Sound & Word presents a celebration of poetry. Bruce Spang will read from his latest book, Twist. Marie Harris and Maggie Anderson will read from their poems.
The instrumentalist Lee R. Horsman brings his gongs, inviting us into a world of sound refractions.
TWIST
THE NEW POETRY COLLECTION BY BRUCE SPANG CAPTURES TRANSFORMATION AND ACCEPTANCE IN EVERYDAY MOMENTS
Former Poet Laureate of Portland Bruce Spang explores his own memories and his sense of self in his new poetry collection Twist, published by Warren Publishing. From dressing up for Halloween, to dancing to Elvis at a school hop, to watching hot air balloons on a peaceful morning, life is full of little moments. We, as people, are a culmination of these little moments, and by revisiting them, we can awaken to a new sense of reality and begin to understand time’s fluidity.
Spang shines a light on how our experiences shape us as individuals, as well as how accepting one’s authentic self can force us to reexamine those experiences in order to grow. “In my poems, if I draw on my own life,” says Spang, “I am wanting to speak to the larger self, the mythic self, that encompasses all of us, and how each of us makes sense of this troubling and enchanting world.” Spang’s poetry acts as a confessional—as the poet remembers his tumultuous relationship with his father, raising a family, and coming out in midlife—while celebrating life’s quiet moments with his husband, pets, and family.
Above all, Spang wants his collection to connect with those going through change, the LGBTQ+ community, and religious and spiritual leaders. “We can transform ourselves,” says Spang, “and, even when some deny who we are, come to accept ourselves and live full and happy lives.” Twist is a conversation with the simplicity of childhood, the uncertainty of the present, and the hope for a peaceful future. Bruce Spang’s poetry collection Twist is the perfect companion for those of us looking for a hand to hold or a promise that we are exactly where we need to be.
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Bruce Spang, former Poet Laureate of Portland, has published five books of poems, including Twist (2025), All You’ll Derive: A Caregiver’s Journey, To the Promised Land Grocery, and Boy at the Screen Door (Moon Pie Press) along with several anthologies and chapbooks.
He is also the author of two novels, The River Crossed (2024), and The Deception of the Thrush, and a memoir, Those Close Beside Me: A Young Man’s Search for Home. He is the poetry and fiction editor of the Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Magazine and staff writer for The Asheville Poetry Review.
His poems have been published in Connecticut River Review, Puckerbrush Review, Red Rover Magazine, Great Smokies Review, Kalopsia Literary Journal, Café Review and other journals across the United States.
He teaches courses in fiction and poetry at Great Smokies Writing Program at University of North Carolina in Asheville and lives in Candler, North Carolina with his husband Myles Rightmire and their three dogs, five fish, and eighteen birds.
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Marie Harris, former NH Poet Laureate, is a writer, teacher, and editor. In 2003, she co-produced the first-ever gathering of state poets laureate.
She has served as writer-in-residence at elementary and secondary schools throughout New England and is the author of five books of poetry, the most recent of which is DESIRE LINES from Hobblebush Books.
Her books for children include G is for GRANITE: A New Hampshire Alphabet, PRIMARY NUMBERS: A New Hampshire Number Book, and THE GIRL WHO HEARD COLORS, recipient of the 2016 Outstanding Work of Children's Literature from the NH Writers Project. She lives in Asheville, NC.
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Maggie Anderson is the author of five books of poetry, most recently Dear All (Four Way Books, 2017).
Other books include Windfall: New and Selected Poems, A Space Filled with Moving, Cold Comfort and Years That Answer.
She has edited several anthologies, including Learning by Heart;
Contemporary American Poetry about School and After the Bell;
Contemporary American Prose about School;
Her awards include two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, fellowships from the Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania Councils on the Arts, and the Ohioana Library Award for contributions to the literary arts in Ohio.
The founding director of the Wick Poetry Center and of the Wick Poetry Series of the Kent State University Press, Anderson is Professor Emerita of English at Kent State University and lives in Asheville, North Carolina.
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Alida Woods is a retired educator who can be found in and by most any body of water.
Originally from New England, she has lived in Asheville for 50 years.
Her work has appeared in The Avocet, The Great Smokies Review, The Westward Quarterly, Front Porch, Artemis, Smokey Blue Literary Arts Magazine, and The Amsterdam Quarterly.
Her chapbook Disturbing Borders was published by Finishing Line in 2018.
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A lifelong meditator on inner sound, after moving beyond a career in nursing often focusing on the care of children in hospice, Lee began exploring connections between inner and outer sound specifically through the medium of gongs, seeking ways to make use of resonant instruments to draw (entrain) the attention out of / away from what tends to bind it in the chaos of the world and refine its connection with the creative core within.
Immersing one’s attention within such non-musical sound can refine one’s entire range of sensibilities, seat one squarely on one’s creative horse, or lift one beyond saddle-dom altogether into realms of mediative insight and the nurturing of spiritual as well as outwardly expressive gifts.
Sound as Lee offers it this evening will be a palate cleanser between the readings - as fine wine - inviting fresh and deepened listening as well as renewed openness to emerging images and feelings.
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Bob Jordan is a songwriter from Haywood County. A native of Louisiana, where he taught College English, he has released one full length record, “If This Dream Stands”, an e.p. called “Open Heart”, and a number of singles. His music is available on nearly all streaming platforms.
Bob lives just outside the National Park with his wife, writer Angela Jordan, and their beloved cat, Ms. Maeve Painter.
