From the Lyric Poem to Song
Lyrics
Whittier
College Writers Festival
featuring John Doe & David Daniel, Sholeh Wolpe &
Mamak Khadem,
and Tony Barnstone & Genuine Brandish
September 18, 2011
Part 1 Discussion and Workshop 3:00 p.m.
$5.00
Discuss the craft of turning poetry into music
Part 2 Concert 7:00 p.m.
$20.00
Seniors $15.00
Students $5.00
hear the finished products of 3 different poet/composer
combinations.
John Doe &
David Daniel
John Doe is an American singer, songwriter,
actor, poet and bass player. Doe founded the
much-praised L.A. punk band X, of which he is
still an active member. His musical performances
and compositions span the rock, country and folk
music genres. As an actor, he has dozens of
television appearances and several movies to his
credit, including the role of Jeff Parker in the
television series Roswell.
In addition to X, Doe performs with the
country-folk-punk band The Knitters and has
released records as a solo artist. In the early
1980s, he performed on two albums by The Flesh
Eaters.
David Daniel was raised in
Murfreesboro in Tennessee and is a poet
of national acclaim. He has been the
poetry editor for Ploughshares a
literary journal published by Emerson
College in Boston. Ploughshares has had
guest editors such as Seamus Heaney,
Peter O'Malley as well as many others
including David Daniel.
Daniel wrote
several reviews of poetry in
Ploughshares in his two periods as
poetry editor. His poems and reviews
have also appeared in numerous other
journals including the Harvard Review,
Agni, post Road and Witness. He served
as the poetry editor from 1992 until
2007. After this role he moved to become
the director of undergraduate creative
writing at Fairleigh Dickinson
University in New Jersey. He also
performs the role of political editor
for The Literary Review at the same
university.
David Daniel's most famous book of
poems - Seven-Star Bird published
by Graywolf in 2003 won the Levis
Reading Prize from Virginia Commonwealth
University. He also wrote essays and
reviews which have been published in
various places including The Harvard
Review, Ploughshares, Boston Review and
The Journal of Country Music.
David Daniel has also travelled
across the United States of America with
his book and also music bringing the
words to life with his Tennessee twang.
Daniel also picked up degrees from
Vanderbilt University, John Hopkins
University and the University of
Virginia. At the University of Virginia
Daniel was also a Henry Hoyns Fellow.
In 1992 David Daniel wrote a chapbook
entitled The Quick and The Dead
which was published by Haw River.
Sholeh Wolpe &
Mamak Khadem
Sholeh Wolpé is an award-winning poet, literary
translator and writer. Born in Iran, she has lived in
England, Trinidad and the United States. Her
publications include two collections of poetry
Rooftops of Tehran (Red Hen Press, 2008), and The
Scar Saloon (Red Hen Press, 2004), a CD of poetry
and music, and a book of translations, Sin: Selected
Poems of Forugh Farrokhzad (University of Arkansas
Press, 2007)— for which she was awarded the Lois Roth
Translation Prize in 2010.
Sholeh is a regional editor of Tablet & Pen:
Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East
edited by Reza Aslan (W.W. Norton, 2010), the editor of
2010 Iran issue of the Atlanta Review which
became the journal's bestselling edition, and the editor
of an upcoming anthology of poems from Iran, The
Forbidden: Poems from Iran and its exiles
(University of Michigan State Press, 2012.) She is also
a contributing editor of Los Angeles Review of Books
and the poetry editor of the Levantine Review, an
online journal about the Middle East.
Sholeh's poems, translations, essays and reviews have
appeared in scores of literary journals, periodicals and
anthologies worldwide, and been translated into several
languages. She has been thrice nominated for the
Pushcart Prize and been featured on NPR, Voice of
America and Dodge Poetry Festival. Sholeh holds Masters
degrees in Radio-TV-Film (Northwestern University) and
Public Health (Johns Hopkins University). She lives in
Los Angeles.
You can read more about Sholeh Wolpe on
The Poetry Foundation website.
Website:
www.sholehwolpe.com
Called "...one of the wonders of world trance
music", by The Los Angeles Times, Mamak Khadem
captivates audiences by blending her roots in the
ancient poetry and music of the Persian masters with a
bold and revolutionary new sound. By nature, she is a
nomad, one who thrives on open spaces. By occupation,
she is a bridge, one that connects geography to lore. In
music, she is open to cultural influences, but she has
chosen the classical Persian style as her base. Formerly
of the sensational cross-cultural fusion ensemble AXIOM
OF CHOICE, Mamak weaves a canopy, both simple and rich,
for a stunningly emotional and spiritual musical
experience that inspires new listeners to embrace
cultural diversity and an awareness and appreciation of
Persian arts and culture through a blending of old and
new.
Inspired by the poetry and paintings of Iranian
artist Sohrab Sepehri, Mamak Khadem’s new project "A
Window To Color" shares a message of peace and
understanding through an exploration of what is most
sacred in the natural world as expressed in Sepehri’s
contributions to the cannon of Persian literature,
culture, history and traditions. Like Sepehri, Mamak
Khadem seeks to explore the intersections of Eastern and
Western traditions. Collaborating with traditional
performers from Iran as well as world-aware
instrumentalists from the West, Mamak hopes to inspire
people around the world, particularly the young, to
contemplate, observe and celebrate the value of nature
and the environment. Mamak's first solo album "Jostojoo
(Forever Seeking)" features some of Mamak's favorite
Persian poetry blended with carefully chosen melodies
rooted in the traditions of Armenia, Greece, Turkey and
Iran.
Mamak Khadem was born in Iran, at a time when
tides were changing. She was part of the Children's
Choir for National Radio and Television of Iran, but it
wasn't until after the Iranian Revolution that her
passion for singing waxed. Inspired by works of master
musicians, she seized every opportunity to further her
vocal art, regularly traveling back to Iran to study
with some of the finest Persian vocalists and masters.
She also benefited from the study of classical Indian
singing tradition at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music
in Northern California and from singing with the Los
Angeles based Balkan choir Nevenka.
Appearing with Shole Wolpe and Mamak
Khadem:
Hamid Saeidi is a Persian
santoor player currently living in Los Angeles. He
studied santoor with Master Madjid Kiani, and has a
degree in music from The Iranian Academy of the Arts,
where he studied composition with Farhad Fakhredini and
Vartan Sahakian. He has performed in Iran, Greece,
Ireland, Germany, Turkey, Sweden, Malaysia, and the
United States, and has composed the scores for over
thirty film, theater, and television productions,
including Javdanegi by Farshad Fereshtehekmat,
Afsaneh Saheleh Tareek by Reza Davari, and
Letters from Tentland by Helena Waldman. His
compositions have received awards at the BeirutFilm
Festival (2002), the Iran TV Festival (2002/2004/2007),
and the Society of Critics of Theater in Iran (2005).
Tony Barnstone & Genuine Brandish
Tony Barnstone
is The Albert Upton Professor of English Language and
Literature at Whittier College and has a Masters in
English and Creative Writing and Ph.D. in English
Literature from the University of California at
Berkeley. His books of poetry include Tongue of War:
From Pearl Harbor to Nagasaki (BKMK Press, 2009),
which won the John Ciardi Prize in Poetry, The Poets
Prize, a NEA Fellowship, the Independent Publisher Book
Silver Award, and the Grand Prize from the Strokestown
International Poetry Festival,The Golem of Los
Angeles (Red Hen Press, 2008), which won the
Benjamin Saltman Award in Poetry, Sad Jazz: Sonnets
(Sheep Meadow Press, 2005) and Impure: Poems by Tony
Barnstone (University Press of Florida, 1998), in
addition to a chapbook of poems titled Naked Magic
(Main Street Rag). He is also a distinguished translator
of Chinese poetry and literary prose and an editor of
literary textbooks. His books in these areas include
Chinese Erotic Poetry (Everyman, 2007); The
Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry (Anchor, 2005);
Out of the Howling Storm: The New Chinese Poetry
(Wesleyan, 1993); Laughing Lost in the Mountains:
Poems of Wang Wei (University Press of New England,
1991); The Art of Writing: Teachings of the Chinese
Masters (Shambhala, 1996); and the textbooks
Literatures of Asia, Africa and Latin America,
Literatures of Asia, and Literatures of the
Middle East (all from Prentice Hall Publishers).
Among his other awards are the Pushcart Prize in Poetry,
as well as a fellowship from the California Arts
Council. In addition to his literary work, Barnstone is
working on a number of multimedia projects, including a
graphic novel, radio plays, a book of poems configured
as a deck of cards, and songwriting. Tokyo Burning
is his first CD of co-written songs. His website is
www.barnstone.com
Genuine Brandish is
John Clinebell and
Ariana Hall.
Since moving to Los Angeles in 2005,
John Clinebell’s become a frequently featured
Koffeehouse artist, opened shows for major label pop
acts Toad The Wet Sprocket and Rhett Miller (of the Old
‘97s), and worked with producers Andrew Bush (Jimmy
Webb, Peter Case, Bob Dylan) Jared Kotler (of
platinum-selling Marcy Playground), Luke Tozour (who’s
engineered Katy Perry) and Ronan Chris Murphy (King
Crimson).
John recently received an ASCAPlus Award for his
contributions to the local scene. He’s performing at
Koffeehouse’s Catalina Island Unplugged series and the
Whittier College Poetry Festival. He has been
commissioned to translate poet Tony Barnstone’s
prize-winning book Tongue of War into an album of folk
songs. The album is currently in production with
producer Andrew Bush. Videos for John’s songs “The End”
and “Hold On” have been featured on Yahoo! Music. And
his most recent studio album, Make It Land, spun on 150+
college radio stations in 2010. In the spirit of
service, John volunteers with The Art of Elysium, a
non-profit whose goal is to help children who are
battling serious medical conditions by providing them
with entertainment and creative workshops.
Ariana
has worked on
her original
music with:
two-time Grammy
Award winning
producer Ted
Greenberg
(Shadows of
Mowtown), as
well as
celebrity music
producer/Academy
Award winner Ric
Wake (J-Lo). She
has recorded
with notable
producer Richard
Perry (Beatles,
Babs, Elton
John). She
received a
standing ovation
after each of 4
years playing
the Main Stage
of the Florida
Folk Festival,
the first year
as she was
releasing a 5
song CD, which
received a 5
star review from
Maverick Music
Magazine in
England. She
headlined the
Florida Folk
Festival and
played 2 other
Southern
California
festivals this
past summer.
Graduating cum
laude from the
University of
Miami Jazz
School, Ariana
has toured all
over the world
as a
professional
singer including
Hong Kong,
Australia,
Europe & Canada.
Most recently,
she gave a
private concert
for renowned
author Eckhart
Tolle and has
given
performances for
the Prince of
Wales at Windsor
Castle and at
the Disney
Concert Hall in
Los Angeles.
Her studio music
credits include
commercials,
voiceovers, and
back-up vocals
on major label
releases. Most
recently she
recorded for
Adam Lambert at
Capitol Records
and appeared on
Rod Stewart's
latest album
(released
October 2010),
backing him up
on the song "Bye
Bye, Blackbird."
Ariana has also
appeared on the
Wayne Brady and
Craig Kilborn
Shows,
performing with
singing legend
Engelbert
Humperdinck.
Ariana is a
respected
speaker with a
system for
accessing and
honing
authenticity.
She has
strengthened the
voices of
artists,
speakers,
business
professionals
and children for
the last 12
years. Her
unique company
SelfExpressedVoice.com
is known in
personal
development
circles in Los
Angeles and
beyond as a
force for good.
It continues to
gain momentum as
her programs
inspire new
entrepreneurs to
live their
message with
confidence while
empowering the
presentation and
authenticity of
seasoned
professionals.
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