Participation Type
Performance
Session Title
Session 5.18 Literature
Presentation #1 Title
Christmas in Bethlehem
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This is a reading from a collection of sonnets set half in Bethlehem of Judea and half in Bethlehem, GA, which is the tiny town in the foothills of the Appalachians in which I live. The language of the poems is very much of a folk vein, while their formal setting in sonnet structure gives them music. One of the poems has been set to music as an anthem by a church music composer and the sheet music for that song is incorporated into the body of the book. I have created a presentation for readings from this book in which I intersperse traditional mountain folk carols ( Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning, I Wonder as I Wander,etc.) with the reading of selected poems. I will be accompanied on these songs by musician friends. My presentation can be held within a fifteen minute time frame, or can be expanded to half an hour or longer. This reading from my new collection seems appropriate to the theme of the conference and yet will, I feel certain, be a unique and interesting offering.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Dana Wildsmith is the author of five collections of poems and a Georgia Author of the Year winning memoir, Back to Abnormal. She has served as writer-in-residence for Grand Canyon National Park.
Christmas in Bethlehem
This is a reading from a collection of sonnets set half in Bethlehem of Judea and half in Bethlehem, GA, which is the tiny town in the foothills of the Appalachians in which I live. The language of the poems is very much of a folk vein, while their formal setting in sonnet structure gives them music. One of the poems has been set to music as an anthem by a church music composer and the sheet music for that song is incorporated into the body of the book. I have created a presentation for readings from this book in which I intersperse traditional mountain folk carols ( Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning, I Wonder as I Wander,etc.) with the reading of selected poems. I will be accompanied on these songs by musician friends. My presentation can be held within a fifteen minute time frame, or can be expanded to half an hour or longer. This reading from my new collection seems appropriate to the theme of the conference and yet will, I feel certain, be a unique and interesting offering.
