Danny Glover, Terry McMillan, Sterling Plumpp in Gloster, MS

[Troy 1,807]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - JULY 2015

Danny Glover, Terry McMillan, Sterling Plumpp in Gloster along with The Gloster Project's visiting artists on Friday, July 17, 2015, at 7:00pm at The Wagon Wheel Cafe. Gloster, Mississippi.  The Gloster Project presents an evening with Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon, The Color Purple, Witness, Predator 2, Beyond the Lights), novelist Terry McMillan (Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back), poet Sterling Plumpp, a Mississippi born Chicago blues poet, and visiting artists Kelvyn Bell, Ebony Golden, Nambi Kelley, Quincy Troupe and Carlos Uribe, at the Wagon Wheel Café, 320 East Main Street, Gloster, MS 39638 on Friday, July 17, 2015 at 7:00PM. Admission is $25 per person and includes a reading by Ms. McMillan and Mr. Plumpp, performances by the teaching artists, a keynote address by Danny Glover, and dinner. This event is a benefit fundraiser for The Gloster Project. For reservations or other information, call (917) 843-7571 or email  theglosterproject@gmail.com. The  six visiting teaching artists include guitarist and musical theater director,  Kelvyn Bell, performance artist,  Ebony Golden, poet & photographer  Rachel Eliza Griffiths, actress and playwright  Nambi Kelley, poet and Miles Davis biographer,  Quincy Troupe, and visual artist Carlos Uribe. The Gloster Project Free Summer Arts Camp is serving over 45 kids aged 7-17 years old. For five hours a day, five days a week, over three consecutive weeks in July, the artists teach the basics of writing poetry, playing guitar, drawing, painting, and musical theater production. At the end of the three weeks, the kids will stage a public performance that brings all their learning and talents together on Thursday evening, July 23, 2015 in the auditorium at the Gloster Elementary School, 154 Cassels Street, Gloster, MS 39638.  About The Gloster Project The Gloster Project is founded by Margaret Porter Troupe, director of Margaret Porter Troupe Arts Projects, LLC. Ms. Porter Troupe is a native of Gloster, Mississippi. Major funding for The Gloster Project has been provided by Drax BioMass USA, a manufacturer of wood pellets for renewable low-carbon power generation from sustainable biomass. Margaret Porter Troupe Arts Projects LLC is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Margaret Porter Troupe Arts Projects LLC must be made payable to "Fractured Atlas" only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.  Donate. Media Contact   Name: Margaret Porter Troupe Title: Director, The Gloster Project Phone: (917) 843-7571 Email address: theglosterproject@gmail.com

Edited July 11, 2015 by Troy

[CDBurns 640]

I might have to make the drive to this. It's actually a reasonable distance.

[Troy 1,807]

Not exactly a day trip though.  

Margaret, the director of the project, is cool people.  She and her husband, Quincy, host readings in their home all the time.  At one reading I recall thinking to myself that there was on Nobel laureate, at least two MacArthur foundation Genius prize winners, a couple of Pulitzer Prize winners, and the apartment was full of Black folks.

[CDBurns 640]

I don't know if they remember me, but Quincy was the head of the Lit department at UCSD when I was at SDSU. I actually performed on the same bill as Quincy in San Diego on several occasions. When I coached, I got to watch his son who was a very good basketball player (obviously because Quincy was damn good himself) play in high school in San Diego. I actually hired his son's coach as my assistant.

The young Black poets in San Diego threw our weight behind Quincy when his degrees were outed and they ousted him as Poet Laureate of Cali. Then when a lot of us entered the MFA program and were attempting to do certain things in San Diego we got upset when it felt like the blowback against Quincy was hurting us. They have always done incredible work and they have always been very active in the community in San Diego. I had no idea that Margaret was from Mississippi and it's good to know this info. Thanks Troy!

[Troy 1,807]

Dude I did not realize that you went back that far in the literary world. I would definitely go if I were you, you have a strong connection.  If I were in FL, as I normally am this time of year, I would drive up and meet you.  Tell 'em AALBC.com sent ya! :-)

[CDBurns 640]

I wish my connection was stronger. I was always pulled in several directions like I am today. When I first met Quincy Troupe it was on the heels of the Magic Johnson book. I think that was 95. I had just started writing, but I was also playing college basketball. I was an old freshman after the military. I had a chance to sit in on events and he held a series in La Jolla every year. I was hosting the Open Mic at the Gallery 504 and I had a number of real opportunities to perform with Quincy, but something always stopped me from being able to meet him, although I was performing on a couple of stages after him and judged in one San Diego poetry slam that he was one of the panelists for. When I say a lot of us, it was San Diego so the Black Poets were older than I was, and our new wave was entering the MFA at SDSU one at a time. The first was Renee Swindle, then Jane Milligan and Jahsun Olufemi Edmonds, then I was next, then Bennie Eklipse Herron, then Ajani Brown (he's becoming pretty popular in Afrofuturism and is a professor at SDSU) and I don't know who came after Ajani. I stopped hosting the Gallery when it moved from downtown due to imminent domain and was moved to North Park. Herb Singletary connected every part of the San Diego Poetry scene. Although it was never really big, and Quincy very rarely stepped in, just because he was in San Diego it gave us a foundation.When I look back at that it could have been so much more. I'm hoping things come together in the next few days and I can go. I will keep you posted.

Edited July 13, 2015 by CDBurns

[kwame zulu shabazz 3]

This was fantastic event! I'm glad I was able to attend. Breathing life into a sleepy Mississippi town takes vision and lots of commitment.

[Troy 1,807]

Kwame, thanks for sharing your sentiments. 

[CDBurns 640]

Way to go Kwame, as with my life, I didn't make it. Please share pics and info of the event. Troy I have to find a way to get back into writing as a primary source of income or I'm destined to be in manufacturing and missing out on art and other great events. What direction do you recommend?