RESPONSE TO BÉBÉ LA LA'S "A CURIOUS SERIES OF UNEXPECTED EVENTS"

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I “met” Bébé La La on author Mary Dezember’s Creatives in Conversation in April of 2022, and it was an introduction I’ll cherish indefinitely. Mary provides all that you would want to know about Bébé La La, including her very unique review, here. Me? I just want to share my experience of Bébé La La with you.

Alicia Ultan and Maryse Lapierre are Bébé La La, a multi-talented, multi-instrumental, musical duo based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They celebrated their second and most recent CD release, A Curious Series of Unexpected Events, in November of 2021, and it certainly is worthy of celebration!

A Curious Series of Unexpected Events opens

and closes with In Media Res and its Reprise, respectively, featuring Alicia’s weeping, swelling viola sound, Maryse’s haunting harmonium and the voices of Bébé La La plucking at heart strings- those voices that ride the waves of life, lifting you high into fantasy skies and crashing you down to reality.

They don’t hesitate to let you know right off the bat that they are not merely magical musicians but conscious beings as well. The second track, Step Back, tells you that these artists are “Gonna take a step back” to “figure it out” and “turn the world inside out.” 

It is a call to pay attention to what we’re doing to the planet, to make smarter choices. Musically, after delivering the meat of the message, midway through the track, there’s a pregnant pause (for thought?) with Claudio Tolousse’s sitar as backdrop for planet sounds. Then the tempo picks up again after the pause, but the message remains the same. 

 The harmonic resonance Maryse and Alicia share is on vivid display in Rosie, a languid but uplifting folk ballad which was inspired by a real live meeting with a young girl on a mountain hike. The strings of Micky Patten’s bass and guitar, and Jacqueline Ultan’s cello provide enriching depth, nuance, and contours to this track. I’m obviously not the only one who cradles this cut close to the bosom, because Alicia took home a 2022 New Mexico Music Award in the Singer-Songwriter category for writing it!

Ah, and then the tempo gets a charge on the group’s namesake track Bébé La La. It opens with Carlos “Kalin” Noboa’s zampoñas  (pan pipes in English and calling to mind native wooden flutes), and Joseph Altamirano’s charango, a traditional South American 10-stringer about the size of a ukulele. Talk about diversity! We’ve got instruments from various parts of the world with French lyrics delivering a message that I cannot decipher…at least cognitively. But Bébé La La reminds us that the meaning in music is so often a feeling thing more than a thinking thing. Is this a celebration of life, a cry of longing? Feels like both and more. Maryse takes the vocal lead on this one, showing her range, while Alicia offers the perfect harmonic complement.

The CD then takes me home. One Minute at a Time opens its wings with steel-pan sounds from Frank Leto and speaks with a reggae, island lilt that takes you to the tropics lyrically and musically. It’s a statement about our times including references to Covid: “Wearing masks and gloves and fear” Yeah! Clearly Alicia is also a poet. Pick up the Lyric Book with lyrics to all the songs from both their CDs (High Wire being the other) and you'll see what I mean. This track is a nod to nostalgia, a call for a different future, while painting an idyllic picture to match the island sounds.

Rumpelstiltskin’s Secret revives the up tempo, reminding me of flower children dancing in the park, trials and tribulations trampled beneath their prancing feet. Alicia’s acoustic chops may be most evident on this track and the ever-present harmony between these symbiotic artists continues to be the thread that ties this enriching sound experience together.

Is there an album worth its salt that doesn’t deliver a love song? I’m not sure that the musicians would call Magic Hour a love song, but if it sounds like a love song, feels like a love song, doggone it, it must be a love song! And what a beautiful love song it is. Alicia’s voice-magic takes me back to adolescent years when Carly Simon sent me dreaming. And when these two artists put their voices together love is definitely in the air. “If I come to you in a magic hour would you cast a spell on me?” Well, turn about is fair play and since Bébé La La cast a spell on me from the opening cut, I think it’s only fair that I answer, “Hell yes!” to that question. If only I had warlock powers...

Slow down & listen with Alicia on viola demands that you close your eyes and open your ears to the viola hovering above the signature harmony. It commands you to listen to the lyrics prescribing good medicine for living in today's world:  

“Slow down and listen, you’re going to crash if you keep going so fast

Slow down and listen, you’re going to hit a brick wall from your past”

In another song for our times, Remember stems from the George Floyd incident. Can a tragic dirge be beautiful? Well, when Bébé La La sings and plays one, it can. It is. Heavy and beautiful, beautiful and heavy, the poignant lyrics include, “This systemic pandemic of hatred will end” and tells the departed Floyd that “Change will come, we’ll have you to thank.” The way Jacqueline Ultan’s cello laments and complements the lyrics makes this one of my favorite tracks. The lyrics are musical; the music is poetic, and Arnaldo Acosta’s snare work is a brilliant touch on this cut.

From where I sit, A Curious Series of Unexpected Events is an album for our times, of times past, and it seeks to will us into a more magical future.  

Bébé La La’s website: https://bebelalamusic.com/home

Bébé La La on Facebook/Meta: https://www.facebook.com/bebelalaband/

Bébé La La music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nur2Ax2h9Zc&t=45s

Bébé La La YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aliciamusic6477/videos

Terrific live concert at the Community Coffee House in Albuquerque, NM where the duo is based

RESPONSE TO SCOT YOUNG'S ALL AROUND COWBOY

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As I tell folks repeatedly, despite their insistence, I don’t do reviews, but I do respond in writing at times to works that move me. You’d be hard pressed not to be moved by Scot Young's All Around Cowboy…well, at least I’d have been hard pressed. Fortunately, I don’t fight the feeling.

I can’t write like Scot, but I gave it my best shot to at least offer a tiny tribute to his style. I hope it seems like I got it Scot.

Here’s what wriggled out in the aftermath of All Around Cowboy:

the dark
was creeping round the curtain

i set all around cowboy down
beside me
on the billowy down
like the golden goose
with a broken wing
eyes closed

cradling the vastness
behind lids

i lay there
eyes shut
mind open
letting scots breezes blow
thru the gray matter 

i’ve got left
thru the
how do you congeal this
into butter

i ain’t that smooth

i still don't know if the gurgling
was food related
or because I'd chugged the pages
like that first shot of jack
after coming in
from a sandstorm
but the rumble filled 

the big little space

talk about lonesome
all around cowboy does plenty a that

and in this cell sized space of cozy
i knew hank willie and johnny
didn't have nothin on me
when it came to da blues
even if I can't play a lick
and my singing
ain't for shit

our bones might remember
what our brains leak out
like a
done sat too long in the weather
water barrel
or distant revving of a rusty truck
that wouldn't pull

talk to me scot
of boys and girls 

on moonlit hills
still green enough 

    for expectations
ripe enough 

    for doubts
    and dashed hopes
    and friends
buried in redneck dirt

talk to me
of those friends 

gone by
who left their mark
some twiggy and fragile
some like oak
stout

marks left
between the eyes
and ribs
popcorn memories
with hard kernels
others melting
even before chewing
the thick mud 

of nostalgia
you can wade through
crystal stream like
in spring

but even crystal streams hide
jagged rocks that cut
your soul to ribbons
streaming salt stain tracks
trapped in ridges
not even dreamt of
when nostalgia was still

a word
you had to look up

talk to me
of retrospectives
of disguised loves
tripping over pain
we try to hurdle
in bottles and cans
with banter and harsh
wtfs

but then
cowboys don’t speak of love
except in the whistling
of a hank williams tune
offkey
after hitting a rusty can
at ten paces
with a brown stream

so many lost
but found 

in these pages
so many found
when lost 

in thought

stetsons and chevys
honky tonks and blues
loose women
with tight asses
but mostly
mom and dad
and
the long sad lonesome

heard tell you gotta
dance with the one
that brung ya

Scot’s bio from All Around Cowboy:

“Scot Young lives with the woman of his dreams on a ridge top farm in the Missouri Ozarks. He is widely published online and in numerous print anthologies and chapbooks. His first chap Brautigan Meets Bukowski is out of print with a copy residing in the Brautigan Library. He also co-authored with John Dorsey Head On. He is the editor of the Rusty Truck and Deuce Coupe. He and his wife Rosanna are publishers at Rusty Truck Press."

Scot is also responsible for The RustyTyper- a monthly online flash fiction publication that is the “little brother of the Rusty Truck, second cousin to the Deuce Coupe.”

Thanks for stopping by...T. A.

5 DAYS OF BIDDING LEFT IN THE ART AUCTION TO ALLEVIATE HUNGER

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Just five days to go till the close of the Art Auction and Donation Campaign to Alleviate Hunger and benefit Feed the Children. We've had some new bidders pushing us a smidge closer to our $2500 goal but we could sure use your help to cross the finish line and fill a few more empty bellies.

Diane Mezzanotte joined the bidding for Waiting by Elaine Weiner Reed, but Heidi Asundi seems truly determined not to let this masterpiece escape her grasp. As soon as Diane’s bid came in, Heidi outbid her. I can understand why. Both the painting and the poem by Abha Das Sarma are gems! Waiting is now the third highest leading bid in the auction.

I am so moved by the artists and poets who have participated in this venture to bolster Feed the Children’s efforts. Randy Weber’s Abandoned Playground, Claunch, NM is now the item with the second highest bid of all items and the leading bidder is none other than the poet, Lisa Reynolds, whose poem I’m Hungry inspired Randy to submit his work for auction. How cool is that! Lisa’s bid outstripped Both Robert Taylor’s and Paul Kapular’s generous offers.

Doze Butler’s  QUITCH: QUIlting To Combat Hunger still holds top honors thanks to the generous bid of André Brenardo Taylor. Dish Calling Cosmos, also by Randy Weber and inspired by Zimbabwe’s Brian Tawanda Manyati’s Imma be cool crooning alway, has moved up the bidding charts, and  is just behind Devas de los Hambrientos by JC Wayne, which holds the fourth highest leading bid- thanks to Krishna Asundi- as of this writing. 

By the time I post this, I suspect we may already have surpassed our goal, but I hope that won't stop you from shining your generosity on Feed the Children! Thanks for stopping by...T. A.

FEED THE CHILDREN ART AUCTION AND DONATION CAMPAIGN UPDATE- 1 WEEK

It’s been one week since the launch of the Art Auction to Alleviate Hunger so let's catch up. Before jumping in, thanks again to all who are making this effort a successful one!

Hiram Larew founder of Poetry X Hunger and JC Wayne, founder of The Poartry Project, and Elle Dooley, one of the contributing artists, will join James Bryant, SpoFest Poetry and Prose founder, in a post auction launch interview live on Facebook today at 1pm CST USA. I’m thinking Elle must have founded something at some point to be in all this “founder company.” If you didn’t catch James’ pre-launch interview with Hiram and me, you can check it out here.

As for the fundraising campaign itself, factoring in leading bids as of yesterday (12/9), the auction has raised $1,660 and the donation campaign has raised approximately $400 with one week to go. We’re creeping up on the $2,500 goal, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could blow by that goal by next Saturday (12/17), when the auction ends, and feed some more hungry people?

Anyway, the leading bids have changed hands a tad since we last reported, but the Asundis still seem determined to hang some JC Wayne creations on their walls. The Asundis are seven days away from claiming Devas de los Hambrientos, Slakes with Sol’s Sustenance, and Memory of Lineage, all crafted by JC Wayne, and Waiting, a delightful painting by Elaine Weiner Reed. E. Lynn Alexander is giving Heidi Asundi a run for her money on Memory though. Thanks for getting in on the action Lynn.

Warwick Jones of the UK has inched ahead of Angela Dale for Skyler Dagucon’s Starving Night, one of my personal favorites, but Angela still holds the leading bid for JC’s Starvation is not food insecurity. 

Other leading bidders include André Taylor for QUITCH: QUIlting To Combat Hunger; Linda Dickman for Foretells the Moon’s Hunger, another favorite of mine for personal reasons; Lisa Jones for Abandoned Playground, Claunch, NM; Lis Mcloughlin for Chocolate velvet drapes the soul to sleep in peace; Chip Williford for Tears of Hunger; and Linda Burby for Winds of Harvest.

Ok, gotta get this posted while there's still a little time before the interview. Until next....T. A.

FEED THE CHILDREN ART AUCTION TO ALLEVIATE HUNGER 89% TO GOAL

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For those who made it to the launch of the Art Auction to Alleviate Hunger, benefitting Feed the Children, for those who have supported the effort ad spread the word, and for those who are just interested, this is an update. Visiting the Better World auction site for the first time since Saturday was a true pleasure!

Oh what a spirited bidding joust Heidi Asundi, author of Split and Crushed Flowers and Lis Mcloughlin, founder of NatureCulture (on YouTube) and Writing the Land, are having for Slakes with Sol’s Sustenance, an eco-friendly painting by JC Wayne. I’ll have to do a reveal on this one when the auction ends. 

And Lis isn’t putting all her eggs in one basket either, which she seldom does if her many "do-good" ventures are any indication. She’s got her eye on another JC Wayne piece Chocolate velvet drapes the soul to sleep in peace, and is going head-to-head with Heather Swick. You have to hand it to both Lis and Heather.

If you attended the auction launch, have seen the replay of it, or visited the online auction site you know that Heather is the artist from Sydney, Australia whose Tears of Hunger seems destined to be gracing Chip Williford’s wall before Christmas. In the chat at the launch he wrote about Heather's piece, "...Can’t wait to hang it on my wall."

Chip (co-host of Poetry Street on the Road and founder of Chip Williford Productions) has outbid poet Patti Ross, founder of the EC Poetry & Prose Company- a collective of poets, and leads the bidding for Tears... I feel ya Chip. You’ve had plenty pf reason for tears this year, even if they weren’t born of physical hunger.

The Asundis seem determined to feed some children- besides their own beautiful two that is- and hang some new art on their wall this holiday season. They’ve bid on four pieces, that's right FOUR, and lead the bidding on all four! 

Krishna Asundi’s bid leads the way on Devas de los Hambrientos, another Wayne Piece, but I’m wondering if Elle Dooley, the artist who created Winds of Harvest, is willing to up the ante, or if someone else will join the fray for Devas…?

André Taylor, who many in the poetry world know as Brenardo, a poet whose lyrical verses and potent messages are like bubbly at New Years to me, seems destined to corral Doze Y. Butler’s QUITCH: QUIlting To Combat Hunger. The title is a poem in and of itself and this piece of art is really 12 pieces of art.  

And I have to send a shout-out to Angela Dale, a picture-book author and poet, for posting leading bids on two pieces: Starving Night by Skyler Dagucon and Starvation is not food insecurity by guess who? Yup, JC Wayne. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Elle pull an eBay move on Starving Night as we get closer to final bids. Right Elle (wink)?

I’d like to tell you about the bidding on every single piece and might just have it in me to do that after the auction, but I just wanted to give you a flavor of what’s happening with it now, 9 days before the auction closes. We’re truly grateful to all who have participated in the bidding, but we can’t forget those who aren’t bidding, but donated to Feed the Children through the link we provided:

James Bryant (SpoFest Open Mic and OIC Studios founder), who did a pre-auction launch interview with Hiram and me, and will be doing another on Saturday the 10th at 1pm CST. And I hear his favorite feline, Ms. Banshee, also donated, but that hasn’t appeared on the books yet. Maybe Feed the Children doesn’t accept kitty snackies?

Elaine Weiner Reed- One of our artists who donated her time, talent and material to create Waiting for the auction and also chipped in $$.

Chip Williford, whom I have already mentioned above but who is also so generous that he donated in addition to bidding.

Darrell Parry, Editor of Stick Figure Poetry Quarterly, author of Twist: Gathered Ephemera, and shepherd of Lehigh Valley Poetry with E. Lynn Alexander of Collapse Press and The Friday Collapse.

Greg Bell, one heck of a poet, orator, and most important, generous human being who gives tons of his time and energy and $$ to all sorts of good causes. One of Greg's mottos is, "A good planet is hard to find."

Jane Pottmeyer, of Ahimsa Yoga, whom I haven't met yet but suspect she's one awesome Yoga teacher.

Mary Dezember, author of poetry and fiction (and so much more) whose novel Wild Conviction should be coming out soon on Brilliant Moon Press. I’m hoping she revives Creatives in Conversation in 2023 because that's where I met the incredible musical duo of Bébé La La. More on them in an upcoming post.

Ann Bracken, the poet whose poem American Madonna inspired Barbara Ezell’s auction piece American Madonna- Land of Plenty.

Randy Weber, who has two pieces on offer for bidding, Abandoned Playground, Claunch, NM inspired by Lisa Reynold’s poem I’m Hungry, and Dish Calling Cosmos inspired by Brian Tawanda Manyati’s Imma be cool crooning alway, which I did my best to do justice to at the launch. 

Diane Wilbon Parks, whose artwork permeates all thing Poetry X Hunger, whose poetry punches you in the gut (sorry about the video snafu to begin the auction Diane), and who is an integral member of  Voices of Woodlawn, a poetic ensemble including Sylvia Dianne "Lady Di" Beverly, Patrick Washington, Hiram Larew, and Cliff Bernier on Harmonica.

There may be additional donations that haven’t been credited to the Poetry X Hunger initiative just yet, but the above is what we’ve got thus far. Speaking of all of the above, they are responsible for the Art Auction to Alleviate Hunger reaching 89% of its goal four days into the campaign! A HUGE THANK you on behalf of all who will stave off hunger for at least a bit as a result of your generous spirits. Until next...T. A.

HIRAM LAREW & JC WAYNE: HOSTS OF THE ART AUCTION TO ALLEVIATE HUNGER

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And now we are on the eve of the Art Auction to Alleviate Hunger launch. You gardeners out there know what it feels like to till the soil, plant a seed, watch it take root, water it with care and attention, then watch it bloom, blossom and bear fruit or flower. My co-creators in this venture have been planting “seeds of good” for many years, and it has been my privilege to till the soil alongside them for the past few months in this garden of giving. I’m speaking of Hiram Larew and JC Wayne.

HIRAM LAREW- Poetry X Hunger Founder

It was my good fortune that Hiram chose me to narrate the audiobook version of his fifth published poetry collection, Mud Ajar by Atmosphere Press in 2021. That was our first collaboration and we’ve been collaborating joyfully since. So who is Hiram Larew?

In part, Hiram Larew, founder of Poetry X Hunger- the website devoted to poetry about physical hunger and the online home of the poetry that inspired the art for this auction- is a Maryland-based poet who is committed to using words to make the world a better place. But Hiram is far more than that, and he has used more than words in his quest to make the world a better place.

On one stop of his world-enhancing journey, he served as the Director of International Programs within USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, where he guided global farming programs in extension, research, and teaching. Along the way, he also worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as an agricultural and higher education policy specialist. This life-long effort began with Hiram serving as a research scientist with USDA’sAgricultural Research Service.

After retiring from the USDA, he founded Poetry X Hunger, an unprecedented program that encourages poets to write about physical hunger and publishes the poems on the Poetry X Hunger website. In Hiram’s own words, “Poetry X Hunger strives to link the power of poetry to the cause of hunger alleviation in the U.S. and around the world.”

This Poetry X Hunger initiative, which brings poets from around the world to the anti-hunger cause, has been featured by organizers of Pennsylvania State University’s 2021 Global Learning in Agriculture Conference, by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and by food banks and arts organizations.

Hiram also founded The Voices of Woodlawn as a way to give voice to the largely erased enslaved community at historic plantations. He also received support from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Arts and Humanities Council of Prince George's County, Maryland to organize The Poetry Poster Project, which displayed poetry by a diverse group of poets as artwork throughout the Washington, D. C. area.

Below are pertinent links to a more detailed exploration of Hiram Larew’s world of poetry:

Hiram’s personal poetry website: https://www.hiramlarewpoetry.com/

Hiram’s Poetry X Hunger creation: https://www.poetryxhunger.com/

Hiram on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hiramlarew4314/videos

Hiram doing what he does with Sistah Joy Alford on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnrHgvarJzY

The most gratifying aspects of my foray into the world of poetry have been the incredibly industrious and talented beings I have met, and the collaborations I’ve enjoyed with those beings. Meeting and sharing creative space with JC Wayne have been highlights of this foray.

JC WAYNE- The Poartry Project Founder

JC Wayne, founder of The Poartry Project, conceives of herself as an “emissary of beauty, perception, insight, and discovery.” She is a poet specializing in ekphrasis, nature and existential poetry that explores inner and outer landscapes; a visual artist noted for using eco-friendly, plant-based materials; a cartographer of the unseen; a poetry and art adventure guide; and a certified creative aging teaching.

As a poet and visual artist, she aims to foster, evoke, and celebrate the potential in all lives; to cultivate wise interpretation and discernment; to nurture courteous communication as civil world citizens; and build bridges of understanding, wonder and discovery of the magic of our great adventure together across the universe through the power and energy of language expressed as poetry, spoken word, art, and wisdom illumination.

Although she is now immersed in the world of poartry, JC did try the somewhat beaten path, earning a BA in International Relations and Art History with Honors at Brown University and a MA in Diplomatic History and International Comparative Politics as a distinguished Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellow at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Harvard and Tufts Universities. Early in her career, she was a visible and celebrated futurist thought leader and adviser to other leaders.

JC's calling and goal as founder of The Poartry Project is building loving worlds through loving words and art by applying the practice of "poartry" - the highly-trained, uniquely-adept artistry she has conceived and pioneers. Using poartry, she interprets and translates the energy of language as words and visuals consciously, skillfully, and systematically for good.

Among a host of other roles, JC serves as Director of Youth Activities for the New MexicoState Poetry Society and Youth Chair of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. Her inaugural book of poetry is Voicing Art: Poetry of Space | Place | Time (2019). She is currently working on a second volume, Voicing Art: Poetry in Place, and a book sharing her pioneering practice of poartry, Poartry: Creating with the Energy of Language as a Force of Good.

With her partner Kain, JC is engaged in several “initiatives for good.” Below are some links to explore JC and Kain’s “World of Good” and beyond:

JC’s brand-new website: https://www.jcwayne.com/

Kain and JC’s World of Good: 

https://worldgood.org/

JC’s “original endeavor for kids”: 

https://iloveenergy.org/

JC’s Guild of Good on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhCJUUTtQ_XfsSjyVfhd6L8w1ndzzWGYD

JC interviewed by Bruce Wilson at Arts So Wonderful on Town Meeting TV: 

https://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/arts-so-wonderful-where-world-free-little-poetry

Well folks, these are the incredible individuals who will be hosting you tomorrow at the Art Auction to Alleviate Hunger. They'll join you, the other "creatives for good," and me in amplifying the efforts of Feed the Children. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you tomorrow! Remember, the auction runs from tomorrow, Saturday, December 3rd, at 2pm eastern through Saturday, December 17th, at 2pm eastern. AND you don't have to bid to be there in support. 

Below are links related to the auction that should provide you with all the information you might need.

Auction Zoom Launch Registration Link:
http://tinyurl.com/hungerartauction

Link to Auction on Better World Website:
https://poetryxhunger.betterworld.org/auctions/art-auction-fighting-hunger

Feed the Children Donation Link:
http://tinyurl.com/donatetofeedthechildren

Facebook event link:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1142967853019397/

Auction Livestream Link (Hiram Larew's Facebook):
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084745897034

Art Auction Guide:
https://www.poetryxhunger.com/uploads/1/2/5/7/125799040/auction_guide_1130_2022.pdf

The Poartry Project's Auction Context & Backstory:
https://poartry.org/art-auction-for-alleviating-hunger/

Poetry X Hunger Auction Info Page:
https://www.poetryxhunger.com/art-auction-to-alleviate-hunger.html

Director of Program impact and Disaster Services for Feed the Children John Ricketts’ video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqdZ2phb7fs

Auction Overview Video:
https://youtu.be/h_Bk25MZu8U

Poet Henry Crawford’s art piece and poem video:
https://youtu.be/e6_9v5Sq4_s

Auction Participants’ Bios 1:
https://tapoetexpress.blogspot.com/2022/11/artist-poet-bios-alleviating-hunger.html

Auction Participants’ Bios 2:
https://tapoetexpress.blogspot.com/2022/11/httpstapoetexpress.blogspot.com202211highlightappearances.html