Coming up in July

Hi everyone,

July promises to be a good month. I’ll celebrate the 4th with Jeff and Jennifer Harrison plus Robin and grandson Kris Williams; Sandy and my friend Larry Wakefield have birthdays; I’ll be presenting and reading poetry at International Literacy Association (which meets in Missouri for the first time); our friends Mary Jo and Hank Fresch will be our guests for a few days; Laura Robb and I have a dinner date when she comes to Springfield; and I’m having a David Harrison event at The Library Center on South Campbell.

The Harrison evening will be held from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 23 and I hope those of you who live in the area can come to it. I’m dividing it into three segments of roughly thirty minutes each. I’ll do some reading and talking for one of them. The Byron Biggers Band will perform for a second part and the third will feature members of RAE (Resident Artist Ensemble) performing my work.

For those of you unfamiliar with Byron Biggers Band, it’s comprised of Dr. Chris Craig, Associate Provost for Missouri State University on guitar and lead vocal; Gale Clithero, mathematics teacher, on percussion and vocals; and me. I sort of perform, sort of sing. We came together several years ago and usually perform a couple of times a year. We made a CD once but lost it. What we perform are my poems that Chris has set to music. We do have a fine time.

RAE is a group of extremely gifted equity actors that has performed my stories and poems on several occasions and audiences adore them. At this time we know that Sarah Wiggin and Michael Frizzel (both with numerous stage credits) will be among the five who will be there. Others will be announced soon. Every time I hear my words brought to life by these professional actors, I simply cannot stop smiling. You haven’t ever heard WHEN COWS COME HOME until you’ve heard from them.

There you have it. Please come if you can. We’ll have a lot of fun and The Library Center is a wonderful place for such an event. Tell friends of all ages about it. It will definitely be kid friendly, no matter how old a kid you happen to be.

David

Planning An Evening with David Harrison and Friends for July

Hi everyone,

I’ve working with Kathleen O’Dell, Community Relations Director, Springfield-Greene County Library District, to plan An Evening with David Harrison and Friends, 6:00-7:30, July 23 at The Library Center on South Campbell in Springfield.

Plans are not finalized but we’re thinking three roughly 30-minute segments. I’ll take one to read from of my work and provide a few back stories.

A second half hour will feature Byron Biggers Band, the musical group consisting of Chris Craig, Gale Clithero, and me that performs musical versions of my poetry. We’ve made occasional appearances around town for several years including a couple of times on KSMU public radio. The original idea was Chris’s who is, in addition to being Associate Provost for Faculty & Academic Affairs at Southwest Missouri State University, a fine musician with a great baritone voice. Gale, the dapper Dan of the group (as well as being a cool math teacher), adds voice and percussion. As for me? Well. I do what I do.

The third half hour will feature a tremendously talented group of equity actors that bill themselves as Resident Artist Ensemble (RAE for short). I don’t know yet the full cast but Sarah Wiggin and Michael Frizell are confirmed and there will be at least three others. What they do is perform selected poems and stories from my work. I’ve had the pleasure of watching them before and I guarantee you they’ll have you laughing the whole time. In my wildest dreams I never thought I’d see my work brought to life in such delightful ways. Everyone loves them.

More about these talented people later. They all have incredible creds and I intend to tell you more about them as we draw closer to the date. Needless to say, I’m excited about the program and hope that we’ll attract an audience of children and adults who want to have a good time celebrating the endless versatility of words and ideas.

July 23
6:00-7:30
The Library Center
South Campbell
Springfield, Missouri
Be there!

Reading Roundup Book Fair

Hi everyone,

For those of you close enough to attend, Reading Roundup is holding a book fair at Springfield’s Barnes & Noble, at the corner of Battlefield and Glenstone, on Saturday, August 23. Here’s the program.

Saturday, August 23rd
Barnes & Noble-Springfield, MO

11 am-Cookie, Mouse & Hometown Hero storytime
11:30 am-Noon-Byron Biggers Band
Noon-1 pm-Louie, from the Springfield Cardinals.
1 pm-3 pm-Author Linda Barboa will be signing: Stars in Her Eyes.
3 pm-5 pm-Author Steven Law will be signing Sonora.

Stop by the Café and order the “Book Worm”
Vanilla Bean crème based Frappuccino with special toppings.

This will be our second book fair of this year for Reading Roundup and we’re hoping for a good turnout of people who will shop at the store that day to support us. A percent of store sales on that day through August 28 will be donated to Reading Roundup and all the money we receive goes to fund grants requested by librarians in Springfield Public Schools to meet special needs of their students. FOR YOUR PURCHASES TO QUALIFY, YOU MUST TELL THE CHASHIER THAT YOU WANT TO SUPPORT READING ROUNDUP!! THIS APPLIES TO THE SNACK BAR TOO.

Bring your young Springfield Cardinals fans to the store on the 23rd to meet the team mascot Louie. Buy books by authors Linda Barboa and Steven Law so they can sign them for you. Listen to musical renditions of poems by Byron Biggers Band, which consists of Chris Craig, Gale Clithero, and me. Here are two links to our last performance at Barnes & Noble. Thanks to SPS Foundation Director Jana Bachus for recording and posting us on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htl10ZXyM8g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG8SxShyjrY

And by all means treat yourself to a Book Worm drink at the snack bar. It’s wonderful. I think I had two last time and bought one for someone else.

Please come if you can and tell others about the event. We’re working pretty hard to earn the funding!