UPDATED Official Country Fried Poets, ZOOM, Tentative

THE FOLLOWING ARE COUNTRY FRIED PANDA FEST POETS 
who will join us for the first-ever poetry fest in Shelbyville, KY
this June 9-11 ~ Stay tuned! 6 events in 3 days!

Adam Brodsky
Alex Gildzen
Andy Clausen
AS Coomer
Ben Gulyas
Bill Gainer
Bob Ernst
Bob Phillips
Bree
Catfish McDaris
Chad Horn
Chandra Alderman
Charles Potts
Damian Rucci
Dan Denton
Dave Roskos
Dean McClain
Eric Scott Sutherland
Gina Tabasso
Grace Butcher
Ingrid Swanberg
Jason Baldinger
Jason Hardung
Jeff Weddle
Jessica McDermott
Jim Deuchars
John Burroughs
John Dorsey
John Swain
Jonathan S Baker
Jonie McIntire
Joshua Lew Mcdermott
Juliet Cook
Kathy Smith
Kent Taylor
Kerry Jensen Trautman
Klyd Watkins
Lily Rex
Mark Widrlechner
Michael Grover
Michelle McDonnold
Michael Salinger
Milenko Budimir
Misty Scaggs
Nicole Hennesey
Pamela Twining
Paul Corman-Roberts
Paul Skyrm
Pauletta Hansel
RA Washington
Ray McNeice
rjs
Russ Vidrick
Ryn Ann Griseto
Sara Holbrook
Shelley Chernin
Steve Brightman
Steve Goldberg
Steve Huffman
Stephen Thomas
Steve Thomas
Steven B. Smith
Theresa Gottl
Victor Clevenger
William Taylor Jr.

ZOOM
Alex Gildzen
Andy Clausen
Bob Phillips
Dave Roskos
Grace Butcher
Ingrid Swanberg
Kent Taylor
Pamela Twining
Paul Corman-Roberts
rjs
Steven B. Smith

IN BOOK IF NOT IN PERSON
Catfish McDaris
Steve Goldberg

TENTATIVE
Ben Gulyas
John Dorsey
Ray McNeice
Kerry Jensen Trautman

This Blue August ~ Two Books in A Single Volume

my book This Blue August (Green Panda Press 2023) arrived and i have plenty of copies if you would like to get one. i can sell it for a lucky $13 shipped to your door, or you can get it at Amazon for a lot more.
paypal as friend/family to leastbitternbooks@gmail.com  cash.app/$TheArtistBree  check/cash to 2982 Waddy rd. #2 Waddy, KY 40076
Proceeds go towards Country Fried Panda Poetry Festival in Shelbyville, KY

 

Country Fried Panda Fest – its poetry y’all

Green Panda Press announces

Country Fried Panda Fest June 9-11 2023

Shelbyville, KY’s first-ever poetry festival
there will be 5 events in 3 days open to the public:
6.9.23 Friday night poetry wraps up in music at a local studio The Music Barn
6.10.23 Saturday morning outdoor read at a local park
6.10.23 Saturday all day all night bombast at a local tavern The Barrel Room
6.11.23 Sunday morning big-screen zoom poetry reading at the library
featuring godfathers/godmothers of indy poetry
6.11.23 Sunday morning poetry with music recording session at a community center, link to recording to be posted for all

there is a luxury cabin sleeps 28+ its 1200 divided by however many people stay there. poets or folks just coming to hear a bunch of poets – please let me know whether you want to stay in the cabin – thanks

here is a list of participating poets, several tentative at this point, as it is so far into the future…..

Adam Brodsky
Adam Perry
Alex Gildzen* zoom
Andy Clausen
Ben Gulyas* tentative
Bill Gainer
Bill Taylor
Bob Phillips* zoom
Bree
Catfish McDaris
Chad Horn
Chandra Alderman
Charles Potts
Dan Denton
Dave Roskos*zoom
Dean McClain
DR Wagner* zoom
Drew Coomer
Eric Scott Sutherland
George Wallace
Gina Tabasso
Grace Butcher* zoom if poss
Heather Ann Shepard
Ingrid Swanberg* zoom
Jason Baldinger
Jason Hardung
Jeff Weddle
Jessica McDermott
Jim Deuchars
Joe Safdie* tentative
John Burroughs
John Dorsey* tentative
Jonathan S. Baker
Jonie McIntire
Joshua Lew Mcdermott
Joshua Gage
JS Makkos
Juliet Cook
Kate Sopko
Kathy Smith
Kathryn Griseto
Kent Taylor* zoom
Kerry Jensen Trautman* tentative
Klyd Watkins
Lily Rex
Madison Piling
Mark Widrlechner
Michael Grover
Michael Henson
Michelle McDonnold
Michael Salinger
Milenko Budimir
MJA Joe Arcangelini* tentative
Nicole Hennesey
Noah David Roberts
Pamela Twining
Paul Corman-Roberts
Paul Skyrm
Pauletta Hansel
RA Washington
Ralph LaCharity
Ray McNeice* tentative
Russ Vidrick
Ryn Ann Griseto
Sara Holbrook
Sheila Long
Shelley Chernin
Steve Brightman
Steve Goldberg
Steve Huffman
Stephen Thomas
Steve Thomas
Steven B. Smith
Theresa Gottl
Tiffany Tavella
Tom Kryss* zoom
Ursula Williams
Victor Clevenger* tentative
Wendy Shaffer* here’s hoping

Upcycle The Book and The Learning Curve

Operation Care had placed my book Upcycle on their shelves for sale. All sales were to go to the transitional housing program for women and children, which needed costly maintenance. A volunteer who helps man the store sometimes was offended by something in the book and removed all copies from the reach of customers.

We had a meeting- the director and two staff of Operation Care, and myself, regarding the book, the flyer i made for the benefit event, and how we ought proceed.

as you can see i put two hope poems on the flyer which would serve as the program for the benefit event July 23. i wrote one poem about God and perseverance, and beside it went a poem which is among just a tiny handful i have written that i believe anyone in the world could identify with, since it is about being ‘eachother’- just the same. no more. no less. brother and sister.

however, not only did the org members at the meeting not identify with the poem, it rather offended them. they do not believe we are ‘alone together’- they believe we are with God. my poem does not exclude God, rather i dont use the word so that my words could apply to each of us. the word God could put some people off from the poem – they might not read it. i wanted to reach every person with this poem. my idea of us just being ‘eachother’ was interpreted as me saying we are alone together without God –  which of course my poem does not say.

the poem meant we are in this together- whether we go to church, pray, atone, have faith in a God or serve a master, whether we are surgeons or clowns, northern, southern, red, white, brown…

in addition to the poem, the director pointed out words that may offend the reader, should they not have read the accompanying text, which explains the lines of a song in the Upcycle book, which contains all the lyrics to my 40+ songs.

i said, the words of this song are the reason i became a poet who would serve her community, as i am here, serving you. i asked whether anyone in the room had read my book? had they read my essay about how i came to be a poet or write songs in the first place? how they healed me, and enabled me to thrive despite trials and abuse?

they admitted they had only read some parts of the book.

this being said, i have art on my blog which is political in nature they did not think their donors would care for, and so they wanted no further association with me as an artist. they would not be selling the book in their brick and mortar.

truly, they hadnt done their due diligence. only at the 11th hour had they discovered art on my blog that disagreed with the points of view of their patrons, and so forth. anything i did i had passed along for approval, but at this point they wanted me to put out the flyer as it was- except make the part that mentions proceeds go to Operation Care really small.

it was a learning lesson. i learned along the way that the library was going to have yoga lessons until members of the community complained that there must be separation of church and state. i knew where to tread, and how lightly. i also learned who my allies were and who i will work with in the future, to spread community in this town which seems to be just now burgeoning with culture.

i said you still want me to do the event? you want the money?

they laughed and said of course. the following day i gave the first Upcycle workshop. i felt extra inspired and full of mojo. i began by explaining how i spread Gods love through poetry. being a poet is not all about writing. it is the way one carries herself, the way she responds, her POV. that to reach the widest audience, i leave words like God and Jesus out of my books, not wishing to lose a percent of the audience straight away. that each poem means whatever you get out of it when you read it. that you could read it years later and it could mean something else entirely.

i reached a few of the women- in our hearts we have the same stories. the same struggles and achievements. the striving for balance. the belief in ourselves. this was all that mattered to me in the first place, when i conceived of this vast project Upcycle.

i didnt try to sell my book at all. i was afraid who i may offend- it says in there- you are a vacuum /and i am a witch /who got carried away by her broom …

some people would take that literally. there are witches, ive been told, who lived right there in the town. and since i would rather move on to my next project here without being cast off – i did not release the album on the day of the benefit event as planned. i sure didnt want anyone offended by my lyrics to think Operation Care stood behind them or me as an artist.

i am grateful to Operation Care, their many volunteers who gave plenty of time to the Upcycle cause- plenty of work hours for the workshops and benefit event. the zest and zeal and dedication to make the workshops and benefit great as possible was never lost on me. with plenty of moral support, it was not a struggle to keep my ego and pride out of it, and complete what i set out to do as well as i possibly could, being me, rather than being the artist Bree.

i am utterly grateful as well, to the women i met- in particular Melissa Jesse, Rose Maggard and Sheila Fow- who sat and had tea with me repeatedly, and worked always with such brilliance and enthusiasm, through the very last minute of the event..  your passions humble me as i write this- and continue to give me much strength- i was able to rely on you while our shared faiths emboldened each other.

 

xoxoxox

New Check Out My Album Upcycle New

Upcycle | Bree (bandcamp.com)

The album costs $10, but if you pay $20 or more i will send you a copy of the book Upcycle: Art-Making to Break Cycles of Trauma and Create Something Valuable

the book contains the lyrics to my songs with anecdotes and info on their origins, plus an essay about how song-writing and poetry enabled me to know myself, and what i wanted to be doing. In the process of living mindfully and meaningfully, creating when i could, i healed old wounds and now have 44 songs to show for it. (altho i wrote a 45th since the book came out- The Suicide Hotline Blues)


(cover art made from a photograph of a rubbish bin taken in Graefenberg, KY)

Announcing the Release of My First Album Upcycle

i suffer migraines continuously, 24 hrs a day. i generally wake feeling my best, and by 3 pm or so i seriously decline. but i wake early, so i get almost a full shift  feeling well and highly-functioning. then i cook and eat and tidy things and typically recline the rest of the night in front of the tube, where i will ultimately sleep.

recording Upcycle, there was an air freshener in every outlet, probably at least 30 of them visible to me, just walking through the studio. they are my number one trigger, and once i have a migraine from air fresheners, i will be sick for days. the taste of the chemicals will adhere to my tongue- i could brush my teethe multiple times but still taste them. i get sea sick and nauseated, often with vertigo, and the most awful shooting pains.

but this was our one shot at making the album, and there was just under two weeks to accomplish it. i took a lot of medications, drank double the water i normally might, and just buckled in for the ride.

another common migraine trigger is called ‘let down from stress.’ this means, once the body completes a 70 hr work week, or came home from a beach vacation, the migraine may wreak havoc.

meanwhile, rain, and quick changes in the barometric pressure of the atmosphere is a next major trigger. and so is pms.

so when the adrenaline wore off a few hours after the Upcycle event July 23rd, one mighty migraine set in, and there it stayed put until September 9.

i was beginning to wonder whether it wasnt permanent. i had lived two and a half years at the level 8 of 10 pain, never to come down to a seven or six. i had done it with a spouse and caretaker- and yet here i was, by myself and doing ok. i was ready for this to be a next phase in my life.

but Labor Day weekend the migraine pain was scattershot. and finally, my routine of waking up well and doing what i can until i cant resumed.

and the first thing i did when i felt well enough was to release the album Upcycle-
13 songs (two are bonus tracks) they are a diverse sampling of my 4 dozen songs.

i fancy myself a song-writer, poet, and artist more than a singer. the songs and poems i wrote told me who i was and what i ought to be doing. they showed me the sides of myself others might not generally see- and demonstrated to me how to reveal those sides, along with the rest.

In the book Upcycle, i explain how and when and why i began writing songs. All of my lyrics are in the book as well…with some anecdotes and info on the song origins. I invite to to listen and read and see what all has shaped me via song.

The Upcycle Event – and Afterwards

The Upcycle event at the Stargazer Plaza on Main in Shelbyville raised $2015, which is amazing because it was near 100 degrees. This was why almost all of the action took place between 11 am and 12:30 pm. Monies were raised through sales of upcycled art and furniture, raffle tickets, books, locally baked goods, musical performance, and various tip jars situated near the food donated by Chef Brent at The Bell House, and at the demonstration booths run by Sheila Fow and Melissa Jesse.

There was a page and a half article about the event and my vision for it that ran twice in The Sentinel News – once for subscribers, and a second time for every country resident. This was the reason many attendees cited when i asked what brought them to the event. One woman said she wanted to make art, and another had brought a broken bird house she wanted help mending, and upcycling.  Some came for the raffle, and most all said they were in support of Operation Care, and the women in their transitional housing program. Folks of all ages lent a hand- one 9 year old girl raised $21 for Operation Care by making and selling lemonade.

I am satisfied with the monies and awareness raised- considering that being outside in the heat was the last thing most bodies desired. Had it been a more temperate climate, many more people would have come along to see what we were doing. The notion of upcycling as art-making to break cycles of trauma and make something valuable and empowering was imparted to the public by the artisans and other volunteers, and I was able to meet many allies from the greater community.

Press Release for Upcycle Event at Operation Care July 23rd 11-3

Bree Bodnar
greenpandapress@gmail.com
(616)216-4715
www.theartistBree.com

Waddy resident Bree Bodnar was awarded an Arts meets Activism Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women for her project Upcycle: A book, album, workshop and event to benefit the Transitional Housing Program for women and children at Operation Care in Shelbyville, KY. Upcycling is to repurpose or restore materials to create something of greater monetary or environmental value. Bodnar gave the word an additional definition: using music and art-making to break cycles of trauma and create something valuable, and empowering.

 

Upcycle: Songwriting & Art-Making to Break Cycles of Trauma and Create Something Valuable (Green Panda Press 2022 66 pp.) combines Bree’s (she drops her surname when published or performing) 44 original song lyrics-one for every year of her life-with a personal essay about how she used poetry and songwriting to transcend trauma in her life. Each song includes anecdotes and background info. The book will be available at Operation Care’s Encore Shop beginning June 10th, and may also be ordered at any bookstore or local library, or by emailing greenpandapress@gmail.com. The cover price is $15.00. All proceeds go to Operation Care. Bodnar will conduct a workshop with the residents of the Transitional Housing Program to impart skills used in upcycling items which could be sold to supplement their incomes. She wrote her book to illustrate for them ways in which upcycling can be an avenue to simply enjoy the natural therapy of creating art as a means of transcending abuse or any other life trauma, and to encourage them to explore genres and use their voices in whichever medium speaks to them. Bodnar also collaborated with several musicians, including locals Lewis Mathis, Mason Daugherty, and Wes Thompson, to record her album Upcycle, which will be released at www.theartistbree.bandcamp.com on the day of the Upcycle benefit event this July 23rd 11-4 at Operation Care 708 Main Street.

 

At the Upcycle Benefit Event Sale, attendees can meet local artists and shabby-to-chic artisans to learn about their method and process, browse upcycled art, furniture, and wares to purchase, and watch live upcycling demos. They may bid on items upcycled by residents of the TH program, or buy tickets for various items to be raffled. For a small fee, members of the public can create their own upcycled bird houses, frame art, drink trays and more from rescued materials, to take home. There will be free bruschetta and other refreshments courtesy of The Bell House. For heavier fare, one might opt to purchase tacos from local food truck Taqueria La Nayarita, and top it off with some locally baked goods from our bake sale. Sponsors for the event have paid for ads, provided items to be raffled, and donated supplies to help raise money and awareness for the Transitional Housing Program at Operation Care, which in addition to other things, provides women and children with shelter, and a program that helps them move from homelessness to self-reliance. Sponsors include The Barrel Room, Texas Road House, Nugget & Co., 6th & Main Coffeehouse, JP Wood Designs, Pontrich Floor Covering, Chalk Couture, Sweet Waddy Jane, Gaines Painting, and more TBA.

 

Bree is a poet, publisher and artist from Cleveland, OH. In 2014 she moved to Pleasureville, and now resides in a former post office in Waddy, KY. In 2001 she founded Green Panda Press which produced hand-made poetry and art chapbooks, anthologies, and ephemera of the independent press. Currently it puts out trade papers in the print-on-demand format. Come What May: Collages from a Single Photograph (Least Bittern Books 2017) selects 300 full-color pages of her collages made with a mouse using the computer program Paint, each from a single photograph. She has several poetry collections and memoirs, including And I am Also Invasive (Birds and Bones 2016), The Dark Junco Morning (Green Panda 2016), Matter Ring (The City 2012), and was chicken trax amid sparrows tread (Temple Books 2009). She co-wrote Akol Atyii Madut’s memoir Sleeping with the Sun In His Eyes, about escaping genocide in Sudan and ultimately working at a Whole Foods in a suburb of Cleveland, OH. She edited and published Valga Krusa, Charles Potts’ 2-volume memoir about Berkeley poets and the COSMEP conventions of the late 1960s. Her drawings and collages appear on the covers of dozens of small press poetry books. Some recent work and an interview may be seen at the international bilingual poetry site  Read Carpet. KFW awarded her an Artist Enrichment grant in 2015 to gauge how nude studies are received in various regions of Kentucky, and an Arts Meets Activism grant in 2021 for her project Upcycle. She enjoys hiking and identifying native plants and birds.

Announcing Upcycle Event Sponsors from the Community

I am very happy that so many members of the community are sponsors of the Upcycle event at Operation Care July 23rd.

 
Attendees can enjoy refreshments, complements of The Bell House.
 
Items to raffle & ads paid for by The Barrel Room, Texas Roadhouse, Nugget & Co., Sweet Waddy Jane, KP Wood Designs, 6th & Main Coffeehouse, and more TBA.
 
Pontrich Floor Covering & Chalk Couture have donated supplies so people can upcycle something to take home.
 
Taqueria La Nayarita food truck will be onsite for taco treats.
 
Please join us! Meet local artists and artisans, browse upcycled wares made by the women in Operation Care’s transitional housing program. Watch local craftspeople doing live upcycling demos. Make your own bird house, drink tray, tee-shirt gift bags, and more- from upcycled materials. Get a copy of Upcycle: Songwriting and Art-Making to Break Cycles of Trauma and Create Something Valuable (Green Panda Press 2022). Pick up some locally home made goods from our bake sale. All proceeds to Operation Care. Take advantage of this opportunity to help others and meet new friends, while you are at it!