branches Festival Tour, it reminded me a fun culinary event called a progressive dinner party.  In case you are not familiar with this type of dinner party, it refers to a multi-course dinner during which the successive courses are prepared and served at the different homes of the various people hosting the party.  The library’s Around the World in 21 Branches Festival Tour is organized in a similar way, but instead of taking place in different homes, this multi-stop event takes place at the various branches of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.  The Sugar Creek Library is the next stop on the tour.  The Sugar Creek Library’s event will take place on Saturday, January 27, 2024, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.  Given that I already associate the event with a dinner party, I am especially pleased to report that the Sugar Creek Library event really will involve the cooking of delicious food.

The featured author at the Sugar Creek Library event is Shaun “Shef” Williams.  Shaun will talk about his new cookbook titled Soul in the Citi: Homestyle Cooking in the City.  As part of his presentation, he will be doing live cooking demonstrations during which he will prepare recipes from his cookbook.  His presentation is scheduled to begin at 12:00 noon.  For more information about the event and to register, please click on the following link: https://cmlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/659ef7dfeb28943d007ffb15

Shaun currently lives in Mint Hill where he operates a catering and event production business called Shef Shaun’s Kitchen:  https://www.shefshaunskitchen.com/  In writing Soul in the Citi, Shaun drew on his catering experiences, but he also drew on his experiences working as a chef in New York City and Charlotte.  However, it was his childhood experiences cooking with his grandmothers in Cleveland that served as his chief inspiration when writing this cookbook. 

He recalls that his grandmothers “made everything from scratch and often with no written recipes.  The secret ingredient to making everything taste so good was definitely love.”  His goal in writing Soul in the Citi is to help his readers “cook up dishes that remind you of Grandma’s kitchen!” 

In addition to running his business and sharing his love of soul food, Shawn is writing his second cookbook.  I am sure that his many fans in Storied Charlotte are ready for a second helping.

Tags: cookbooks

Charlotte’s Three Musketeers

January 13, 2024 by Mark West
Categories: Storied Charlotte

I read The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas during my college days.  Although I do not remember all of the details of the plot, I do remember the camaraderie of the three central characters.  I also remember their famous motto: “All for one, one for all.”  I thought about The Three Musketeers and their motto when I heard that three Charlotte fantasy authors—John G. Hartness, Patrick Dugan, and Darin Kennedy—have decided to band together in order to promote their new books.  I contacted them and asked for more information about their project.  Here is what they sent to me:

John G. Hartness, Patrick Dugan, and Darin Kennedy are three Charlotte-based fantasy authors who have embarked upon a new venture for 2024. All have a new book/series that they are eager to get into the hands of readers, and they have joined forces to launch a Kickstarter to introduce their latest stories to the world.

John is a fixture in the southeastern science-fiction/fantasy convention circuit and was previously the president of Charlotte Writers Club, the oldest writer organization in the Charlotte area. His works include various series such as Bubba the Monster Hunter, The Black Knight Chronicles, and Quincy Harker – Demon Hunter, the latter two of which are actually set here in Charlotte. His latest book is The Seven: Unforgiven, a high-fantasy take on the Akira Kurosawa film The Seven Samurai of which John is a huge fan.

Patrick is a local programmer in the Charlotte area who writes everything from steampunk to high fantasy to cyberpunk fairies and is a frequent guest at multiple events along the southeast as well. He works with fellow author Jim Nettles/James McDonald on a project called Books & Beer where Charlotte-area and regional authors come together monthly to do readings and sell books to the public at venues where alcohol and literature are paired liberally. His latest book is Stone Cold Witch, a tale of an inexperienced elemental witch in Asheville, NC, who must learn her trade quickly as a member of her coven has been murdered, a demon is loose, and the fate of the world is at stake.

Darin is a family physician with Atrium Health where he both sees patients and teaches new physicians right here in Charlotte and writes fantasy stories in his free time. Doctor by day, novelist by night, Darin has published numerous books, including two trilogies, Fugue & Fable (set in Charlotte) and The Pawn Stratagem as well as a modern-day, young adult take on A Christmas Carol. His new series is Songs of the Ascendant, an ‘80s pop music fueled, contemporary fantasy that takes elements of multiple shows, movies, and books from Darin’s formative years and blends them together. He has nearly finished writing the third of the first three books in this series – Shadows of the Night, All Fired Up, and You Better Run – and he can’t wait to get these books out there to the public.

The new Kickstarter for these three Charlotte-based authors runs 2 Jan – 1 Feb 2024. Feel free to check out their latest offerings. The link to check out the Kickstarter and back their project is:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/falstaffbooks/new-year-new-books

I wish John, Patrick, and Darin all the best on their three-pronged promotional project. Like the three original musketeers, these three fantasy authors have embraced the motto of “One for all, all for one.” Also like the original musketeers, our three comrades have connections to a real place.  The original musketeers were based in the storied city of Paris, but our modern-day trio can be found right here in Storied Charlotte.  

Tags: fantasy stories

Chris Arvidson’s Ekphrastic Adventures

January 08, 2024 by Mark West
Categories: Storied Charlotte

A month or two ago, one of my students stopped by my office and asked me about the meaning of a literary term that she had come across in her reading for a class that she was taking on literary theory.  After I answered her question, she said, “I wish I could be like you and know the meaning of all of these fancy words and terms.”  I assured her that in reality I do not know the meaning of all the literary terms that are bandied about these days. I think that she might have been a little disappointed in me.

I am in my late 60s, but I am still adding new words and terms to my vocabulary on a regular basis.  Recently, for example, I looked up the meaning of the term ekphrastic poetry.  My friend Chris Arvidson, a Charlotte poet and artist, had mentioned to me that she had taken an interest in writing ekphrastic poetry, but I wasn’t sure what she meant by this term.  Although I associated the term with art, I didn’t know exactly how art figures in ekphrastic poetry.  Well, I turned to the Poetry Foundation’s “Glossary of Poetic Terms,” and I found out that an “ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art.”  Intrigued, I asked Chris for more information about her interest in ekphrastic writing.  Here is what she sent to me:

I’ve always considered myself a writer first, then an artist, but the two have really begun to meld together, so the ekphrastic form lends itself tremendously to my general artistic adventure as a result. I think about ekphrastic writing in the most general of applications. I have run into those (usually academics) who take a very strict view of what the ekphrastic form precisely must be, and I resist this notion with fervor.  In this strictest sense, the form is seen only as the production of a description of a piece of art. I see many more possibilities. To me ekphrastic writing is about where a piece of art takes the writer. And, in this way, the combination of the work of art and the writing done in response to it, become a whole of its own—the sum becomes another kind of whole. And it needn’t only be poetry. 

This idea of creating ekphrastic work led to an exhibit at Charlotte Art League last Spring, a show of works by artists from around the country, paired with writers who shared their art-inspired work. It was a tremendous success by any measure and has inspired the Art League to mount another such effort for May of 2024. To pull the show off this year, I teamed up with Jay Ward, Charlotte’s Poet Laureate, and Caroline Kane Kenna, the immediate past President of the Charlotte Writers Club. We herded the cats, as it were, pouring through the entries and created “pairings” of writers and artists. Jay and Caroline are on board again for the 2024 show 1 + 1 = 3. And we’ve decided to up the stakes a bit and make it a juried exhibition. Opening night, we’ll bring the writers to the stage to read their art-inspired work. 

In preparation for the submission process, I’m doing several workshops – in hopes of inspiring writers to participate. First off, I’ll be doing a workshop for Charlotte Writers Club on Saturday, January 13, 10-12:00 p.m., at Providence United Methodist. Then on Saturday, January 20, I’m teaming up with Charlotte Lit and the Charlotte Art League from 10-12:00 p.m. at the Art League, to do a very specific ekphrastic adventure. Finally, on February 17, I’ll be leading one of Jay Ward’s Poet Laureate Workshops at the University City Library from 1-3:00 p.m. The deadline for entries for the May show is February 26. (To see how we plan to put this all together, go to the Charlotte Art League’s website and the Call to Artists 1 + 1 = 3 page for more details https://charlotteartleague.org/call-to-artists1- or just drop me a line for more information: chris@chrisarvidson.com.)

And, in January at the Art League, I’ve got an ekphrastic piece in the show called “It’s Never Just Black and White” which includes two collages and a poem. 

I thank Chris for sharing this information about her ekphrastic adventures and for her willingness to share her interest in ekphrastic writing with the rest of Storied Charlotte. 

Tags: poetry