A “Gold Mine” of Talent by Leah Ellis

The new journal The Gold Mine was created and published at Cameron University during the last school year by students under the direction of Dr. Jones and Dr. Godsave. The idea was to create a fine arts journal which featured the work of Cameron students. Combining the written art of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, with visual art allowed for the cooperation of students from the English Department and the Art Department. The logistics of bringing together people and submissions from both these departments seemed daunting, but in actuality everything came together very smoothly.

The call for submissions was set so the selection committee could review the work over the break between the fall and spring semester. At first we were concerned that not enough contributions would be made to fill the journal, but on the last few days of the submission deadline a flood of entries came in. The committee gathered in groups reading the manuscripts and looking over the art, while some chose to peruse the material alone. All were accommodated as everyone works differently. Everyone involved willingly gave of their time and resources. For example, Phillip and Amber Harrington graciously opened their home for the group I was involved with which included the journal’s Editor, Aubrey Vandall.

After all the material was reviewed, and the selections were made, the process of formatting and designing the layout began. Aubrey Vandall, Holly Neville representing the Art Department, and myself as Managing Editor met and began discussing the order of submissions in relation to the number of pages and other design issues. While all of this went easily enough Holly’s contribution to the overall layout, and completion of the project cannot be emphasized enough. It was her eye for design and attention to small details that truly created the end product. She presented the Editorial Staff with several different options for a cover. She also put the layout on a program that worked for the printer, without which the journal would have been dead in the water.

The direction of Dr. Jones and Dr. Godsave was just enough to keep the project on track, but not so much as to be over-bearing. The balance formed a working environment for the student staff that was both enjoyable and productive. Both made themselves available at meetings and via email for any questions and concerns regarding the process. They made suggestions while allowing the final decision to be made by the staff of students.

The end product was our “Art and Literary Journal” that features several of the talented students at Cameron University. There are still copies of the journal available, and I strongly encourage people to pick up one. There are several notable pieces in the journal. I have my favorites from each section, like Jutta Carter’s poem, "Memories of Water," Justin Cliburn’s non-fiction entry "Tears in Bagdad," Reece Capps fictional story, "Jake is Dead," and the untitled picture by Bennet Dewan of a guitar player leaning against a wall.

It was a deeply rewarding experience for me to be a part of the journey. There were many wonderful people who came together to see the project through to publication. I am looking forward to being a part of this year’s journal. Seeing the talent of so many of my peers at Cameron is amazing. While our geographical area may be a dusty, baked impoverished zone, the minds it breeds are fertile and rich in imagination. Our local talent is not limited to the University, but it is a gathering ground for those seeking an outlet for their art. The Gold Mine is just one of the outlets available. Students interested in working on this year’s edition, or making submissions should watch for fliers and notices coming this Fall.

Writing Workshop in Duncan Rocked the Senior Center

On Saturday, August 7, 16 writers came to the Senior Citizens Center in Duncan for a writing workshop. At nine in the morning I showed up and found many people sitting at desks, waiting to start. Patsy Nixon was standing, waiting to show me what she had set up. Patsy, Teri McGrath, and myself had been discussing doing a workshop like this for months, probably a whole year. Finally, we decided to actually do it and without all of the work of Patsy, the workshop would’ve never happened. She arranged the space, arranged the food and drink, advertised, got writers to show up, and set up the room. Of course, her husband, Jack, was integral to setting up everything along the way, too. He is the quiet accomplice who gets it done.

Writers from Marlow, Duncan, Ft. Sill, Lawton, and other places attended. Experience ranged from beginners to pros who’ve been writing for years. Some writers in attendance have finished book manuscripts even. Stacey, for example, has written a memoir. He ws the last stowaway on the original Queen Mary ship. He boarded with the help of some younger crew in England and was caught on the way to Brazil. The American consulate gave him two choices: wait in Brazil until a plane to the U.S. could be arranged or stay on board the ship as a non-paying crew member for the last three weeks of the voyage. Stacey picked the latter option and wrote a 300-page manuscript about his adventures.

On Saturday, we did a few exercises and wrote about place. One writer showed Marlow as a spooky place at night while a new resident to Duncan resident showed it to have almost Utopian features. A Lawton writer focused on the many police cars and that the cars read “POL...ICE” Now, I can only see that when I see a Lawton police car since the workshop.

The workshop ran for four hours but included a break and a long lunch where everyone enjoyed talking to people they had just met and many attendees discussed writing over lunch. It was a nice event for sure. We’ve discussed doing more, of course, including a return to the Duncan Senior Citizens Center. Hopefully in six months or so.

Come gather round people, wherever you roam!

Guess what time it is?

It's open mic night time is what.




Come to the

Unitarian Universalist Church

@ 701 B Ave.

Saturday night at 6:30

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the last reading, but the famous Terry Gresham was there, and he made a post featuring two of the poems read that night, by Monty May.

Here is one of them:

MUSIC

Sing and play,
Cast a ray,
Draw from the wealth within you;
Dance, direct-
Use your own dialect,
The Muses are waiting to guide you.

Day raining dreams,
Sky reigning themes;
Circling motions of wonder-
Rising within, rising without,
Ringing like carols of thunder!

You can read the other at Terry's awesome blog, Toenail Moon, where he also keeps his poetry, links to interesting things, and musings about Frenchmen, Woodchucks, hipsters and werewolves.

I hope both Terry and Monty will be back tomorrow night, and I hope to see you there, too!

Labor Omnia Vincit

Oklahoma Laborfest sounds like it's going to be great!

The festival takes place in Oklahoma City's

Plaza District

from

August 26th to August 28th.

It will begin with a poetry reading at Coffy's Cafe, hosted by Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, whose book, Work is Love Made Visible: Poetry and Family Photographs, won the 2010 Oklahoma Book Award for Poetry.



Several Oklahoma writers will read, including our own Aaron Rudolph, Jason Poudrier and more. Lawton will be represented! Let us know if you are going, too.

Here's a link to a map of the Plaza District.

Here's the schedule of events for the rest of the weekend, including panel discussions, screenings of documentaries, live music and art shows!

The festival will wrap up with "Labor Speaks," an event that "will include dramatic readings of selected historical texts from Oklahoma’s labor and civil rights movement as well as musical performances of songs connected to these movements."

This is a great opportunity to support the arts and to learn about Oklahoma history.