Shireen Campbell

Dr. Campbell is the author of a memoir, “Frogheart.” Her creative nonfiction has appeared in “Double Lives, Reinvention” and “Those We Leave Behind, Transformations,” “Reflections on Service” and “Mom-Writers Literary Magazine”.

Alan Michael Parker

Alan Michael Parker has written two novels, including his newest book “Whale Man,” and five collections of poems. He is also the editor or co-editor of three scholarly texts. He won the Fineline Prize, a Pushcart Prize and the Lucille Medwick Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America.

The Feb. 10 reading will be 7:30-9:00 p.m. in the C. Shaw Smith 900 Room in the Alvarez College Union on the Davidson College campus. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, email Nancy Randazzo at narandazzo@davidson.edu or call 704-894-2284.

RELATED LINKS

The Charlotte Observer’s Pam Kelley interviewed Alan Michael Park about his new novel. See Feb. 6, 2011, “Davidson professor’s new novel is a whale of a tale.”

LITERARY CALENDAR

THURSDAY, FEB. 10

Davidson Reads: college authors, 7:30 p.m., Davidson College Alvarez College Union Smith 900 Room – 13th annual “Davidson Reads,” a celebration of writing by faculty members. Professor of English Shireen Campbell, director of the writing center, will read from her forthcoming memoir, Frogheart. Professor of English Alan Michael Parker, director of creative writing, is the author of two novels including the just-published Whale Man, and six collections of poems. Free. For information call 704-894-2254.

MONDAY, FEB. 14

Novelist Cris Mazza, 5 p.m., Davidson College Philanthopic Hall, upstairs – A free reading by novelist Cris Mazza, professor in the program for writers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

FRIDAY, FEB. 18

Conversation and Coffee with Velina Hasu Houston: the playwright of “Kokoro (True Heart)”, 4 p.m., Davidson College Alvarez College Union, Sprinkle Room.

Kokoro: Post-Show Talk Back with the Playwright, Director and Cast (time: after performance) – Davidson College Cunningham Theater Center, Barber Theatre. 704-894-2254.

TUESDAY, MARCH 8

Kevin Prufer Poetry Reading, 5 p.m., Davidson College Carolina Inn, Main Street – Free poetry reading with Kevin Prufer, author of “Fallen from a Chariot,” and “The Finger Bone.” He also is co-editor of “New European Poets” and “Pleiades: A Journal of New Writing.” He is Professor of English and Coordinator of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Central Missouri. More information on the college Website.

THURSDAY, MARCH 17

Art and literature: “10 Days”, 7:30 p.m., Davidson College Alvarez College Union, 900 Room – Alan Michael Parker, an English professor, and Herb Jackson, an art professor, present an art and literature event titled “10 Days.” Free.

MONDAY, MAY 2
U.S. poet laureate W.S. Merwin, 8 p.m., Davidson College, Duke Family Performance Hall. U.S. Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin, a 2-time Pulitzer Prize winner, gives the annual Joel Conarroe Lecture. For more information call 704-894-2254. Free, but tickets required.

KOKORO ON STAGE

FEB. 16-20 – The Davidson College theatre department invites the public to a production of the play “Kokoro,” written by contemporary Asian-American playwright Velina Hasu Houston. “Kokoro” chronicles the story of a young Japanese mother struggling to adapt to the very foreign culture of the United States, and illuminates the degree to which culture and spirituality shape our perception of truth and morality. The play contains adult language and themes and is recommended for ages 14 and up. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 16, 17, 18 and 19, and at 2 p.m. on February 20. All performances are in The Barber Theatre of Cunningham Theatre Center. General admission is $8, or $5 for seniors and $4 for students. Call the Union Ticket Office at 704-894-2135 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays or purchase online at www.davidson.edu/tickets. For general information call 704-894-2930.

Charles Sharpe's "Seven Brushes"

Show at Depot Visual Arts Center is the show’s only stop in the South this year.

By JOE MARUSAK
The Charlotte Observer

MOORESVILLE – Art lovers can view some of the world’s finest contemporary watercolor paintings in downtown Mooresville through Sunday, June 27, thanks to Ellen Patterson and other members of the Mooresville Artist Guild.

The American Watercolor Society’s 143rd Annual International Exhibition Travel Show opened May 23 at the Depot Visual Arts Center at Main Street and West Center Avenue, featuring 40 juried works.

Mooresville is the show’s only stop in the South this year.

“It’s the ‘Who’s Who’ of Watercolor,'” Ms. Patterson said.

Guan Weixing's "From the Hometown of Runtu"

Ms. Patterson wrote to the New York-based society more than two years ago to ask that it consider Mooresville for the show.

The letter cited the nonprofit Mooresville Artist Guild’s longtime standing in the community – it started in 1955 with six artists and now has about 200 members – and its location in a historic train depot.

The next thing she and other members knew, Mooresville had been selected for the show.

Mooresville is the show’s second 2010 stop, after New York City, where the society is based. The show’s other stops this year will be in Middletown, Ohio, Grants Pass, Ore., and Richland, Wash.

"Party Animals" by Pat Holscher

Mooresville was selected in part because it was a new stop for the exhibition, and also because Ms. Patterson wrote the society asking for consideration, said Helen Napoli, chairman of the traveling exhibition. The Depot also could accommodate the 40 works, she said.

The guild has seen strong turnout for the show, including 56 people May 25, the night renowned watercolor artist Frank Webb lectured at the Depot. Webb also conducted a five-day workshop attended by 21 artists from as far away as Raleigh, West Virginia and South Carolina.

Another 65 people visited the exhibition May 31. Visitors have come from across North Carolina as well as Florida, other states, England and Belgium.

Guild members started preparing for the exhibition a year ago. Volunteers distributed exhibition brochures at N.C. welcome centers and in Seagrove, the famed pottery town about 60 miles northeast of Charlotte.

The art supply company Cheap Joe’s, of Boone, distributed 10,000 postcards promoting the show.

“We’ve had a lot of volunteer responses in a lot of areas,” Ms. Patterson said.

The show cost $7,000 to arrange and received support from the local MI-Connection communications system, Cheap Joe’s, Iredell Arts Council, Wal-Mart, Allen Tate Realtors and the Mooresville Convention & Visitor’s Bureau.

Guild members Mary Luke and Barbara Earnshaw helped Patterson hang the exhibition after several men carried and unpacked the paintings from their crates. The display fills the Depot’s three exhibition rooms.

All of the works are for sale, ranging from $900 to $6,000.

Guild members were pleasantly surprised to learn that one of the 40 works, “Soho Shadows,” is by Linda Baker of Mooresville.

American Watercolor Society show

Where: The Depot Visual Arts Center, 103 W. Center Ave., Mooresville.

When: On display through June 27. Hours: Noon-4 p.m. Sundays; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; Mondays and evenings by appointment.

Admission: Free. Donations are welcome.

To take school or other large groups, or for more details: 704-663-6661.

This story from The Charlotte Observer appears with permission on DavidsonNews.net as part of our local news partnership with the Observer.