a tour of de force
Posted by William F. DeVault | Filed under Blogsphere, Candy Tothill, Poetry
Okay, I’ve managed to lose this post twice already, let’s see if I am learning.
You may have noticed some major refurbishments going on here at the City of Legends, not the least of which is the decision to bring the City of Legends Blog front and center and merge it with the original City of Legends, which featured hundreds of my poetic works.
But where is the poetry now? Excellent question.
If you slip down the right side of this page you will encounter a section entitled Recommended links.
In this section, the first pick is for City of Legends (Original). If you follow this link you will encounter a menu page that allows you to view the hundreds of poetic works that have been historically available through the City of Legends website.
A little further down the same menu you will find the link to my internet radio station at Live365, where you can hear me performing and reading (along with a few special guests) hour upon hour of my works, free to you, and available around the world.
Finally, I have added the link for the free download of my massive volume The Compleat Panther Cycles, so that you can spend the 40 dollars or so that it would cost you at Amazon or your local bookseller on three or four of my other books.
Thanks to archive.org for providing the bandwidth for this download of the 640+ poems as a pdf identical to the printed volume. You can even download the cover featuring Goth model and recording artist Jillian Ann.
So, there it is. Enjoi! More news later!
Where’s the Poetry?
Posted by William F. DeVault | Filed under Journal
I know what you are saying: "Where did the poetry go?"
It went, but it will be back. To be best able to implement the new front end, we had to wipe clean the files. This included hundreds of individual poetry files that people access pretty much as they wish day in and day out, without going through the front end.
They are all safely sitting on my Mac Mini at home and I plan to upload them tonight…twice.
Once back to CityOfLegends.com.
The other to williamfdevault.com.
This was people can choose where to find the poems. The site at www.williamfdevault.com will have better front end support for the poetry and more mobility between the pages, but the individual poetry pages that people have gotten used to going straight to via Google, AltaVista, etc, will still be there.
Just give me a few hours, okay? Sheesh.
Poetry Out Loud, official notice
Posted by William F. DeVault | Filed under Blogsphere, Journal, Media, Poetry
Inattentive, am I?
Yes. Three days since my last post here (don’t you just love self-referencing?) and I feel like I have been neglectful.
Some of you have undoubtedly noticed the instability with my main site at cityoflegends.com
Do not panic, nothing is lost. We are in a technology transition that is proving a bit stickier than anticipated and should have it all wrapped this weekend (I hope).
If you missed the official press release about the West Virginia finals for Poetry Out loud, which I will be one of the judges for, here it is…
West Virginia State Finals for “Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest” to be held at Cultural Center March 15
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the West Virginia Commission on the Arts will host the West Virginia State Finals of the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest at 2 p.m., on Saturday, March 15, in the Norman L. Fagan West Virginia State Theater of the Cultural Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. The state final competition round is free and the public is encouraged to come support the student contestants.
Students from Brooke High School, Brooke County; Cabell County Public Library; Capital High School, Kanawha County; Doddridge County High School; George Washington High School, Kanawha County; Hannan High School, Mason County; Liberty High School, Raleigh County; Notre Dame High School, Harrison County; Pendleton County High School; Richwood High School, Nicholas County; Roane County High School; Sissonville High School, Kanawha County; Spring Valley High School, Wayne County; Summers County High School; Valley High School, Fayette County; and Wahama High School, Mason County; will compete for the first-place prize of $200 plus an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the national finals on April 27-29.
Additional monetary awards include a $500 stipend to the winner’s school for the purchase of poetry books, $100 to the second-place winner, and $200 to that student’s school library. All of the students competing in the finals will receive a Poetry Out Loud t-shirt, tote bag, a book of poetry and tickets to the Charleston Ballet’s March 24 evening performance.
Judges for the West Virginia finals are William F. DeVault, poet, Jamie Dunbar, performance professional and Dr. John McKernan, poet, author and teacher. Christened the “Romantic Poet of the Internet” in 1996 by Yahoo, DeVault has been at the forefront of the digital renaissance: publishing, blogging and podcasting his work to the entire world by way of his “City of Legends” website. A graduate of Morgantown High School, the award-winning poet and author was featured in the Appalachian Education Initiative’s “Art and Soul” as one of 50 notable creative artists from West Virginia. Dunbar of Charleston is a founding member of West Virginia’s premiere improvisational comedy troupe, No Pants Players. She is an actor who has performed with Kanawha Players, Charleston Stage Company and the Charleston Light Opera Guild and has taught theater across the state. McKernan of Huntington is an English professor of 40 years at Marshall University. He has written five poetry collections including Resurrection of the Dust, and his work has been recognized by grants from the Benedum Foundation, the West Virginia Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
West Virginia’s Poet Laureate, Irene McKinney of Belington, will be the guest speaker and Beckley native Chris Sarandon will serve as emcee for the event. McKinney received her bachelor’s degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College where she continues to teach and her master’s degree from West Virginia University (WVU). She is the author of five books of poetry and also offers her expertise as an editor. Sarandon, star of screen, theater and television graduated magna cum laude from WVU and received his master’s degree in theater from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He has performed in such films as Dog Day Afternoon, for which he received an Oscar nomination, The Princess Bride, Child’s Play, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Loggerheads.
In addition, Maryrose Flanigan, national initiative programs manager for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), will be on hand to make remarks to the students and audience. She manages literary initiatives for the NEA, currently focused on the Poetry Out Loud program. Flanigan’s poems have appeared in Potomac Review and Kennesaw Review.
A reception with live music by the Charleston-based band, Voo Doo Katz, will follow the program.
Poetry Out Loud is a program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry Magazine, the oldest English-language monthly publication dedicated to verse. The program is designed to encourage high school-age students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition. John Barr, president of the Poetry Foundation, says “The public recitation of great poetry is a way to honor the speaker, the poem, and the audience all at once.”
For more information about the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest and the state finals competition, contact Stacy Kepple, program coordinator for the Division, at (304) 558-0240, ext. 145.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Its administrative offices are located at the Cultural Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, which also houses the state archives and state museum. The Cultural Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. The agency also operates a network of museums and historic sites across the state. For more information about the Division’s programs, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
My only gripe? I should have insisted they mention how many books I have published, and their titles. Nothing like overkill. I think it is uber-cool (to steal from Candy) that I will be sharing a stage with Chris Sarandon. Been a big fan of his ever since "Dog Day Afternoon".
Life is a cup of hot jasmin tea
Posted by William F. DeVault | Filed under Uncategorized
I was asked for input into what would be the final poem of the year (and the 97th post) in the Amomancer blog, and assented to the choice of my 2005 work “Perhaps there are yet panthers”. Despite my disappointment in the woman who inspired the works that are practically synonymous with my reputation, the Panther Cycles, I respect that poem. It speaks to who I am, having come at a time of great disillusionment, but expressing the hope that there should be someone out there for everyone, including me.
Yeah, I mean you Jaz. Having garnered your sister’s vote, do you think I will call it a day and retire my suit? Ha!
Yesterday I was asked who my favourite muse of all time was for my works. An unfair question. But one I felt like answering for the person who asked it, so I did. I think she was mildly shocked at who I named (Who was it? I don’t have to answer that for you…but I will give you a clue, she was quite tall). She was further surprised when I was asked how many muses I’ve had and I told her that there have been but three significant ones, despite E.J.’s insistence upon there having been like 8 major muses and a dozen minor ones. A single poem, a single stone, does not a temple of Aphrodite make. I have not been as promiscuous with my flesh or my heart as those who would benefit from thinking so would tell you.
In a perfect world, a perfect world, I would have married my first real love, Psyche, and that would have ended the path, she was beautiful, wise and brilliant. A great kisser (that’s important, you know), an earnest lover, intellectually passionate and of a sharp humour, she inspired some of my most elemental and enduring works. Without her I would never have become the poet, or the man, for good or for bad, that I am. I owe her infinite thanks. I measure all the women I have been inspired by against her, and most are found sadly lacking. No, it wasn’t her, but I wanted to state that, right here and now.
The New Year is upon us, and it is a time for sober reflection, introspection and mid-course correction.
The hell it is.
I want 110% power on all engines. Next time you see a comet in the night, passing Earth and waving hello as it fills the eye and sky with wonders, that’ll be me.
This is my moment of inertia.
Thanks to Jaz, Sarah, Peri, Elric, Dante, Brian, Jan, the guys in the band, Alan, Stephanie, Maggie, Jennifer, Robert, Tag, Chanda, Kristin, E.J., Nancy, Karla and everyone I am forgetting but will remember later.
One hell of a year, the bar has been set a bit higher for next year. And I’m already taking my running start.
A Living Legend
Posted by Candy Tothill | Filed under Uncategorized
For more than a decade the poetry and writings of William F. DeVault have been synonymous with neo-romanticism and neo-metaphysics.
His ability to cast spells with words of love have given rise to his title, Amomancer, while the passionate and prolific nature of his poetry has seen Yahoo! officially naming him the Romantic Poet of the Internet.
“William F. DeVault, known as the ‘amomancer’ is a living legend
who will live beyond time… his words forever captured by his prolific pen.” - Lupi Basil, editor/publisher, Emotions Magazine
With webcasts broadcast regularly on live365, podcasts available from Apple’s iTunes Music Store and videos available for download on YouTube, DeVault’s spoken word poetry has been equally popular.
Having published 9 books and 5 cds, DeVault’s work has captured the attention of a worldwide audience, earning him a reputation as a living legend.
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