Spoken-word artist Gina Loring performs at UW's Friday Night Fever on Feb. 25

Gina Loring, spoken word artist, promises a powerful performance celebrating Black History Month at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, in the lower level of the Wyoming Union.

The free event is open to the public and hosted by Friday Night Fever.

With her rich, soulful voice and commanding stage presence, Loring balances poetry and music, singing and rapping.  She has been featured on two seasons of HBO's Russell Simmons' Def Poetry and BET's Lyric Cafe.

The top ranking female poet at the 2002 National Poetry Slam, Loring has performed all over the world in diverse places such as Kuwait, Russia and West Africa. She has conducted creative writing workshops for high school and university students.

For more information call Friday Night Fever at (307)766-6340 or email fnf@uwyo.edu .

Photo: Spoken word artist Gina Loring will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, in the lower level of the Wyoming Union as part of the Black History Month celebration. 

Liebler and Lewis perform in Cheyenne

Two Generations of Beats & Hippies from Motown to California

Barnes & Noble award winner and internationally known Detroit poet M.L. Liebler and Moby Grape legend Peter Lewis will perform in Cheyenne on Saturday, February 26 at the Atlas Theatre in downtown Cheyenne. Showtime is 7:30 pm. Tickets are $5 for general admission, $3 for students, seniors (that includes old beats and hippies) and military.

In addition, they will facilitate a workshop on Sunday, February 27 at the Laramie County Public Library from 2-4 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

These performances are being held in conjunction with Wyoming's Poetry Out Loud state competiton and awards ceremony. M.L. will also be a judge for the Wyoming Poetry Out Loud state competition which takes place on February 28 at the Atlas Theatre, beginning at 7 pm. Wyoming's own poet laureate David Romtvedt will also recite poetry and talk to the competitors before the competition kicks off. Other judges for the evening are Saratoga poet Sophia Puccini and Secretary of State Max Maxfield. Watch as high school students compete in three rounds of poetry recitation. Two outstanding Wyoming students will be selected as winner and runner-up. The winner receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete against 53 other state and territory winners for the grand prize of a $20,000 college scholarship. Other scholarship monies are awarded to the second and third place and district national winners.

Peter Lewis is undoubtedly one of the most underrated musicians and contributors to come out of the 1960's rock & roll generation. Lewis was born into a show business family, and is the son of a renowned actress, the late Loretta Young.


Along with Poet Laureate, writer, performer & teacher M.L. Liebler from Detroit, these two artists take their audience on a historical, cultural & literary journey from poetry to blues, folk and rock up to original contemporary compositions of both poetry and music. Together they blend words & music with beautiful harmonies, memories and the art of spoken word.

Peter Lewis was a founding member of Moby Grape - one of the most influential and sought after American bands of its time. Moby Grape released their debut album in 1967, and it is still to this day one of the most revered rock albums of all times according to Rolling Stone magazine and other cultural critics. The band's energetic and hyper-exciting combination of folk, blues, country was a unique sound to rock & roll. It was a new kind of American roots music but the band's career never took off the way it should have, due to personal tragedies. It took Peter Lewis a long time to shake off the troubled legacy of his band and begin to make his mark again with a stellar singer songwriting recording career. Don’t miss out on the chance to see this living legend perform.

M.L. Liebler has written several books of poetry including the 2001 Finalist for The Paterson Poetry Prize and winner of The 2001 Wayne State University Board of Governors’ Award. He has read and worked with Ed Sanders, Diane di Prima, Michael McClure, Allen Ginsberg, Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary & William Burroughs. In addition, Liebler has recorded his poetry with such musical legends as Al Kooper, Country Joe McDonald, Jorma Kaukonen, Mike Watt, The Magic Poetry Band and many others.

To learn more about Moby Grape & Peter Lewis:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17498799

Check out M.L. Liebler - http://www.mlliebler.com/

"Decade of Diversity Through Dialogue" at UW

http://www.mlkdod.com

Henry Rollins drops into Jackson June 23

"Spring Banga!" brings hip-hop to Casper

This is something which up with I will not put

For National Grammar Day on March 4, Grammar Girl explores the Top Ten Grammar Myths. Here's number one:

1. You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition.

Wrong! You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition when the sentence would mean the same thing if you left off the preposition. That means "Where are you at?" is wrong because "Where are you?" means the same thing. But there are many sentences where the final preposition is part of a phrasal verb or is necessary to keep from making stuffy, stilted sentences: I'm going to throw up, let's kiss and make up, and what are you waiting for are just a few examples (go here for details). Find more information about these myths in the Grammar Girl archives at http://quickanddirtytips.com/

Deadline April 1 for WAA showcases

From a press release:

Western Arts Alliance (WAA) is now accepting applications for artists in music, spoken word, and small-scale theatre performance for its 2010 Juried Showcase Program. The showcase will take place during the WAA Annual Conference on September 1 and 2, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Long Beach,California.

Juried Showcasing artists are selected from a competitive pool of applicants by a committee of WAA members, and their performances are part of the core conference program.

The application fee is $65; you need not be a member of WAA at the time of application.

The application form and full details may be found at http://www.westarts.org/pdf/conf/2010_Juried_Showcase_Application.pdf.

All materials must be received in the WAA Office by Thursday, April 1, 2010.

Western Arts Alliance is a membership association of touring and performing arts professionals engaged in promoting and presenting performing arts throughout the western states and provinces.

The WAA Annual Conference will convene presenters, artists, and agents Aug. 30-Sept. 3, 2010, around the shared goal of programming live performances. Opportunities for meetings, exhibits, performances, networking, speakers, classes and workshops will be featured throughout the conference week. Artists, Managers and Agents will be able to share their or their artists' work with more than 200 presenting organizations based in the West, making The WAA Conference one of the best resources for connecting with presenters and colleagues.

Learn more at www.westarts.org

Liberian-American spoken-word artist on stage tonight at MLK/DOD

A few more events on tonight's schedule for Martin Luther King, Jr., Days of Dialogue at UW in Laramie:

Movie and Discussion: “Higher Learning”6:30 pm • Wyoming Union Family Room

Spoken Word Open Mic with Liberian-American spoken-word artist e.g. bailey, 9 pm • Wyoming Union Gardens

Movie: “American Violet”9:00 & 11:30 pm • Wyoming Union Family Room.

All events are free and open to the public.Individuals with disabilities needing accommodations in order to participate should contact Kate Steiner at (307) 766-3296.