Collage Inspirations

Posted on 2 March 2012 by MEY

Photo by Karen Hooker

These days collage is all around me, with the community arts collaboration Words & Afterwards in full swing. The public workshops given in February by visual artist Gail Trapp-Bohner and myself were reported by Britteny Dee of The State News (“Workshop explores violence and healing,” Feb. 21). Updates for this project are available by subscription at http://deyofthephoenix.com/words, though I will periodically mention them here on my main web site.

During March, workshops take place at REACH Studio Art Center, and are co-led by visual artist Jen Loforese and myself. Participants in the Teen Open Studio are creating collages based on a secular version of the Prayer of St. Francis. The collages will be brought together as book art — a one-of-a-kind creation — to be shown at (SCENE) Metrospace as part of the exhibit “Words & Afterwards: Moving from Violence to Healing.” It’s an amazing experience to watch the creative process of collage unfold, especially as a writer experimenting with the visual arts.

Toward my own original work that will be included in the exhibit, which opens April 27 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm, I recently recorded my father’s poem “War–Just a Touch” read by community member and peace advocate Jack Smith, also an associate professor in the College of Education at Michigan State University. My father, Millard Ernest Hasbrook, Sr. (1948-1999), was a Vietnam veteran and childhood domestic-violence survivor, and his poem conveys these combined experiences.

Virginia May Wilson (1923-1992)

The audio recording will accompany mixed-media work inspired by the poem, alongside two others — one by myself and my great aunt Virginia May Wilson (1923-1992). Aunt Ginny was enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) of World War II and thereafter worked as a physical therapist in VA (Veterans Affairs) Hospitals across the nation. Together the three poems, mixed-media work, and audio recordings explore the impact of war across generations. Domestic violence intersects this exploration — from my father’s childhood with his alcoholic father, into the childhoods of my father’s children as we survived his abuse and alcoholism.

By the way, during March I’ll be kicking around the Open Art Studio at NorthStar Center of Lansing on Tuesdays from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. These sessions are bring-your-own supplies and projects, while modest supplies are available through NSC’s donation. In order to keep the space breathable, supplies with strong fumes or scents are for outdoor-use-only. So if you have an arts project or want to start one, you are welcome to come make use of the cozy space.

Updated May 2, 2012.

Posted in Words and Afterwards | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Billboard Installation

Posted on 16 February 2012 by MEY

This morning I watched my words stretch across a billboard! As a recipient of the Arts Council of Greater Lansing‘s Emerging Artist Grant (2011), I was eligible to take part in this promotional program, a collaboration between the ACGL and Adams Outdoor Advertising. The billboard is located on Westbound I-96, after Exit 86 for Wright Road and just before Exit 84 for Eagle. Here’s a map of the vicinity.

The line “blood beats history as presence” comes from the poem “A Concise History,” published in my collection “Circle. . .Home” (2011). A photo album of the installation is available here on Flickr. I was delighted to see that the billboard’s location is near Clark Road, the same road on which the family farm had stood, the words being several miles west of my hometown DeWitt, Michigan.

In addition to this joyful announcement, I am glad to mention that the free writing program Embodying Our Nature, presented by The HerStories Project, begins tomorrow, February 17, and continues February 18, both days taking place at Gone Wired Cafe (2021 E. Michigan Ave.) of Lansing. We are joined by Allegra W. Smith, representative of our event partner the Michigan State University LBGT Resource Center; writer Dawn Comer traveling from Defiance, Ohio; artist/ yoga instructor Julia Brown; naturalist/ musician Barb Barton (Friday) of Where the Wild Foods Grow; spoken-word artist Jan de la Torre (Saturday), and more! Check out this HerStories blog post for details about contributors.

Also, Monday, February 20, is the second and last free collage workshop for “Words and Afterwards,” which takes place in the Art Studio of the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at MSU, thanks to our project partner the RCAH Center for Poetry. Follow this link to learn more about the session, which explores violence and healing through creative expression.

Posted in Event, HerStories, Pics&Videos, Words and Afterwards, Workshop | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Words and Afterwards: Collage Workshops

Posted on 2 February 2012 by MEY

In DotP‘s last post, “Greetings for 2012“, I mentioned a new direction in my creative work. The first expression of this path is a community collaboration titled “Words and Afterwards,” which presents art-making workshops and an arts exhibition about violence and healing. This project is supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Arts Council of Greater Lansing, Inc. The Peace Education Center received an MCACA Minigrant, which supports Michigan artists. Stay tuned for more about the background story for “Words and Afterwards”!

“Words and Afterwards” kicks off with free collage workshops on February 13, 7:00-9:30pm, and February 20, 4:00-6:30pm, in the RCAH Art Studio (basement of Snyder-Phillips Halls) at Michigan State University. This space is donated by project partner RCAH Center for Poetry. Collages will become part of an arts exhibition at (SCENE) Metrospace of East Lansing.

Adults and high-school aged youth may participate in the workshops. Artists and first-time art-makers are welcome to take part. There are only 15 spots for each session, both given by visual artist Gail Bohner and myself. Registration is available by email melissahasbrook @gmail.com or phone 517.897.5833.

Any help to spread word about these free workshops is greatly appreciated! Click the image for the full-sized poster, which was designed by RCAH student and Center for Poetry employee Kat Palczewski.

Posted in Words and Afterwards, Workshop | Leave a comment

Greetings for 2012

Posted on 24 January 2012 by MEY

During the darkest weeks of this winter season, I stepped back to take in the fullness of the past year. The reflection surfaced gratitude, personally and professionally. As days began to lengthen, I retreated to Trout Lake in the Hiawatha Forest, where a new direction became clear. It is the same place where a glimpse of this web site emerged (see post “Beginnings”) and the last stage of “Circle…Home” took shape. And now as daylight catches up with the night’s watch, I am excited about my next path — even phase of life — as it leads in a fresh direction.

I will be sharing the width of these changes via Dey of the Phoenix in coming months, so I hope you stay tuned. The first news, though, I would share is that I am phasing out of organizing community programs early this year, and for some time to come. I am hosting a reading by author Marycela this Friday on January 27, and co-organizing the writing program Embodying Our Nature held on February 17 and 18; both events take place at Gone Wired Cafe (2021 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing). Visit The HerStories Project web site for details.

Putting on feature performances to benefit agencies serving survivors of violence, as well as HerStories programs celebrating stories about women and gender expression, has presented rewards and challenges. I would not be surprised that down the road community organizing becomes a part of my work again. But for an unknown time to come, I will be focusing on a new creative project revolving around a central question: What do certain stories tell us about healing?

At the start of 2012, I completed a one-year shamanic apprenticeship taught by Colleen Deatsman (Circle of Life), an amazing teacher alongside an amazing circle of souls. (Read here about shamanism.) The experience resonates with recent years among Friends, or Quakers, in Meetings for Worship with Attention to Healing, the intention being to “hold” one another in the Light. (Read here about Quaker Worship.) I am excited to see how this spiritual journey is shaping my current creative work and inspiring the next writing project — both stories to share in the near future.

So, as the first month of 2012 reaches a close, my wish for all: that each month unfolds joy, hope, and inspiration! For anyone in the Greater Lansing area interested in writing, you are more than welcome to join the open circle at The Writing Room. Through April, we meet 2nd and 4th Tuesdays from 6:30-8:30pm at the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing (1712 E. Michigan Ave.). Updates are available by subscription on the blog.

Posted in Creativity, Event, HerStories, Spirituality, The Writing Room | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Final Round

Posted on 5 December 2011 by MEY

This week is the final round for launching my poetry collection Circle. . .Home, a publication brought to Greater Lansing through local events, with the publication and events made possible in part by a grant from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing. Thanks to all of you who have extended moral and/or material support during the year!

Tonight I speak on the theme “Throughout Generations” and share a selection from Circle. . .Home at the Kiwanis Club of Holt, which meets at Charlar Place (4230 Charlar Drive).  A special thanks to Karla Janing for introducing me to club members! Doors open at 6pm, dinner starts at 6:30pm, and the program at 7pm.

It feels right that my last event of the year mirrors the first — “Light in the Dark” from April. Like that feature performance, “generations: a night of poetry & music” on December 9, at (SCENE) Metrospace is a benefit for The Listening Ear Crisis Center. Performing with me are oboist Gretchen Morse (Lansing Symphony Orchestra) and band The Heades. The program begins at 7pm and suggested donation is $10 – 5, with proceeds going toward the Capital Area Sexual Assault Response Center.

“generations” is a unique performance in that the musicians and I organically developed the program, selecting poems from Circle. . .Home around a theme: the impact of war throughout generations, whose survival offers hope and inspiration despite cycles of violence. The event observes the international campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (Nov. 25 – Dec. 10) with its 2012 theme, calling for an end to militarism and gender violence. Partners include the RCAH Center for Poetry at MSU and Peace Education Center of Greater Lansing.

It would be a great pleasure to see old and new friends at this final event for 2011! Also, this performance is the last for at least several months, due to a hiatus I am taking. I look forward to the company of whomever will gather for the poetic-musical evening, which at the same time supports survivors of sexual violence in our community.

Posted in Circle Home, Event | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s a New Dey! Nov. 22, 2011

Posted on 22 November 2011 by MEY

Here’s the second edition of “It’s a New Dey!“, a newsletter from deyofthephoenix.com about creative and community events.

And, remember, tonight is Bridges Open Mic, a written and spoken-word event presented by The HerStories Project. The program starts at 7:00pm at (SCENE) Metrospace of East Lansing and offers a great line-up of wordsmiths. Cover is $3, and the first 50 MSU students enter for free thanks to a donation from the MSU LBGT Resource Center.

Posted in Event, It's a New Dey | Leave a comment

A Week with Roots

Posted on 15 November 2011 by MEY

The week’s an interesting one, by its end having visited my hometown of DeWitt twice. This frequency is rare, without immediate family residing there since the mid-1990s. My second trip comes this Thursday, November 17, for a reading of Circle. . .Home at the DeWitt District Library, 13101 Schavey Road, from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. Thanks to the Clinton County Historical Society for joining the event!

My first visit took me to the Creative Writing Club of DeWitt High School, from which I graduated with the Class of 1992, to my knowledge the last class with only 100 students. From that year, the Anishinabeg land — once widely farmed by immigrants — exploded with suburbanization, a process that began while my grandfather still was a dairy farmer. The conversation with students bubbled in their Class-A, two-story structure on Panther Drive, the paved way named after the school mascot; meanwhile, my “old” high-school is currently a middle-school.

The circle expressed particular interest in being a writer and publishing. It’s my hope to have encouraged them to pursue their own path — not one laid out by status-quo notions of career or writing — in other words, to be true to themselves. Such truth stems from one’s roots, which we need tap in order to bear our cultural legacies, in order to honor the land(s) from which we come, in order to use our gifts for present and future generations.

In the hub of energy and excitement, I’m sure some of my responses didn’t reach full circle, as one thought or another jumped the tracks. Once a reporter told me I have an “interesting” conversation style; apparently, I pick up a new point while still processing another! This case may very well be true, having been diagnosed with ADD after graduate school. So here I’ll take a moment to share a couple of thoughts that kicked around during the club visit. And thanks to clubbers and adviser Eder DeLaCruz for hosting!

  • Chrystos, a two-spirit poet-activist, advised me to share my poetry through chapbooks (self-published collections), since small presses that once took on women’s radical work have folded. I first took her advice with my friends to create Echoes of Women (2006), dedicated to our friend Samantha, a beautiful poet-teacher who we lost to suicide. Truth: The wisdom of elders and experience are necessary to keep our stories alive, and inspire innovations to survive a new time.

    • ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  • After the first day of public-speaking as a high-school sophomore, I anxiously transferred to something else, having been terrified after just one class. Nowadays, bringing words to life with people in real-time is what energizes my community work, aligning the power of The Word with the power of The People. Gathering a circle from various walks of life to listen to one another is powerful, as are all acts rooted in love. Truth: Despite past fears or current oppressions, embracing what keeps us alive — body, mind, and soul — is a matter of building up ourselves and our communities.

    • ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Finally, thanks to you, subscribers and readers, for following Dey of the Phoenix! Wishing you an inspired day, full of hope and enthusiasm.

Posted in Circle Home, Creativity, Event | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

It’s a New Dey

Posted on 7 November 2011 by MEY

Dey of the Phoenix is my individual website, where I publish my words as well as pass on events. Yet within its domain name (deyofthephoenix.com), I also maintain web spaces for the grassroots endeavor The HerStories Project and The Writing Room — a bimonthly writing circle that offers a monthly open mic.

In an effort to highlight events from across the domain of deyofthephoenix.com, I’ve come up with “It’s a New Dey.” This periodic, creative-news update always will take the form of one letter-sized page to accomplish these aims: be brief and expedite its posting in print by supporters.

Thanks for any and all efforts to keep Greater Lansing up-to-date by passing on the very first edition of “It’s a New Dey!”

Posted in Circle Home, Creativity, Event, Workshop | 2 Comments

The Beauty of Dreams

Posted on 6 November 2011 by MEY

Scribbles, No.1 ~ Photo by MDH

This lovely turn of phrase caught my attention a few weeks ago, and its uplift feels worthwhile to share. I hope it brings you a bright ray on this fine morning with a new time, as we “fall back” an hour in North America.

Dreams are a beautiful thing. While challenging to pursue, dreams are worth the journey, worth all the seasons we endure on our path. Often we change along the quest, and so then do the shape of our dreams. But there is an essence that beats, that spirals from past to present to future, that moves our feet to dance. Let’s dance on!

Gratitude continues to overflow for the materialized dream in my book “Circle. . .Home.” Events for the poetry collection’s initial release are coming to a close, but the joy of sharing it keeps flowing.

  • Today I give a free reading at 2:00pm at Absolute Gallery of Lansing (307 E. Grand River) as part of First Sunday Gallery Walk. The theme is “Across the Seasons.”

May your dreams blaze brilliantly — today, tomorrow, and always!

Posted in Event, Workshop | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Invocation of Light

Posted on 1 November 2011 by MEY

…I greet the black morning and its bright stars, frost pinching my nose, quiet filling my ears. Chiron, a stray dog into a fourth week of fostering, stretches his legs in the yard. We return to the warmth of the house, he exploring the scent left by my dog Mama, part of the family for four years after her rescue from the street. I ready the water kettle for the day’s first pot of tea, and it is time to write in the dark…

Good morning on this first day of November! By now, the sun is rising, as is an eagerness to share the gift of writing with new and old friends. “What is it about you and writing?” some may ask. Well, writing is that that thing that brings song to my soul, that tingles across my spine, and so simply is a joy to share.

Tonight “Writing in the Dark” begins, the first of four sessions at Coyote Wisdom Bookstore on Lansing’s north end. Walk-ins are welcome as space allows. For a preview, check out the post “Crossing the Threshold” (Oct. 29). A full description with rates are available on this page.

As part of First Sunday Gallery Walk, I give a poetry reading on November 6, at 2:00pm at Absolute Gallery, 307 East Grand River, Lansing, Michigan. The theme is “Across the Seasons” and selections are from my book “Circle. . .Home.” Thanks to Absolute Gallery owner Kathy Holcomb for the chance to “do” poetry in such an amazing space! Works by many Michigan and Great Lakes artists beautify the store.

And Monday, November 7, I present “Femestiza Writing about War,” a free workshop in collaboration with the Center for Poetry and the Peace Education Center. The session is open to the public and takes place from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities of Michigan State University, Room C201 of Snyder-Phillips Hall (see map). Drop me a line at MelissaHasbrook[at]gmail.com if you plan to come!

In close, I pass on a new poem that arrived yesterday morning on Samhain or Hallow’s Eve Day. It’s seems especially appropriate with Daylight Savings’ Time coming to close this weekend!

Invocation of Light

Light Light
shine bright
no matter
what is said
or sworn
what is done
or torn

Light Light
hold tight
no matter
what I see
or hear
what I touch
or fear

Light Light
fill night
with matter
what is soul
and sound
what is heart
and found

Light Light
shine bright
hold tight
fill night
with you

Posted in Circle Home, Creativity, Event, Poetry, Spirituality, Workshop, Writing in the Dark | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment