Zora Neale Hurston Book Fair

The weekend of May 25-26, marked the first time I participated in a book fair. It was quite interesting! There were authors from Ohio, Detroit, Houston and various others places represented to present their literary masterpieces to the general public for purchase. There were self-published as well as traditionally published authors in attendance. The highlight of the event was hearing the guest speaker, Clifton L. Taulbert, author of "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored" discuss his rise to fame and just how difficult a journey it actually was, considering it took him 15 years to get the aforementioned book published. In fact, the deal he received was precipitated by a chance meeting with the publisher at a dinner event.

How long would I have waited to be published? Above are a few pics of me and a few authors at the event...

Book Excerpts...

I've spent the last two weeks preparing for the BIG push of the book release, which in essence means me hitting every poetry venue I can possible rush in order to perform and continue to get the word out. Those of you who are interested, I'll be performing at the following events this week:

5/15: Meko's DGP Cafe [Spoken Word] Corner of Main/Brady - Downtown Tulsa @ 5 E. Brady St, Lola's @ the Bowery. 918.592.7995.
5/16: Galileo's Wayward Poets [Open Mic] Oklahoma City, Paseo District
5/18: The "Y" [... a Featured Poet] Oklahoma City, 5716 S. Harvey Ct.
and Verbal Essence [Open Mic] Oklahoma City, Bianca's Jazz Club

In addition, here are a few excerpts from my book, CAPTURING SUNRAYS IN A GLASS JAR:

Just a Girl @ the End of the Day...
Who is She?

Watching flowers fall from the Heavens pales incomparison to her beauty,
truly a Goddess among women,
her mind is as fine a Persian silk linen,
feminine bliss packaged in dark chocolate wrappings,
both tempting, edible, incredible are her ways,
to gaze directly into her love would age the viewerdue to the radiance,
leaving even the Angels jealous,
unselfishness is her mantra,
being in her presence feels good as Karma working to your advantage,
her canvass is filled with curves similar to rolling hills,
plentiful, remarkable, magnificent, exquisite is her thought process,
temptress, womanly tempest leaving masculinesuitors wet,
sweating from the pressure mounting from desires caused by wishing to drink from her fountain,
swallow her breath,
chase her flesh into hidden placeswhere no men have journeyed,
but all have dreamt about,
leaving them wishing for a position of clout in an effort to garner her attention,
if only for fleeting moments…

Child-like Explorations
Part I of III

Her black hair, stained fire engine red,
luke-warm blood pouring from her neck like an erupting hydrant on a hot summer day.
She’d been lying, lifeless, Christ less for three hours.
Her slowly ascending soul was angered at the fact it couldn't tell anyone of the occurrence, disturbanceto her body, violation to her flesh, the humiliation of being gullible,
knowing she could have prevented the situation;
couldn’t she?

Her white Power Puff Girl panties, torn from theback by his brutal entry,
simply cut to the chase;only lasted minutes and seconds.
His entry, unprotected, so even if she survived the attack she would have been raped by all the pass along victims as well.
Tortured for days, exposed to a Hell unimaginable because "he" was her father.
A child, his child, a lamb for the slaughter, surprisingly still trusting of her role model even after he had withdrawn himself.
Death had not needed to be the answer to the question she posed before he decided to kill, "Daddy, do you also treat mommy this way?"
Her display of curiosity was possibly the first thing
pushing him over the edge, his curiosity was thesecond…

Preventive Medicine
Walking Alone

Standing at ATM debating newest reason for investment,
pressing 4-8-0, currency falls into trembling hands,
regressive, hesitant, but necessary, hating contemplation,
head to meet fate at place of condemnation,
need soul cleansing only found by wiping slate(s),
forms complete, services prepared for render, wait… wait… wait…

…walk into modern lion’s den, nervous but eager,
anticipate emotional instability despite attempted determent lecture, foreign sector…

…entering stirrups, feels like wearing stockings for the first time, difficult to slide on,
Dorothy wishing I was home moments building, staring toward ceiling, humming,
wanting to drown out small erratic heartbeats wavering in the near distance,
digital monitor, haunting, moving imagery, believed screams sounding ultrasonic,
ironic, no connection, no affection, thinking “no,” intravenous penetration, faint…

We Tell Stories Presentation...

In Oklahoma City there is a bi-weekly event entitled WE TELL STORIES, it is practically a Christian poetry night due to all the verbal restrictions placed on the poets who present. This particular night was indeed HOT!!! I performed two pieces, Arrested Emotional Development and Destiny. Each of the piece were about the sour taste love gone wrong leaves behind following heartbreak.

Here are a few pictures of my performance...

Biography

B. K. Hotchkins is the author of the new book Visual Poems, The Dichotomy Chronicles, Part One, Capturing Sunrays in a Glass Jar and CD. His poetry and prose have been showcased at Oklahoma State University Def Poets Event, Wayward Poets at Galileo’s, Full Circle Bookstore Poetry Sundays, Verbal Essence Poetry Extravaganza, Oklahoma City Juneteenth Festival, We Tell Stories: Heady Poetry Review, Subterranean Poets at Java Dave’s Night, the Norman Train Depot Featured Poets Series and 9th Annual Thatcher Hoffman Smith Poetry Series – Open Mic.

American born, B. K. Hotchkins grew up in Oklahoma City, OK, upon high school graduation he moved to Dallas, TX, to earn an undergraduate degree at Southern Methodist University then returned home to acquire a graduate degree at the University of Oklahoma. March 2006, he began drafting the beginnings of Capturing Sunrays in a Glass Jar via his personal blog www.slumpfacade.blogspot.com, which reached fruition in January 2007. February 2007, he began recording Capturing Sunrays in a Glass Jar, the Spit Tape, which features nine full-length original pieces of prose. The audio cd is a collaborative between B. K. Hotchkins and the Beat King Rod of War, who created seven original instrumental specifically for this project which accompanies the book. In addition, he teaches a workshop entitled “The Soul of Prose, Poetry in Our Terms”. The workshop teaches students how to write prose, appreciate the history of poetry in America (including Hip Hop) and gain insight about contemporary expression via open mic, spoken word, and Slam.

In the author’s own words…

Capturing Sunrays in a Glass Jar is my first attempt to begin understanding how poetry can be seen versus read. Initially, this project was a way for me to express myself, document poetry, and share personal viewpoints within the blog world. It eventually evolved into a book idea, for friends only, as a personal gift to those I cherish the most; the persons who have shaped my development as a writer and an individual. As a result of several requests, edits and long hours of preparedness transformed random thoughts into what I passionately call a chronicle of “visual poetry.” The idea was simple, transfer the stories I see unfolding in my mind directly to the page for a reader to experience.

As a writer who loves words, but hates to read, composing Capturing Sunrays in a Glass Jar was quite difficult. This challenge left me charged with creating a larger poetic picture by using smaller poems, similar to written mosaics. The ultimate struggle was in attempting to convey purpose and meaning for each piece without disrupting the book’s flow. Admittedly, there were times when I lost focus and wanted to quit, however, fate has its divine place. This realization led me towards making Capturing Sunrays in a Glass Jar the type of book which is to be seen and not simply read.

It is a book created in effort to provide profound examples of how poetry can tell vivid stories that touch the reader; allowing them to swap places with the characters. The pieces within this book grant the reader an opportunity to feel their pain, pleasure, disappointment, joy, and grief. As the reader, I encourage you to challenge yourself to connect with the concrete abstractness of the text; it was written to help broaden your belief in the power of the written word. Consider this book an extension of self – mine to yours.

Reviews

Praise for…Capturing Sunrays in a Glass Jar

With all the brilliance and improvisational artisanship of a renaissance painter, B. K. Hotchkins is a great poet of vividness—the unbridled love for words that binds writer and reader, abstract and substantive, certain and the unexpected. In Capturing Sunrays in a Glass Jar he examines the roles of human pursuit toward the unattainable; love, happiness and perfection. In taut, meticulously crafted paragraphs, he paints effervescent stanzas… “he was told luckily the girls were still born so they didn’t suffer/what an emotional buffer delivered with such tact/their bodies removed the day before in an attempt to spare him additional emotional distress/yes, he wanted to see her one last time, them for the first, but until then he needed time to grieve/asked the authorities to leave then loaded his revolver…”. Capturing Sunrays in a Glass Jar is the powerful first book in a new trilogy by an underground visual poet whose work never ceases to challenge and surprise his readers.
Samuel Newton, Urban Folklore Magazine

Poetry is an art form used to evoke feelings, capture the essence of relationships, and provide metaphors for life using words to create mental pictures for our conscious digestion. The poems featured in this volume of work do all of that plus some. The prose flows as an extension of Hotchkins’ take on situations and how carefully strung words can create a totally different mental picture. Capturing Sunrays in a Glass Jar is a work of genius. This book is unquestionably a conversation starter that will stir up the most intense debates about love, life and happiness. Hotchkins is a one of a kind poet with a unique skill for creating “fictional grandeur” out of the most mundane moments in life. Capturing Sunrays in a Glass Jar will certainly make waves in the poetry arena. Pick up the first edition because it will truly be a collectors item.
Monique Bruner, Reviewing for Real Page Turners

The Conversation

He believed in God,
trod many a winding road finding
himself exposed to both the good, bad
life offered,
now at a place of turbulence,
seeking refuge, needing soul food,
he bowed on trembling knees,
“Lord please hear my call,”
after all he’d been a faithful
Christian, so he expected results,
a day later no answer, his feelings hurt,
so he knelt again,
“Lord, you are my perfect friend,
Please send a way out of no way,”
Two days later, no answer,
this time he began to pray in anger,
“Lord, I am no stranger,
I pay tithes, I don’t covet other men’s wives,
I’ve even saved lives thru you, all I’ve asked
is what must I do during these trying times,”
Three days later, no answer,
now with tears in his eyes,
standing, screaming, practically seething,
beginning to doubt his believing,
he was reduced to pleading,
“Lord, now look, I know you heard me,
I serve thee without question, but when I
need you to intervene, you don’t even listen,
in fact it feels as if you’ve removed your
protection, I no longer feel our connection,
plus…”

He was stopped by a loud interruption,
“My son you are the last person I’d abandon,
as you Champion I’ve made certain you’ve
stayed within my perfect perfection, but lately
I’ve been busy answering the prayers of persons
who wish they had your problems, now what
do you want?”

His reply, “nothing.”