Anyone within the Bungalow Gallery in Downtown Long Beach could hear the booming laughter of Cal State Long Beach creative writing alumna, Sarah Miller, as she played hostess for an art and reading event Friday night.
Miller started hosting readings and art events as an undergrad at CSULB in 1997. Her most recent event, the Bank Heavy Press “Robo-Book” reading, combined visual art, music, dance and spoken word in one evening.
Mixing music and poetry is something new for Miller. It provides an opportunity for different types of artists to come together.
“I put an emphasis on writing and the literary, but for me it’s about building our community and promoting Long Beach,” she said.
More than 60 local Long Beach artists, including CSULB students and alumni, gathered for the Bank-Heavy Press – a local independent publishing group – release party.
During the event, contributing poets read their works from “Robo-Book,” and musical acts, including Jada Wavgensomer’s band Street Robe and singer/songwriter Jenny Stockdale, provided breaks between the sonnets.
Marianne Stewart, the featured poet of the night, accompanied Wavgensomer’s dark interpretations of jazz standards with a set of tap dancing. The rhythm from Stewart’s gold-glittered tap shoes grounded the eerie organ-like sounds of Wavgensomer’s Omni chord.
“Having an event like this with music and reading is something different,” Dan Birker, a senior creative writing and literature major, said. “I think it brings a good balance.”
Miller started hosting readings on campus through the CSULB University Art Museum. She then graduated with a degree in creative writing in 2000 and went back to school in 2006 to start her masters of fine arts in creative writing.
After obtaining her MFA in 2008, Miller took a break from hosting readings and focused on her job as an office manager. She and her friend, Alicia Adams, started the group After the Carnival (Literary Events) in 2010.
“I started After the Carnival almost in response to justifying my MFA,” Miller said. “I have been working as an office manager for 16 years.”
ATC(LE) will dive into new projects in the coming year, including a presentation of a call-and-response poetry project – during which writers respond to poems sent to them via e-mail – as well as cohosting an Obama fundraiser.
Miller said keeping ATC(LE) alive and growing with diverse events is what keeps her motivated.
“It was a hard choice to do a political move … I do think that it will raise our awareness in the community,” she said.
To get updates on ATC(LE)’s upcoming events, visit their page at www.facebook.com/pages/After-the-Carnival-Literary-Events.