2nd Act Film Project Brings Filmmakers Back Year After Year

Back for its 6th installment, the Jasper Project is delighted to celebrate the 10 filmmaker team leaders whose 6 minute films will premiere on Wednesday October 30th at the 2019 2nd Act Film Project.

The brainchild of filmmaker and project director Wade Sellers and sponsored by the Jasper Project, 2nd Act Film Project is unique in its creative challenge, for seasoned and first-time filmmakers alike, in that the first and third acts of a screenplay are provided to the artists who, in turn, write the second act and create the film in its entirety.

Several veteran 2nd act filmmakers are returning to the project for the 2019 event including Ian O’Briant and Amy Brower.

Amy Brower is an actor, film maker and producer based in Columbia, SC. This is her 3rd year involved with 2nd Act. Her overall goal with the festival this year is to challenge herself as a writer and director and support and celebrate the film community in SC. It was a no-brainer for her to join the project again this year. “I just asked myself, ‘Why not?’ she says. “ I wear a lot of hats in the film world, but screen writer is a first for me. 2nd act is special because, unlike a 48, or a feature, it provides just the right kind of time line and writing prompt to fit into my already booked schedule.”

Amy Brower

Brower continues, “This year was about taking everything I’ve learned and linking arms with some of my favorite people and committing to tell a story that we hope people with connect with. As a film maker, I knew I wanted to share more of myself. 2nd Act film Project gave me the push I needed to actually make it happen.”

Ian O’Briant agrees. Having lived in Columbia since 2000, O’Briant shares a home with his wife and three children. A graduate of UofSC Media Arts, O’Briant is now an IT director after ten years as a multimedia journalist and television producer. The 2nd Act Project is his preferred annual outlet for all things sleepless and cinematic. 

Ian O’Briant

“I’m convinced that the 2nd Film Project is the best way to network with other artists and promote the very talented and growing community of motion media artists here in Columbia,” he says.

Filmmaker Jennifer Baxley is also returning to 2nd Act this year. According to Baxley, she “actually met President Trump during the auditions for Season Five of the Apprentice because of her first film (yes, hold your applause).”  For the 2019 project she is partnering with the law firm Baxley, Pellerin, and Lindley. In her other life, she is a software developer and an adjunct instructor for Midlands Technical College.  This will be her second foray into the 2nd Act Film Project.

Though this is his first experience with 2nd Act, David Axe is a veteran filmmaker based in Columbia, SC, who also writes, creates content for graphic novels, and serves as a freelance war correspondent. Axe wrote and produced The Theta Girl (2017) and wrote and directed Azrael (2019) and Shed (2019). His goal in producing a short for 2nd Act Film Project is to make something memorable and weird — and to do it quickly.

From the age of 13, Silas James Rowland has been creating and producing visual representations of his ideas through the art of filmmaking. Ten years later, he has two feature films under his belt as director (The Sinful South, Cracks), has DP'd three feature films, a handful of shorts, and most recently ne created an hour long documentary filmed in Scotland. His goal with 2nd Act is to dive back into experimental short films and enter into the festival circuit, something he has never done.

2nd Act first-timer. Henry Coonrod, says that, as a filmmaker his top priority is his cast and crew. “I chose this career because I wanted to make interesting things with interesting people, he continues. “Film is this magical medium where private, intimate, intense and beautiful spaces are created; spaces where people work their hardest to create something real. As a writer, director and student myself I seek to create sets where people aren't afraid to ask questions, learn, and build a foundation to create their own movies. My work moves between traditional narrative films and experimental, usually animated, shorts. I have been making films for three to four years now and I still have a lot to learn, I just feel lucky to be part of such a great local film community!”

 Also a cinematographer and graphic designer, Sean Parsons started out as a 35mm film photographer. He then went on to enroll in traditional film studies which eventually led to work in animation for children's education where he focused on background and layout artwork. Parsons returned to filmmaking with short films like, Terminus and Syntrifica, which he directed, photographed, edited, sound designed and did the visual effects for.

Taiyen Stevenson

Taiyen Stevenson is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a Bachelors Degree of Arts and Science. After his experiences with acting, he decided to write and produce his own short films (Images, Thanks for Everything, and his most recent, The Street Lights Are On).  He is currently in the process of launching his film production company, "Virgo Kid Productions."  This is his first time entering the 2nd Act Film Project and his main goal is to create strong and significant movies that will capture the audience's attention.

Daniel Colella is a senior undergrad student at The College of Charleston pursuing a BA in English and Film Studies. He is the president of the CofC Film Club and the executive video producer for the Campus Media Organization, CisternYard Media.

Finally, William Woody considers himself pleasantly condescending.  He busies himself in screenwriting, stand-up comedy, and illustration. 

Poster art by Cait Maloney

The public is invited to join these filmmakers and the board of directors for the Jasper Project on Wednesday, October 30th for the 2nd Act Film Project, offering two screenings at 7 pm (sold out) and 9:15. While the first showing will invite audience members to vote on their favorite film for the Audience Award, and the filmmakers themselves to select the coveted filmmakers’ award, the awards will be presented following the earlier screening and announced to the audience of the later screening following that performance. Ticket are available at Eventbrite and are only $10.

The Jasper Project wishes to recognize our generous and steadfast 2nd Act Sponsors Mr. Bill Schmidt, Precision Overhead Door, Columbia Arts Academy, Sound and Images, Trustus Theatre and Coal Powered Filmworks. We are especially appreciative of Chad Henderson, artistic director of Trustus Theatre and former winning 2nd Act Filmmaker himself, who is serving as our host for the second year, Cait Maloney who created our poster art, and Matthew Kramer, formerly of Columbia, who sculpts traditional trophies for our winning filmmakers.

My Time as a Jasper Intern by Christina Xan

I met Jasper Project’s Executive Director Cindi Boiter for the first time at Jasper’s Syzygy, an arts event which premiered original plays and poetry about 2017’s solar eclipse. At the time, I knew nothing of Jasper. I was just there to support my playwrighting professor & friend, Jon Tuttle, who enthusiastically introduced me to Cindi after the plays.

Cindi had no reason to think I was anything special, but she welcomed me immediately with open arms, setting up a coffee date and sending me home with some copies of Jasper Magazine. Over coffee shortly after, she introduced me to the basics of Jasper and what the art community in Columbia looked like, encouraging me to send her some of my work. I was so in awe that this person was welcoming me with bright eyes when she barely knew me. As a poet, playwright, and lover of the arts, I wanted to be a part of this world, but as a self-doubting new graduate student in the area, I shied away from it.

Even though I never responded or went to an another arts event in my first year in Cola, Cindi invited me to the many art & literary events Jasper was a part of, and every time, I made mental plans to go, but never did. My first year of grad school, I threw myself into studies, and while I loved my little community of fellow students, I felt something missing. I felt that urge to be part of the arts. When I saw Cindi post a need for interns for the 2018-2019 year, I felt the tug towards it, and messaged her about it. Soon after, Cindi set up a meeting time, and we chatted, and before it even started, the conversation felt like home, and that was it.

It’s hard to actually encapsulate in any amount of words how much I love being a part of Jasper. I can anticipate skeptics saying, “Of course she’s going to say good things about what it means to be a Jasper intern, on the Jasper blog.” And to that, I’d like to give you the phone numbers of anyone in my cohort or family to whom I am constantly raving about Jasper being the best part of my 1,000 jobs. What you get to do for Jasper is unlike what you get to do anywhere else.

The main activity I did upon starting as a Jasper intern was writing articles, which may not sound like the most exciting thing, but the people I have interviewed I have made lasting connections with. I’ve had interviews where the other person and I have ended up sitting at a coffeeshop for three to four hours after the interview because we’ve enjoyed each other’s company so much.

Xan with author Dorothy Allison at the Deckle Edge Literary Festival

Along these same lines, every event I attended as an intern brought this same opportunity to meet new wonderful people. Each event I participated in, I was inundated with awe at how loving, humble, and talented our artists and creators are. Everyone I met was so excited to not only be part of this community but to bring me into the community.

That’s always how I’ve countered what people have seen as the biggest negative when I tell them about being an intern – not being paid. It’s true. I’ve never brought home a penny from interning with Jasper, but I’ve never seen that as a negative. No one on the board brings home money; everyone who is part of Jasper does it because they love the arts, because they believe the artists in the Midlands are special and deserve to be noticed. We work for them not for ourselves, and knowing they are seen and loved is enough payment. As an intern, especially, I went in wanting a sense of community and place, and not just as an artist but as a human being. I’ve found that.

There is no price tag on meeting an artist and connecting and quickly becoming friends that meet regularly for coffee or exchange books with each other. There is no price tag on walking into an event and immediately being welcomed by warm smiles and hugs from people who are genuinely excited to have your presence there. There is no price tag on family. I’ve been paid in love to last a lifetime.

That’s why, this internship is not the end for me and Jasper. I have been so lucky to be asked to stay on with Jasper and have chosen to be a part of this community as long as I can. I get to be the Assistant Project Manager for The Supper Table, which became a project close to my heart the moment I heard of it. In the fall, I get to join the Board myself and become even more involved in the process of Jasper. Our new Tiny Gallery Series has become my own baby, and I already am thinking of new projects I’d like to see come to fruition.

Xan with visual artist Keith Tolen at the Tiny Gallery series

Anything else I could say would just be repeating what I’ve been saying, so honestly, just know that I love it here. I love all the little things like writing articles, writing for the magazine, interviewing artists, attending events, running events, etc. But really, I love the community. I love my Jasper family. I love all the people we touch, the people they touch, the tendrils we have that sweep across our world and make a change. I look around at what I’ve been able to do and what I’m able to be a part of, and I’m just humbled and grateful and glad.

I’ll end by saying that if you’ve ever thought about being a part of the Jasper family, I can only encourage it and promise that open arms will be waiting for you, and I’ll be first in line.

Colacana Rising: Two Columbia-area Americana outfits, The Runout and The Witness Marks, drop debut albums this week

There's always been a consistently robust roots music scene in Columbia, but it's rare to have two acts drop their first albums on the same day. But that's what the Jeff Gregory-fronted group The Runout and Ethan Fogus' The Witness Marks are doing this Friday.

Both singer/songwriters are familiar faces and cheerleaders on the scene, which brings a celebratory note to the fact that each is dropping a fully-realized statement with the help of their various bandmates.

The Runout, which will play an album release show this Thursday at the New Brookland Tavern (Cayla Fralick opens; Charleston's Human Resources headlines), specializes in sensitive, acoustic guitar-led folk-rock that usually starts with something close to the hush melodic lyricism of The Milk Carton Kids before winding its way into more rollicking alt-country territory by song's end.

The advance singles from their project "Mama Put the Record On" and "Reach for You," showcase these dynamic swings and the rustic etherealism that has become the group's calling card. The former swings with the purpose of a solo Tom Petty track, replete with an assured harmonica and soulful chorus, while the latter rides a country shuffle and a wave of sepia-tinged nostalgia for maximum dividends.

Mama Put the Record On by The Runout, released 12 April 2019 1. Mama put the record on 2.

The Witness Marks, the band Fogus assembled followed a few years working under his own name, brings a similar palette but more emotionally confrontational style to their roots-rock travails. Fogus can often deliver a lyric with the quivering intensity of Conor Oberst, something accentuated by the lolloping storytelling style of his songs and the lush, overflowing instrumentation which provides so much color and verve.

On the single “You’re Lying,” which premieres here, that instrumentation takes the form of surging organ and elegiac piano (dedicated to former bandmate and Can’t Kids frontman Adam Cullum, who past away last year), as Fogus delivers a drawling, Stones-meets-Dylan country-rocker kiss-off.    

The Witness Marks will celebrate their debut at The White Mule this Friday, May 24 (Post-Timey String Band and flower shopping open).  Follow the Marks (FB, IG) and RO (FB, IG) on social media and be on the lookout for their albums dropping across various outlets this Friday.

Video Premiere: Admiral Radio's Debut "Two Star Motel"

Admiral Radio, the duo of singer/songwriters Becca Smith and Coty Hoover, are one of those classically-minded Americana duos that use a hushed atmosphere to create entire sonic worlds with just two gorgeous voices and finely picked instruments.

The two met as undergrads at College of Charleston, where Smith built up an early rep with an assured set of tunes and a polished solo debut, 2018’s I-26. That album’s lush arrangements swung from folk plaintiveness to classic country swing, but, as Admiral Radio, Hoover and Smith dial in more specifically to the kind of minimalist perfection that duos from The Civil Wars and Gillian and Dave Rawlings to Shovels & Rope and the everybodyfields have proven has a real and timeless staying power.

Jasper is happy to premiere their debut single and video for “Two Star Motel.” Shot by the Columbia production company Apollo’s Bow, the video plays straightforwardly with the narrative of the song with long, sweeping shots of the duo singing and picking around a room mic along a dirt road. It’s a simple premise, but it matches the simple joy of the tune—and this duo—to a T. -KP

REVIEW: OnStage Productions Reaches New Heights With Heathers by Frank Thompson

By: Frank Thompson

OnStage Productions’ decision to tackle an all-teenage rendition of Heathers: The Musical (High School Edition) was a bold move.

Those who recall the 1989 film featuring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater will no doubt wonder how “watered down” the high school version is, compared to the original big-screen story, which tackled some pretty adult themes and situations. The answer is “not much.” A few of the more salacious scenes are referenced as offstage action, the violence is slightly less graphic, and what is arguably the film’s most (in)famous line regarding a chainsaw is suggested rather than repeated verbatim. Beyond that, the show stays largely faithful to the source material.

OnStage Executive Director Robert Harrelson and Director David LaTorre bring the audience an unflinching production in line with Harrelson’s laudable commitment to presenting material exactly as written. If you’re easily offended, or squeamish about seeing teenagers performing a stylized-yet-realistic show that includes suggestive, abusive, and occasionally shocking material, you may want to pass on this one, but you’ll miss a gem full of the next generation of Midlands theatrical talent.

This isn’t as innocent as Bye Bye Birdie, or sweetly cute-naughty in the style of Grease or Hairspray, but it isn’t supposed to be. It’s a well-penned stage version of a classic, albeit dark, coming-of-age movie and when performed by such a talented cast, it can legitimately compete with much of what’s on offer from the various theatre companies featuring adult casts.
Rachael Sprankle shines in her first feature role as Heather Chandler, the saucy, take-no-prisoners leader of the school’s most popular clique. (If you haven’t seen the film, all three members of this power trio share the first name of Heather.) Sprankle’s stage presence is commanding, and her voice perfectly suited for the 80s-esque score. The darkness of the story begins fairly early on with her death and continues with her presence as a ghost surrounding her friends and enemies. Sprankle brings a slightly detached, ethereal quality to the afterlife identity while never losing her alpha-female edge established in the early scenes. Her transition is subtle, yet tangible, and introduces a layer of meta-reality which subsequent “ghost” characters sustain. Her fellow Heathers, Heather McNamara (Ivy Munnerlyn) and Heather Duke (Harper Kirk), are the teenage equivalents of Darth Vader to Heather Chandler’s Emperor Palpatine. They enjoy tremendous influence and social power over their peers, yet still play second fiddle to the superior who occasionally keeps them in check.

Kirk, who also co-choreographs the show with Katie Edelson, exudes a convincingly menacing presence as she bides her time, clearly waiting for the opportunity to assert herself as the group’s leader. When she finally so does, it’s one of the production’s most chilling moments by merely putting her hair in a scrunchie. Munnerlyn’s Heather McNamara positively drips attitude and privilege but is given less attention in the first act than Sprankle and Kirk. I was on the verge of feeling like her character got shortchanged until she burst into song in Act II, revealing her to be the most textured and conflicted member of the group. Munnerlyn unapologetically embraces the intensity of her big moment, showcasing an impressive voice and unexpected fragility.

The show’s creepily romantic love story between the Heathers’ Eliza Doolittle-esque protégé, Veronica (Caroline Quinn), and her brooding loner lover, J.D. (Paul Smith), drives the plot, and both Quinn and Smith are at at the top of their respective games. Veronica, a semi-nerdy nobody when the show begins, quickly gains popularity under the Heathers’ malevolent tutelage. Though still too young to drive or vote, Quinn is already a seasoned stage veteran with several professional credits on her resume, and it shows. Veronica is the show’s most complex role, and Quinn creates a clear character arc as we gradually realize the events are seen from her point of view. With what is arguably the strongest voice in a show full of outstanding vocalists, she captures Veronica’s fragility and uncertainty with an almost childlike softness while still belting out powerful show-stoppers with aplomb. Smith’s J.D. is equally compelling as the ethical relativist foil to Veronica’s by-the-book absolutist. Complete with black trench coat and tousled hair, J.D. is eerily reminiscent of the all-too-familiar troubled teenage school shooters of the Columbine tragedy, down to his fascination with firearms and twisted sense of justice. Smith manages to sustain a sympathetic character while embodying a figure of nihilistic menace, playing an antihero whose diabolical acts are unsettlingly presented as almost justifiable.

There isn’t a weak link in the show, but several standouts deserve mention. As Ram and Kurt, the bullying, predatory football stars, Cameron Eubanks and Tucker Privette exude menace and danger, especially in their scene with Quinn, where the two characters come dangerously close to succeeding in an attempted sexual assault on Veronica. (In all fairness, while gripping, this scene should probably come with a trigger warning for its realism.) As the show’s “fat and ugly” girl, Martha Dumptruck, Katie Edelson (who is neither fat nor ugly, yet effectively portrays someone convinced by her peers that she is both) provides several heart-wrenching moments of pathos, capped by a second act power ballad that literally brought the opening night audience to its feet. Alongside Jeymerson Lopez’s delightfully befuddled Principal Gowan, Lexi Peake introduces some welcome comic relief as the New-Agey teacher Mrs. Fleming, and Michael Rego is superbly distasteful as J.D.’s bullying father. The rest of the cast features multiple talented up-and-comers who are fully committed to creating and sustaining three-dimensional characters with personalities and backstories, making even the smallest of roles memorable.

The production’s drawbacks are few, but I would be remiss to exclude them even if they hardly diminish the excellence onstage. A couple of the soloists are a bit difficult to hear, and several lines of dialogue could do with more projection, as well. The set, while appropriately macabre, is slightly out of sync with the neon-hued 1980s fashions. (To be fair, it serves double duty with Love Bites, a vampire-based comedy running in rep with Heathers, and its grey brick motif likely works perfectly for a campy Hammer Films-style Transylvanian setting.)

Heathers is a marvelous showcase for the rising stars of the Columbia area, and an impressive achievement for OnStage Productions, which reaches a new level of quality with each show.

The show runs through this weekend. Call 803-351-6751 for resevations.

Frank Thompson is proud to serve as JASPER’s Theatre Editor.

REVIEW: Toro y Moi @ The Senate, 11/17/2018

By: Kyle Petersen; Photos by: Bree Burchfield

Toro y Moi performing at The Senate, November 2018. PC: Bree Burchfield

More than most, Toro y Moi is a musical act that reinvents itself with every album cycle. Since the pre-Causers of This days when Chaz Bundick (Chaz Bear?) played shows half behind a DIY laptop and keyboard combination as a chillwave progenitor to the almost-jammy guitar pop of 2015’s What For?,  the Toro y Moi project has constantly tested its own boundaries, trying on various permutations of dance-centric indie rock, funk and pop as if flipping through an exceptionally-curated record collection.

Bundick, a Columbia native who led the sharp indie rock quartet The Heist & the Accomplice in his college days at USC, adapted his live band to each of the singular aesthetic visions of his recordings each time he flipped the dial, adding drummer Andy Woodward and bassist Patrick Jeffords and then, later on, guitarist Jordan Blackmon and then keyboardist Anthony Ferraro to the proceedings. That core nucleus carried him far, even through the beats-oriented pop of 2013’s Anything in Return, but at a certain point it felt like the touring version of the band stood resolutely apart from the studio creations, and that Bundick was pretty fine with that.

Then came last year’s Boo Boo, a moody pop affair that showed traces of The Weeknd-style R&B and the grimy grandeur of some of Toro’s hip-hop production on the side. As ambient and inscrutable as that album could get, it was among the most consciously pop the project had yet leaned. Too, it was difficult to imagine the live band translating many of these songs to the stage. That Bundick didn’t tour on the effort seemed right and would ultimately prove prescient.

This Columbia show was the final date on the first string of non-DJ sets Toro y Moi had played since Boo Boo and comes in conjunction with the release of an advance single, “Freelance,” ahead of a full-length in early 2019. And it’s clear we’re getting a very different Toro experience going forward. Now performing without Blackmon and with Jeffords on synths as much as bass, Bundick is stepping fully into the frontman role, often drifting decisively away from the keys to roam the stage and lean into the considerable power of his vocal hooks rather than laying low in the groove. It’s a move he could have made at arguably any point in his career thus far, but it fits the new material particularly well, placing him in the lineage of artists like Frank Ocean and Sampha whose auteur styles and left-field melding of pop and R&B manage to command large audiences.

PC: Bree Burchfield

Venturing through much of Boo Boo and new material from the forthcoming album amid a smattering of older tunes that fit the new direction, Bundick was as confident as a performer as I can ever remember seeing him. Even amid the most sweaty, dancefloor-ready vamps of the past, there’s always been something fundamentally bedroom producer about him, that felt like a masterful musician reimagining the music swimming around in his brain while saddled in front of the computer screen.

And that’s probably still who he is at heart but, for the first time, it’s possible to imagine that quiet, bespectacled oddball from around the way as the most unlikely thing of all—not just a nationally renowned indie artist, but a genuine pop star.

This might be some hell of a new record.

Can I Get A Witness?: 5 Questions with Ethan Fogus

Singer/songwriter (and, with this new issue, now-Jasper staff writer) Ethan Fogus has been playing his songs for years in Columbia, but has only recently switched from solo to a full band endeavor with The Witness Marks. A classic roots-rocker with a penchant for big melodies and drawling, tumbling storytelling, his songs find themselves filled in and fleshed out with the sympathetic ear of his new backing band whether providing a country-rock lope or a crashing, punk-tinged Southern sprawl.

The Witness Marks will be joining us on Thursday night for the release of the Fall 2018 issue of Jasper at Stormwater studios (event link here), so we thought we’d ask Ethan 5 questions about his music, new band, and the Columbia scene.

So tell us about how and why you formed The Witness Marks. I know you were doing the solo thing for a while there too.

I got tired of being a first-name-last-name group. It's hard to ask people to play in a band that’s just you. I got over the me-ness of the music and let go of my ego. 

Also I’m an introverted person, so coining a superhero name gave me permission to have fun. I don’t have to feel like I’m up front in the same way. I want to play music and I want the people I play music with to be a unit. It’s more fun for me to be in a band. 

How much has the sound of the band developed over time? What direction do you see for the band going forward?

Overtime we’ve become tighter. We have a better sense of each other’s intuition, and we trust each other more. I think we lean more rock and roll than folk nowadays. 

We’ve got a few songs we cooked up with Zac Thomas that we’ll be pushing out soon. 

You seem really attuned to more classic folk-rock modes of songwriting--Dylan, Cash, etc. How much do you look for inspiration in that older generation, how much do you look towards more contemporary performers?

I do love Dylan and Cash but nostalgia-sentiment alone doesn't appeal to me. I’m not the type of person who thinks that music used to be better in the good ol' days. Music now is pretty good, and I love all types of songwriting. Current favorites include Caroline Spence and Phoebe Bridgers. But I believe in listening widely and learning from all genres and time periods of music. I love music and don’t put parameters on what I like and don’t like. 

What's your favorite song to play live? Why?

That’s tough. I like our new songs a lot. But “The Other Way” and “Bloodoath” are just a darn hoot to play live. “The Other Way” is this really punchy punk rock song that segues into “Bloodoath,” which is a super moody and dynamic song. I like it cause it’s a band arrangement. It’s loud. It’s disrespectful. 

Who are your favorite songwriters in the Midlands?

Kelley McLachlan — she writes beautiful songs with poignant lyrics and inventive arrangements. 

Mario McClean —  every time I see Mario play I get goosebumps. He’s a great pianist and a wonderful lyricist. 

Jeff Gregory of The Runout — he’s an attention-to-detail songwriter. Check out a solo show he did for the Columbia Beet recently. Wowza. 

Cassie Premo Steele Talks with Syzygy Poetry Open Call Winners Ann Humphries & Maggie Olszewski

Interview with Ann Humphries and Maggie Olszewski

Jasper asked Cassie Premo Steele, who adjudicated the Syzygy New Voices of the Eclipse poetry contest for new and emerging writers, to talk to the winners about their poetry and processes.

Maggie Olszewski, whose poem, “The Nature of Shadow,” was chosen as the contest winner, was born in Columbia, South Carolina, and she is 16 years old. She has been writing ever since the age of 6, when she wrote her first piece—a Harry Potter fanfiction. This year she is attending South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, where she will further pursue her craft.

Ann Humphries is also from Columbia, where she studied poetry with Nikky Finney and Ed Madden at USC. Her poem, “An Eclipse and A Butcher,” was chosen as the honorable mention in the contest. She has also earned Ultimate Outsider status for visiting all 47 state parks — as the only blind person to finish. She has a guide dog and tree named in her honor.

~~~

Cassie: Since this was a contest for new and emerging writers, can you tell us a little about why you entered the contest and how it felt? This might be helpful to others who may be hesitant to submit their work.

Maggie: This prompt really hit home for me. As someone who is deeply invested and interested in the science behind the upcoming eclipse, the idea to convey my feelings towards it artistically hadn't occurred to me. It felt great to take the prompt and shape my own thoughts around it. 

Ann: I loved this prompt. I became deliciously lost in the research. I spun five poems about the eclipse. 

Cassie: Can you say a little about what the process of writing poetry is like for you?

Maggie: I usually sit down with a rough idea of where I want to go or end up—often a first line, a theme, or a story. I get my thoughts onto paper and revise in a couple of days.

Cassie: When you have a specific assignment, such as you did for this poem about the eclipse, is your writing process different?

Maggie: Yes. When I have a specific assignment, I don't wait to revise. I plan the structure of the poem before I start and make sure I have a stronger sense of what I'm trying to accomplish. 

Ann: I appreciate deadlines. I played in the research, asked myself what would be a unique perspective. What I especially admired about this contest is its intersection of science, visual art, poetry, even plays, culture, history, and technology. This contest took me to fresh reservoirs of writing.

Cassie: What's your sense of the poetry and arts scene in Columbia?

Ann: Bursting with life! And Jasper is a nexus for collaboration across the genres. By the way, I searched the country for comparable contests. All I could find were readings and plays in Oregon and Illinois. Good for Jasper! Bravo to the SC Humanities Council.

Maggie: I know quite a few actors and artists through my father, but not as many as more established writers might (obviously). From what I can tell, everyone seems to know everyone, and there's an immense amount of collaboration and supportiveness that goes on. It seems like a really cool thing to be a part of. 

Cassie: And if you could wave a magic wand and make something happen in the city, what would it be?

Ann: Bring back the Book Festival - or fully support Deckle Edge. I savored every morsel, would have pitched a tent. If only we could have clones to attend all the events.  

Maggie: Hm. That's a good question. I'd probably clear the city of litter. It's not too bad in my little corner of Columbia, but I've driven through areas that could really do for a cleanup. Maybe we could get all the artists together to clean up the city and make an art project from it!

Cassie: I love that idea! Anything else you'd like to share?

Ann: I'm becoming a Jasper Guild member.

Maggie: And I’m really grateful for this opportunity.

Cassie: Thank you both.

~~~

Jasper thanks Cassie for all her efforts in this project - from adjudicating the open call to participating as a poet in the Syzygy Poetry Invitational.

If YOU'D like to become a member of the Jasper Guild like, Ann (and thank you, Ann!), just click on "Store" at this website's main page.

Look for Ann and Maggie's poems in the Fall 2017 issue of Jasper Magazine.

Join us on Thursday, August 17th at 3 pm in the first floor auditorium of Richland Library to hear Ann, Maggie, Cassie, and a spectacular cast of South Carolina's most elite poets read their poetry in response to the eclipse at SYZYGY: The Poetry (free). Then join us at 7 pm or 10 pm at Tapp's Arts Center for the performance of SYZYGY: The Plays ($10).

Cassie Premo Steele is the author of 14 books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, including Earth Joy Writing (2015) and Beautiful Waters (2016).  She has recently completed a novel about mindfulness called The Lessons of Birds and is working on a poetry collection called Tongues in Trees. She works as a writing coach with women from around the world and lives in Columbia with her musician/web developer wife and laughter-inducing daughter.