Poetry evening
Gibson’s Bookstore will host a virtual night of verse with poet Arisa White on March 9 at 7 p.m. Her new collection, Who’s Your Daddy, is a lyrical, genre-bending coming-of-age tale featuring a queer, Black, Guyanese American woman who, while seeking to define her own place in the world, negotiates an estranged relationship with her father. She is joined in reading by poet Dara Wier, whose next collection of poems, Tolstoy Killed Anna Karenina, is due out from Wave Books in 2021. White is a Cave Canem fellow, Sarah Lawrence College alumna, an MFA graduate from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and author of the poetry chapbooks Disposition for Shininess, Post Pardon, Black Pearl, Perfect on Accident, and “Fish Walking” & Other Bedtime Stories for My Wife won the inaugural Per Diem Poetry Prize. Published by Virtual Artists Collective, her debut full-length collection, Hurrah’s Nest, was a finalist for the 2013 Wheatley Book Awards, 82nd California Book Awards, and nominated for a 44th NAACP Image Awards. Nominated for Pushcart Prizes in 2005, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2019, her poetry has been published widely and is featured on the recording WORD with the Jessica Jones Quartet.
Wier’s forthcoming book is a collection of poems, Tolstoy Killed Anna Karenina, from Wave Books; recent books are in the still of the night and You Good Thing, also from Wave. She lives and works in North Amherst, Mass. Lannan and Guggenheim foundations have supported her writing as well as the National Endowment for the Arts and Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Registration required at eventbrite.com/e/ 136832578927.
Audition for CCEH talent show
Have you been honing your special talent at home over these past winter months? Dreaming of a day when you can show it off? The Concord Coalition to End Homelessness wants to help you perform for people besides your friends and family, on stage (not just on Zoom!) and under the bright lights.
CCEH will hold its second annual Talent Show on May 1 to raise funds to help end homelessness in the Capital City. The last Talent Show featured ten acts and raised $30,000 for the organization’s mission.
“The quality of the talent in the Concord area is simply off-the-charts,” said Greg Lessard, chairman of the Talent Show Committee.
Before there’s a Talent Show, however, there must be auditions, which are scheduled for April 17 and 18 from 12 to 4 p.m. at two Concord locations: Area 23 and Litherman’s Limited Brewery. Following COVID protocol, the first auditions will be held outside at Area 23, located in the Smokestack Center at 254 N. State St., on April 17. Litherman’s Limited Brewery, 126 Hall St. Unit B, will then host aspiring performing artists at its outside patio on April 18.
Those interested in auditioning should visit concordhomeless.org/talent-show-about to view the contest rules and submit an application to perform. The deadline for applications is April 1.
Applicants are encouraged to use original material. All entries will be screened in April, with the selected contestants invited to perform at the live auditions in April at either Area 23 or Litherman’s. Six performers will advance to the May 1. Talent Show based on the judges’ opinions and show off their talents before a live audience at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord. In accordance with COVID safety guidance, seating at the live show will be limited to 100 spectators. However, the show will be live streamed for free on multiple platforms, including Concord TV, Facebook Live and YouTube. During the show CCEH will offer viewers the opportunity to buy a vote and support their favorites, and make a donation to the organization.
The May 1 vent will include the chance for the audience to vote for their favorite act, both online and on-site. Included in the ticket price, guests will be treated to food provided by the theater’s Main Street neighbors: Concord Food Co-op and O’s Steak and Seafood. A cash bar will also be available.
