Monthly Archives: October 2024

Theatre Charlotte’s Timely Production of 1984

October 26, 2024 by Mark West
Categories: Storied Charlotte

I first read George Orwell’s 1984 in 1970 at the recommendation of my high school English teacher. At the time, the year 1984 seemed far off in the future to me.  After all, fourteen years seems like a long time to a teenager.  However, I remember worrying if Orwell’s dystopian vision of the future would actually come to pass.   Now the year 1984 seems like a long time ago to me, but I’m still worried about Orwell’s dystopian vision.  

So much of what Orwell incorporated in his novel is now part of our day-to-day lives.   The mass surveillance that we associate with Orwell’s phrase “Big Brother is watching you” is a real concern in contemporary America.  Like the two-way televisions in 1984, our cell phones and digital home assistants have the ability to monitor our whereabouts and, to some extent, our activities.  Like the double-speaking propagandists who run the “Ministry of Truth” in 1984, many of today’s politicians twist the meanings of words to such an extent that a word like “truth” is used when telling a lie.  It’s against this backdrop that Theatre Charlotte is currently bringing a theatrical production of 1984 to Charlotte.

Theatre Charlotte’s production of 1984 runs from now to November 10 at Theatre Charlotte’s space at 501 Queens Road.  The play is based on an adaption of Orwell’s novel by Robert Owen, Wilton E. Hall, Jr., and Williams A. Miles, Jr.  It is directed by Chris Timmons, the Artistic Director of Theatre Charlotte.  The cast includes Chris Patton as Winston, Dionte Darko as O’Brien, and Isabella Frommelt as Julia. A post-show discussion will take place after the performance on November 1. More information and tickets are available here.

I congratulate Theatre Charlotte on bringing this timely production of1984 to the stage.  One of the reasons Theatre Charlotte is such a legendary Storied Charlotte institution is that it regularly produces plays that speak to our time and our community, and its production of 1984 is a prime example of this worthy tradition.  

Tags: George Orwell

It’s Nearly Time for EpicFest 

October 20, 2024 by Mark West
Categories: Storied Charlotte

For those of us who live in the Charlotte area, Thanksgiving isn’t the only occasion in November when families gather, share stories, and make memories.  EpicFest, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation’s free literary festival for children, teens, and their families, also takes place in November.  I contacted Emily Nanney, one of the organizers of the event, and asked her about the plans for this year’s EpicFest.  Here is what she sent to me:

EpicFest is an extraordinary, free literary festival that joyfully connects children, teens and families with books and the people who write them through activities that encourage a love of reading and learning. In its seventh year, EpicFest has become a wonderful family tradition. Nationally recognized children’s and young adult authors and illustrators will share their latest books, experiences and passion for libraries with kids of all ages.

This year’s EpicFest features ten incredible authors who will be visiting Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools on Friday, November 8, 2024 and then promoting their newest books on Saturday, November 9, 2024. Eight children’s authors, including Grey Foley, Tracey West, JaNay Brown-Wood, Meera Sriram, Peter Raymundo, John Patrick Green, Kelly Starling Lyons, and Niña Mata will be at ImaginOn speaking about their experience as writers and signing books. 

The EpicFest Family Festival will take place on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at ImaginOn (300 E. Seventh Street).  The event will start at 10:00 a.m. and conclude at 3:00 p.m. It’s is a great time for young readers to engage with some of their favorite authors and hear about their writing inspiration, and for aspiring young writers to ask them questions about their writing process. Supplementary to a stellar author lineup on Saturday, there will be an abundance of hands-on activities for children of all ages. In addition to creative learning tables, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte will offer a special free performance of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs at noon. Other festive touches throughout the day include African Drum Circles presented by Drums4Life, book giveaways, roving costumed book characters, face painting and balloon twisting, and a visit from GameTruck Charlotte. 

On Saturday, November 9, 2024,our EpicFest program just for teens will be at North County Regional Library from 12-2pm! Teens will have the opportunity to meet two award-winning YA authors, Jonny Garza Villa and Kim Johnson. Festivities include maker activities focused on book cover design and bookmark creation, along with writing stations! There will be a chance to contribute to an online publication as part of our Epic Teen Writing Showcase. Teens will have a truly epic experience through activities and giveaways! 

For more information about this year’s featured guests, please click on the following link:  https://www.cmlibrary.org/epicfest

As usual, I will be volunteering all day at EpicFest.  I have my own traditions associated with the day. On Saturday morning, I will put on my book tie, which my wife bought for me at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library.  I will then take the light rail to the Seventh Street Station.  After exiting the train, I will take the short walk to ImaginOn where I will spend the day helping the authors set up for their presentations and book signings. I hope to see you there. I would not miss EpicFest for anything.  After all, EpicFest is a Storied Charlotte tradition. 

Tags: EpicFest

Honoring the Legacy of Dannye Romine Powell 

October 13, 2024 by Mark West
Categories: Storied Charlotte

Charlotte’s community of readers and writers lost one of its mainstays on October 10, 2024, with the passing of Dannye Romine Powell.   For half a century, Dannye contributed to Charlotte’s literary scene as a journalist, editor, poet, and teacher.  

Dannye made her debut on the Charlotte literary scene in 1975 when she became the book editor for The Charlotte Observer.  She remained the paper’s book editor until 1992.  Back in those days, the paper published a two-page book section every Sunday.  It included original book reviews, interviews with authors, and news about local literary events. In her role as book editor, she often interviewed authors.  Even after she stepped away from her position as the paper’s book editor, she occasionally published interviews with authors in The Charlotte Observer.  In April 2022, for example, the paper ran an interview that she conducted with Charlotte writer Judy Goldman about Judy’s memoir Child. 

In 1994, Dannye collected twenty-three of her author interviews in a book titled Parting the Curtains:  Interviews with Southern Writers. The North Carolina publisher John F. Blair brought out the book in 1994.  The authors featured in the book include Maya Angelou, Pat Conroy, Shelby Foote, Alex Haley, Reynold Price, William Styron, and Eudora Welty.  The book received excellent reviews.  Publishers Weekly praised Dannye for bringing together “these diverse, engaging interviews” and for providing “gracefully written” introductions for each interview. 

In addition to her interview book, Dannye published five poetry collections.  The first of these was At Every Wedding Someone Stays Home (1994), followed by The Ecstasy of Regret (2003), A Necklace of Bees (2008), Nobody Calls Me Darling Anymore (2015), and In the Sunroom with Raymond Carver (2020).  Two of her poetry collections won the North Carolina Poetry Society’s Brockman-Campbell Award for best book by a North Carolina poet.  

Dannye often shared her interest in writing poetry with aspiring poets.  She organized a weekly poetry critique group in her Dilworth home, and she frequently taught classes and lead poetry workshops for the Charlotte Center for Literary Arts (Charlotte Lit).  In 2021, she coordinated Charlotte Lit’s yearlong “Poetry Chapbook Lab,” in which she guided participants through the process of writing and publishing their own poetry chapbooks.  

On a personal note, I am grateful to Dannye for taking an active interest in my Storied Charlotte blog.  She often emailed me about various blog posts, and she occasionally suggested authors or books that she thought I might be interested in featuring. In my opinion, when a legend offers you advice, you should take it.  I always did. 

Dannye Romine Powell was a Storied Charlotte legend, and her legacy will live on for years to come. 

Tags: Dannye Romine Powell

New Picture Books by Charlotte Writers/Illustrators

October 08, 2024 by Mark West
Categories: Storied Charlotte

Before I became an English professor, I taught young children for several years.  Back then I often incorporated picture books in my lesson plans and not just when I was covering language arts topics.  When I taught children about science, for example, I found that many of the kids in my classes gained a better understanding of the scientific concepts that I was covering when I included science-related picture books. Even though I had not yet come across the phrase “visual learners,” I came to realize that many of the kids in my classes learned best when I shared with them visually engaging presentations of information in the form of picture books. I am pleased to report four such picture books have recently come out by Charlotte picture books authors/illustrators.   

I Fuel by Charlotte author Kelly Rice Schmitt and illustrated by Jam Dong traces the story of petroleum from the days of the dinosaurs to the present.  Schmitt focuses on fossil fuels, but she also covers alternative energy sources, such a solar and wind power. She provides children with straight-forward information about how ancient life forms become oil and then how oil is refined into fuels.  She does not shy away from the problems associated with the use of fossil fuels, such a global warming. 

A Credit Card Takes Charge by Charlotte author Kimberly Wilson and illustrated by Mark Hoffman introduces children to the uses and misuses of credit cards through telling the story of an anthropomorphic credit card.  The story is amusing, but the book contributes to children’s understanding of financial literacy.  This book relates to Wilson’s two previous picture books about currency—A Penny’s Worth and A Dollar’s Grand Dream.

I Dream for You is written and illustrated by the Charlotte husband and wife team of David Wax and Brett Blumenthal.  Wax provides the text, and Blumenthal provides the pictures.  Intended for young children, this book conveys to children the dreams that their parents have for them as they grow up.  In the process, however, this book provides information about a wide variety of animals, including mountain gorillas, big horn sheep, and bald eagles.  Blumenthal’s illustrations of these animals are strikingly beautiful.

Disgusting Dinner by Charlotte author Roxanne Falls and illustrated by JP Roberts is a humorous story about a monstrous dinner party featuring all sorts of “gross” foods, but it is also a story about the value of being open to trying different types of food.  It’s a funny book, but it subtly encourages children to be respectful of diverse culinary traditions. 

These four pictures books are very different from each other, but they all lend themselves to introducing children to information and concepts.  They all also contribute to Storied Charlotte’s reputation as a hub of talented writers and illustrators of children’s books.

Tags: picture books