Regional culture kicked into a big gear on Friday at the Taubman Museum of Art. Our September launch featured our guest speaker, acclaimed poet, Nikki Giovanni. Our sold out crowd cheered our program which also had Southwest Virginia ballet Companie’s student dancer, alexis Potter performing along with Nikki giovanni’s reading of her poem, “Fall in Love, (for Artemis). Jordan Harmon, musican perfored music for the event.

The museum played host to two events in one. Roanoke’s annual Artemis Journal, devoted to Southwest Virginia artists and writers, had its launch party. “For the Love of a Book” is the theme for the 45-year-old publication’s latest iteration. The journal, developed from writing workshops for domestic violence victims in the region, this year features works that Nikki Giovanni inspired with her poem, “Fall in Love (For Artemis).”

The publication also features former U.S. Poet laureate Natasha Trethewey; Virginia poet laureates Ron Smith and Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda; and Virginia Poet Laureate Luisa Igloria. Artists and writers from Floyd County — Colleen Redman, Katherine Chantal, Starroot and Lisal Kayati — are in the pages, along with more creators from around the world, according to information that Artemis editor Jeri Rogers provided.

Join host Jeri Rogers as she speaks to Nikki Giovanni about jazz, Jane Goette about her newly published novel, & Italian Poet, Alessio Zanelli

The renowned poet, Nikki Giovanni has a new album  “The Gospel According To Nikki Giovanni.”

In addition to publishing dozens of poetry works, Nikki Giovanni has recorded several spoken word albums over the course of 50 years. But this time, she’s doing something a little different.

The new album,  a collaboration with saxophonist Javon Jackson, is a collection of gospel hymns and spirituals set to jazz. Growing up in the Baptist church, Giovanni says gospel music was instrumental to understanding herself as a poet.

“The spirituals had a message,” she says. “They weren’t just some people woke up one morning or came from working in the evening and said, ‘Oh, let’s sit down and sing.’ They were sharing information with each other.”

” The truth exists in the world and it is the job of the poet to pull the truth out of violentical air and place it with care upon the page to be casted from the mouth to the hearts of the people.”  
– Camae Ayewa (Moor Mother, Irreversible Entanglements)

Nikki with Jovan recording at Final Track Studios with co-producer, Skip Brown

Jane Goette’s novel, A River Road Memoir is a journey through a young girl’s idyllic childhood in the rural South to her restless adolescence when the Civil Rights struggle becomes urgent and personal to her family. The unfolding story is told through the second daughter’s eyes. Jane is a serious child, the one her father calls, “a tree full of owls,” always thinking, observing, and wondering about meanings. Unresolved conflicts continue around the family table as the Civil Rights movement evolves, the Vietnam War begins, and chemical plants spring-like poison mushrooms along the river. Set in the 1950s and 1960s, the conflicts reflected in this book are hauntingly familiar to readers today as Americans continue to battle over the nation’s identity and values.

Alessio Zanelli is an Italian poet who writes in English, a language he has learned completely as an autodidact. His work has appeared in some 200 literary journals from 17 countries including, in the USA: Artemis, California Quarterly, Concho River Review, Italian Americana, The Lyric, North Dakota Quarterly, Philosophy And Literature, Potomac Review, Worcester Review, and World Literature Today, among about a hundred more. His fifth original collection, titled The Secret Of Archery, was published in 2019 by Greenwich Exchange (London). For more information please visit www.alessiozanelli.it.

To listen to the podcast, go to our podcast section

https://artemisjournal.org/podcast/

 April showers bring May Flowers

Artemis Celebrates on Instagram

Attention all poets

Send us your videos reading poems to be posted on Instagram

Helpful hints;

— Please keep your reading to only 2-3 minutes each   — No welcome or intro is needed before your piece, but please leave at least 3 seconds of blank space at the beginning and end of your recording and start your recording by saying the name of the piece you’re reading and your name.   — Camera Shot/Framing: This should just be a nice casual shot at home. Please avoid blank wall backgrounds – show us something dynamic! If you’re doing IGTV clips, the shot should be in portrait mode (vertical) and fairly straight on with no extreme angles.   — “Does this need to be memorized? Should I deliver it straight to the camera?” The answer is, truly, whatever you’re more comfortable with! Facing towards the camera is preferred, but there’s no need to memorize it – you can just read it in whatever way you think looks and feels best. That said, if you want to memorize it, go for it!   — When you’ve finished, please send your video as a Dropbox or Google Drive link to; artemisjournal@gmail.com.  

OTHER HELPFUL VIDEO HINTS Some of you have lots of experience doing this, but others may appreciate a little direction, so take what’s useful… — Before filming, do a test shot to listen to your audio, check the framing of your shot, and lighting for your video. — Audio: Please turn off loud fans or A/C to minimize white noise. AirPods and Bluetooth Headphones cannot be used to record audio with Apple’s native camera app. That’s okay! Just make sure you’re in a quiet space when recording your video. — Lighting: Full direct sun is not your friend! Natural indirect or filtered light is usually best. If you want to get fancy, turn on a lamp or fancy sconce in the background! — Camera: For better quality, use your rear-facing camera (on the back) to record yourself. It’s best if you or someone else can check the framing when using the rear camera. You can do a test shot to see what the lighting, framing, and audio look/sound like. Please use 1x zoom (as opposed to the wide .5x or telephoto 2x). — Best Camera Settings: On your iPhone, go to Settings > Camera > Record Video and select 1080p at 30 fps. This is the default on most phones.

April’s Instagram Event!

Stay tuned for writer, Justin Scribner, who will kick-off our weekly posts featuring videos, and audios from poets reading poems.

Justin made his breakout debut after the quarantine last year by publishing his first book of poetry, every grain of sand.  “A few weeks into the Covid crisis, I had a major realization. Without any upcoming jobs whatsoever, I might finally have time to publish the poems and stories that had been hiding in my proverbial (and literal) closet.”

http://www.justinscribner.com

Co-hosted by Associate Editors, Crystal Founds and Donnie Secreast

Happy to help

Artemis Journal has inspired creativity and fellowship for people of all backgrounds in the region for over 40 years. The Journal serves thousands of people in Virginia’s Blue Ridge and across the globe with its features of up-and-coming artists and writers as well as award-winning artists. Since it originated in 1977, Artemis Journal has been an advocate for social justice and highlights all deserving artists and writers.

10% of sales are donated to a Women’s Shelter in SW Virginia

Artemis Journal is grateful for the continued support of our friends, The Roanoke Arts Commission and The Roanoke Taubman Museum of Art

Artemis Journal is growing and I am excited to announce 4 new additions to our Editorial Board. They are Nikki Giovanni as our Poet Emeritus, James Broschart, Judy Ayyildiz and Rebecca Woodie as our Associate Literary Editors. Each one has a remarkable resume and have worked with Artemis Journal at different times. Welcome aboard! Jeri Rogers, Editor

This project could not happen without the help of our tireless volunteer Board Members. May I introduce you to them;

Editorial Staff:

Jeri Rogers, Editor-in Chief & Founder
Donnie Secreast, Associate Editor
Maurice Ferguson, Literary Editor
Judy Ayyildiz, Associate Literary Editor
James Broschart, Associate Literary Editor
Rebecca Woodie, Associate Literary Editor
Nikki Giovanni, Poet Emeritus
Page Turner, Art Editor
Julia Fallon, Community Liason
Zephren Turner, Layout Editor
Crystal Founds, Social Media Editor
Jonathan Rogers, Treasurer & Legal Advisor