An inspiring evening celebrating the joys and triumphs of life is being staged Tuesday, May 18 by the Georgia Poetical Cooperative. The Coop is hosting an evening focused entirely on poems by great poets that celebrate the delights of life.
The performance is being held at Appalachia restaurant on Steve Tate Highway just outside Big Canoe’s north gate. All poetry lovers are invited.
“We think this performance is just what most people need,” the evening’s organizer, Carl Japikse, explains. “In the midst of economic uncertainty and social change, it is both wise and refreshing to turn to the voices of optimism and vision that have inspired humanity for centuries, great poets who have celebrated the major and minor delights of life in memorable verse.
“Great poetry is meant to be read out loud, filling the rafters,” Japikse adds. “We try to fulfill this function of poetry with every show we present.”
Titled A Celebration of Verse, May’s performance is packed with zest, delight, triumph and more than a touch of good humor. Poems being performed range from A Song of Joys by Walt Whitman and Who is Silvia? by William Shakespeare to Out in the Fields with God by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Hope is a Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson and My Heart Leaps Up by William Wordsworth, plus dozens of others. Other featured poets include Stephen Vincent Benet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Robert Frost, Alexander Pope, Richard Hovey, and Sara Teadale - plus, or course, Lewis Carroll.
The GPC cast presenting the poems consists of Jim Puhger and Carl Japikse of Big Canoe, Jean Curran of Hill City, and Janet Vardaman of Talking Rock. Japikse will serve as emcee for the evening.
“Our goal is to impart the joy and delight tapped by these poets through their inspiration to each person attending the show,” Japikse adds. “This evening will be the perfect antidote to anyone troubled by the economic and social tribulations of the day.”
The Georgia Poetical Cooperative is presenting six public performances of poetry during 2010. The first, New Beginnings, was in January. Two months ago, the group staged Robert Frost: Fire and Ice. The next scheduled show, in August, will highlight the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe.
The festivities will begin with dinner at 6:30 Tuesday evening. The performance will commence at 7:30 and run until 9.
There is no charge for the performance, although each person attending will be expected to pay for any food and beverage ordered from the restaurant. Those who plan to attend are asked to call Japikse at 706-579-1274 or e-mail him at carl@lightariel.com by noon on the day of the show in order to reserve a seat. It is not necessary to make a reservation with the restaurant.
Appalachia, An American Grill, is located at 3909 Steve Tate Highway in Marble Hill, just south of the north entrance into Big Canoe. Owned by Jason and Krissy Fitts, it is one of the highest-rated restaurants in the area. It is reached easily from Jasper by driving east on Cove Road and north on Steve Tate Highway. Appalachia is on the left side of the road in a couple of miles. |
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