Thursday, December 9, 2010

Pictures of My "Joey" ASL Poetry Performance for World AIDS Day Benefit Concert



I got photos of my ASL poetry performance with the dancers for World AIDS Benefit Concert on December 1st, 2010. The performance took place at the Hochstein Music Performance Hall in Rochester, NY. The poem is titled "Joey". I played the electronic music I composed with my voice recorded. I translated my voice into ASL while the work was played. The dancers joined and danced around me. It was a lot of fun and it was also powerful.

You can read this poem, "Joey", to get an idea with what was being said.



“Joey”


My name is Joey -

Cute face and beautiful my skin.

Collecting money from the men is my bliss.

I wear tight jeans and t-shirts out on the streets,

Then I strip myself nude under the silky sheets.


My hair is a beauty and I’m young -

Green eyes and my body strong.

I’ve seen men come then go.

I’ve heard them flirt on the phones.


Oh god, life isn’t always kind.

Men having fun then dying.

Yet I see there are illness untold.

My soul will soon must go.


My name is Joey -

Grayed eyes and my body underweight.

Shed tears through heartache and pain.

I gradually turn ill in the shadow of grief,

Then I slowly close my eyes under the white sheets.


My name is Joey. Can you remember me?

My name is Joey. Can you pray for me?


Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Poem and Song for NTID's International Holiday Show


I will perform a song from PJ Harvey titled "You Came Through" in ASL and my ASL poem titled "Bright Red" for NTID's International Holiday Show this Friday, December 10th, at 1 PM in the Panara Theatre in bldg. 60 (LBJ). It's free to the public. Other performers will do their skits who are staff, students, or faculty, and will share the holiday spirit on stage.

Here is PJ Harvey's song that I will translate into ASL and my ASL "Bright Red" poem that I will perform.

"You Come Through" PJ Harvey

We are waiting

For the summer.
The sun will bring back

Treasures for us.
Come on my friend

Drink to good times.
Golden wishes

To your health and mine.

You come through

For me.
You come true

For me.
You be well

For me.
You come through

For me.

I'll be lifted

On this our holiday.
I'll take you my friend.
I'll take you with me.

You come through

For me.
You come true

For me.
You be well

For me.
You come through

For me.

"Bright Red" Eddie Swayze

Snow and cloud-ridden skies
Bathe us in calm soft light.
Welcome our dreams and wishes
Upon our holidays in delight.
Cheer along with glasses of wine
And our sweet serenades.
Hear violins ringing
Through chilled winds.

Glistening lights dance in pine trees.
Fancy presents wait below for children.
Flames radiate upon candles in gold.
Silver bells create sweet melodies.

We return upon our reunion
And celebrate in deep jubilance.
We come for peace and remembrance
For our precious traditions.
Love grows in our hearts warm
Where hollies
Glow their berries
Bright red.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

"Peter and the Wolf" ASL Narration along William Warfield

In the spring of 2000, I performed an American Sign Language (ASL) narration along a well-known narrator/singer William Warfield. It was for his nephew Thomas Warfied's dance production titled 'The Adventure of Peter and the Wolf". I have a DVD of the whole production. I wanted to show my ASL narrating performance next to William Warfield but could not figure out how to get the clips off from a DVD into iMovie or anything. I figured out the solution. I found a free trial DVD ripper software for Mac OSX and downloaded that. It only allows me to rip 3 minutes of the DVD. It was what I wanted, just to show my performance, not the whole dance production. Once downloaded, I ripped 3 minutes of my performance and a few dancers' movements and it worked. I then dragged it and converted it into MP4 in iTune. Now I was able to use it for Facebook, my blog, and my promo/record.

Here is the video uploaded and enjoy my and William's narrations.


Wednesday, October 20, 2010

World AIDS Day Benefit Concert

Click on the flyer to see it much bigger.


I joined the committee of World AIDS Day Benefit Concert. I have been going to their meetings and helping them spread the word by posting flyers on Facebook, e-mails as attachments, and posting them on walls, looking for organizations to help donate or contribute, and etc.

Meanwhile, I and at least 2 or 3 other deaf or hard of hearing poets or storytellers will perform in ASL that relate to AIDS or HIV issues on December 1st at the Hochestein Performance Hall. Other performers such as dancers, singers, and speakers will present their skits as well. December 1st is an annual World AIDS Day.

Thomas Warfield, dancer/singer/educator, is leading this event. It is also World AIDS Day Benefit Concert's 10th anniversary.

If any of you are interested in purchasing the tickets or contributing to the event as volunteers or other activities, or donating tax-deductible, you can go to PeaceArt.org or send to WAD/PeaceArt, P.O. Box 40028, Rochester, NY 14604. The details are on the flyer, uploaded above, in this blog.

As time goes on, I will inform you who the deaf/hard of hearing poets/storytellers and other performers would be. This is an exciting and good cause performing arts, and I am looking forward to this unique event.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Two Poems Will Be Published in Canada


Two of my poems got accepted and will be published in an anthology of poetry on science based themes. Neil Harding McAlister, an editor, said, "We are pleased to advise you that we would like to print some of your work in the forthcoming collection, Science

Poetry

". This publication is in
Port Perry, Ontario, Canada. It will be my very first paid poetry publication ever.

Here are my two poems that will be published in Canada.








Every Man For Himself


Ethereal lights sparkle our eyes into glass-like ecstasy.

Entranced into romance upon technological pride.

Every man, every man for himself.


Zoom head on up to the ultimate.

Majestic silver and gold cities glimmer diamond-like everywhere.

Sweet sugar-coated America juice up our veins.

Fast-paced automations dance in every corner like mechanical children from

neon-lit science fiction tales.

Every man, every man for himself.


Colorful heaven-like lights turn into rainbow halos above our heads.

Head in here and head out there, multiples of places for us to go in great speed

Like electrical currents zapping through circuits and wires.

Every man, every man for himself.


Feel the chilled minimalism, steel-laden, painted in acid-white from fluorescent lights.

Chill our hearts like cold rubber android lips.

Drink some cold liquid with neon-reflected ice cubes at technological-flavored nightclubs.

Bright candy-colored computer screens hug our bodies in empty cocoons.

Every man, every man for himself.






"New Ways"




New ways, new ways,

My mind is charged in wires.


I feel like an android, ready to hum into life.

Hear a strange white noise of a new refrigerator, a science fiction sound effect.

Sunlight beams down to the polished wood floor,

Miraculous light heading toward the future.


New ways, new ways,

My insights are turning into reality

Like holograms finally becoming possible.

See two new modern blue bar lights

Glowing above a new bar table,

A 21st Century blue-eyed child

Looking at the future.


New ways, new ways,

New Mac laptop stirs into life

With its radiating phosphorescent light,

Playing its electronic violin sweetly.

Walk through a new space of the place

Like exploring through the tunnel into the future.

New small magical electronic device

Beeps its ethereal sounds,

"Star Trek"-like gadget that kisses my digital hearing aids.

New fancy video-phone comes into life in my living room,

A journey through cybernetic landscapes.


New ways, new ways,

My mind is charged in wires.


Monday, October 4, 2010

My poem titled "Brown Liquid" is finally published in Forge for this fall. It's about alcoholism and it is a powerful piece.

To read the poem, click on Forge's website address:


Once you're on Forge's site, scroll down until you see my name and the title of the poem. Click on that and it will take you to my poem.

I am honored to have my work published in Forge along with other great poets/writers.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Black Mountain North Symposium

This photo shows two videos of Black Mountain College during the time when the college was going on - a documentary. The college was an experimental place for students/teachers to try things out, do things never done before, and so forth during the 30's up to the late 50's. Below are artwork done by Black Mountain students/faculty back then.

Meanwhile, my multi-media ASL poetry performance went well except some computer technical difficulty quips, but went back on track, and the audience responded to my work positively.

Meanwhile, I was video-taped during my performance at the Innovation Center and I am hoping to get the video sent or given to me, then I could upload it on this blog, Facebook, my YouTube site, and use it for promo.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Performing for Black Mountain North Symposium


I will perform my multi-media ASL poetry, using original composed electronic music and videos for the Black Mountain North Symposium. The event is a big one with many poets/artists presenting their workshops, performances, visual arts, and music from all over the United States of America, mostly New York State and near by, and local Rochester poets and artists. I am honored to be requested to participate this event. I am looking forward to performing, meeting new/old friends, and learning.


Here are the information about myself.

6:15-6:30 Eddie Swayze, ASL Multimedia Poet (Innovation Center)

Eddie Swayze is a poet, performing artist, actor, visual artist, electronic music composer, and educator. He discovered ASL poetry during the 80′s, and now presents his ASL poetry along his original composed electronic music and video. Mr. Swayze graduated with an MFA degree from Rochester Institute of Technology. He teaches American Sign Language at Rochester School for the Deaf and tutors English/Literature at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. His poems have been published by HandType Press, Gallaudet University Press, Clevis Press, Tactile Mind Press, Dark Lady Press, Talon Magazine, and a few more. He won two awards in ImageArt poetry reading as part of the annual GLBT ImageOut Film Festival. His poetry performance is featured in a short clip in the documentary film The Heart of The Hydrogen Jukebox by Miriam Lerner. He received two New York State Council on the Arts grants and four Strategic Opportunity Stipends grants.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Article about My Art Career in SIGNews paper


I received a newspaper, SIGNews, in the mail and it has an article about my art career. It was edited by Raymond Luczak. In the article, I was telling the readers how I interpret myself as an artist, what I do, and what I want to accomplish with in the future.


Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Crowd: GLBT Deaf and Hard of Hearing Poetry Night


Here is the full house crowd during the GLBT Deaf and Hard of Hearing Poetry Night at Equal Grounds, Sept. 20th 2010. The top image is the crowd outside of the audience area. The bottom image is the crowd in the audience area in front of the stage.

GLBT Deaf and Hard of Hearing Poetry Night at Equal Grounds


This blog wouldn't let me add more pictures and had to post another one to be able to add two more pictures left. The pictures are David Baughman and Vicki Nordquist. The other pictures are: Matt Schwartz, Diana Robert, and Raymond Luczak.

GLBT Deaf and Hard of Hearing Poetry Night at Equal Grounds










Thursday, September 16, 2010

GLBT Deaf and Hard of Hearing Poetry Night at Equal Grounds

I am pleased to announce that Raymond Luczak, a renown poet/writer, will be our special guest performer for GLBT Deaf and Hard of Hearing Poetry Night at Equal Grounds next Monday. Many of his work has been published extensively over the years. To get familiar with his work, click on his webpage address:


This event will be shown on Monday, September 20th, 2010. GLBT Deaf and Hard of Hearing Poetry Night will consist of myself (Eddie Swayze), Diana Robert, David Baughman, Matt Schwartz, Vicki Nordquist, and Raymond Luczak. We will perform poetry, stories, and humor in American Sign Language (ASL) and our work will be voice-interpreted for the hearing audiences who do not know how to read ASL. It is free to the public. This event is made possible by Rochester Deaf Awareness Week 2010 and ASL Poetry Society (my Facebook group).

Equal Grounds is located on 750 South Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620.

Spread the word and come if you can to enjoy the rich, unique poetry performances done in ASL by deaf and hard of hearing glbt performers.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Completed "Male Lovers" Artwork

The artwork is finally completed and ready to be submitted to ImageArt (glbt art exhibit, juried selection process, under ImageOut Film Festival). I titled it "Male Lovers".

I did some touch-ups, improving the shades/highlights, the proportions of the hands/fingers, and a few. I then painted the wood cylinder piece that the artwork is hanging from with black paint. I bought a brown string and tied it into knots on the left and right of the wood cylinder piece, then added some glues on the knots to make them not slide. I can hang this whole artwork with that string.

I shall hope that this work will be selected by the jurists for the exhibit. Cross my fingers.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Art Project for ImageArt






















I am working on a project for the upcoming annual ImageArt exhibition coming up in October. ImageArt is a glbt art exhibit under ImageOut, an annual Rochester glbt film festival.

The drawing of two men kissing each other on rainbow color pencil is only a sketch. This will be my reference. I painted a long rectangle-shaped canvas with watercolor paint in rainbow. I am to leave the paint to dry before I go ahead do the final work. The final process is to draw the gay male lovers on the canvas with color pencils in geometric shapes, similar to Cubism.


Thursday, August 12, 2010

Another Poem Accepted for Publication

My poem titled "Brown Liquid" will be published in Forge in their website. This is the 4th publisher that accepted my poems this summer. "Brown Liquid" is about alcoholism and it is very powerful.

Here is the poem for you to read.

“Brown Liquid”


Smell that brown liquid

See it sparkle in a glass.

Come on, let it seep into your blood.

Bad circulations.

Bad breath.

You are a barfly on the run.


See beauty in that brown jewel

Glowing in the sun.

The reflections.

The refractions.

Begs you to give it a taste.

Tastes sweet on your cracked lips.


You want to quit and throw it away

But the whisky devil

Trips you down to the floor.

Gives you a sly grin.

Gives you alluring glassy eyes

And you crave for more.


Kiss the jewel in the glass.

How it softens your mind.

Feels warm in your blood.

The rush.

The sigh.

And you can’t seem to get enough.

Let it drain down through your throat.


Broken-hearted.

broken-winged.

Corroded liver.

Saturated blood.

“Come on, can’t I live?”

There is nothing left at all.

You lay still with a bouquet

Rested on your wet lips.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Flyer of GLBT Deaf and Hard of Hearing Poetry Night





















I created this flyer and Rochester Deaf Awareness Week gave feedback on the design/info of the flyer. Now it is officially final.

There will be a GLBT Deaf and Hard of Hearing Poetry Night at Equal Grounds on September 20, 2010. It will start at 7 PM and free to the public.

I am excited to have myself and 5 other performers do their work in ASL (American Sign Language) at Equal Grounds.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Black Mountain North Symposium Poetry Reading at RIT









I will be one of the poets who will perform for RIT's Black Mountain North Symposium this October 2nd. The performance will take place in the Innovation Center on campus.

Black Mountain North Symposium is a celebration upon upstate New York's experimental arts that is partly traceable to the migration of artists and scholars situated in the hills of North Carolina from 1933-1957. The artists from Black Mountain moved on with great influences over
San Francisco and New York City. Close at home, Robert Creely, Charles Olson, and few others transformed the University of Buffalo. Ed Sanders in Woodstock. Albert Glover in St. Lawrence University, Don Byrd and Pierre Joris at SUNY/Albany, and Jack Clarke in Buffalo helped continue the Black Mountain poetry tradition. Along those important poets/scholars, Writers and Books in Rochester, NY encouraged ASL Poetry Renaissance in the 80's, a deaf poetry movement influenced by the Beat and Black Mountain traditions.

This means "The Heart of the Hydrogen Jukebox" film will be shown, which I am in the film as a rookie poet in a short clip back in the 80's plus my "A.S.L." painting as well. Jim Cohn, a well-respected poet, living in Colorado, ignited the whole ASL poetry and the deaf/hard of hearing poets in the 80's and he will be a featured speaker and reader during the Black Mountain North Symposium at RIT and Writers and Books. Miriam Lerner, the director of "The Heart of the Hydrogen Jukebox" will speak about her film along a well-respected deaf actor/poet/educator, Patrick Graybill, during this Symposium event.

To learn more about this in depth, click on http://www.blackmountainnorth.org/.

I am indeed very honored to be part of this big poetry festival event and I am truly moved by this.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Two Poems Will Be Published in Masque Publishing

I am honored by Masque Publishing for accepting my two poems. "Honeymoon" will be published this December and "Fragile Earth" will be published in February next year.

I performed "Honeymoon" in ASL for my friend's wedding when she got married. Later, I composed an original electronic music with my recorded voice of that poem. I perform this poem in ASL while the electronic music plays and my recorded voice speaks the words.

Here is "Honeymoon" poem for you to read.

A snow-white frosting

Hugs the lovers’ lips.

It turns into sugared butterflies,

Glistening under the sun.

Melt their wings,

Rested on their sweetened lips.

Rose-colored tongues taste

The honeyed flavor.


The moon turns gold at dusk,

Bathing the roses and the dews,

Ready for the night of romance.

The enraptured lovers gracefully

Walk out, rice-spilled.

Painted amber-colored by the moon,

They split for the rose-tinted paradise

Out on the outskirts of the town.


In their secret temple,

Honey drips, one by one,

Down to their flesh.

Red roses blossom

Around their ecstasy-filled minds,

high with saturated love.

Vanilla flakes flutter down to their bed,

Snow-like,

Rich enough to scintillate their tender hearts.


Stars shimmer above

And they glisten down to their eyes, starry-eyed.

The vines entwine them.

Dawn arises during their sleep.

Sweet lullabies sing in their slumbering dreams.

Sunlight warms their flesh,

Asking where the roses are.

Soon the roses open their petals

In their eyes, awakened.

A sweet taste still lingers on their lips

With a kiss, the truth of love glows between them.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

4 Photos of My Performance at IRT Deaf Festival


I finally received 4 photos of myself performing my ASL poetry in front of my video work along my original composed electronic music from Interbrorough Repertory Theatre (IRT). IRT had a deaf festival during the first week of June 2010. I translated my recorded voice that spoke my poems into ASL. The voice was embedded in the original composed electronic music as it was being played. My original videos were played behind me from my iMac laptop computer, connected through IRT's video projector.

I have been creating this multi-media performances, using videos as new medium besides just electronic music. I will continue to play around this idea. This idea is very much influenced by a well-known experimental avant-garde performing artist, Laurie Anderson.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Mixed-Media Art Project in Progress




I have been creating this mixed-media artwork that conveys the message about technology and the deaf culture. Yet it is not completed and it is in progress.

I took a photo of my friend's hands with a digital camera. I used PhotoShop software in iMac computer to get rid of the background around the hands. I then printed it out and xeroxed it into transparent paper. I put a dot of glue on the corners of a transparent image of the hands onto the white styrofoam. I then glued the shiny gold squares fabric and black nylon fabric on the image. I also used grey duct tapes on the image. I used a black box from a gift of something that was inside when bought, emptied, and used velcro to attach the back of the box onto the bottom part of the image. I then had an ink drawing of my ear with a hearing aid that was done a while ago. I glued that into the box. I then used a metal lid from the metal box that had a watch inside when bought. I used the back of the lid for a transparent image of a TV show with captioning, using little glue at the corners. Then the lid was attached by velcro onto the top left corner of the hands image. I found a white plastic thing down in the basement that must be for something I have no idea what it's for. I glued the back of the styrofoam onto the middle of the white plastic object. I added shiny gold squares fabric, black nylon fabric, and grey duct tapes on the white object. When this project is done, I will use the white plastic object as a hanging thing with nails holding it or hooks to hold it, or whatever, however it will work.

It is an interesting mixed-media artwork that seems to make you think about wearing a hearing aid, relying on captioning on TV, and the hands for communication.

Monday, July 12, 2010

"Video-Phone Hallelujah" Mixed-Media Artwork






This project had been slow for me, for it took a while for me to figure out how I want to present it. This mixed-media artwork is titled "Video-Phone Hallelujah". It speaks upon the advancement of video conferencing technology happening lately, which is becoming more beneficial for the deaf and hard of hearing communities. I'm creating mixed-media art projects that focus on high technology and deaf/hard of hearing culture as a theme.

In this work, the image of a female friend and myself talking to each other via video-phone is actually a clear acetate paper, xeroxed from a regular print out. I took a photo of my Sorenson video phone, turned on on my HDTV in my living room, with a digital camera. There were no one in the video-phone when I took the photo. I used PhotoShop software in iMac computer to copy/paste a friend of mine and myself into the screens of the video-phone. That made it to look like we are chatting with each other.

I then used silver duct tapes to attach the clear acetate image of the video-phone conversation onto two white rectangular-shaped styrofoam, found from inside the boxes. I also used strong glues to keep the tapes on them. I then used strong glue and velcro to attach the back of the two white styrofoam things onto a mirror. The mirror, itself, is velcro-attached and glued onto a sturdy black cardboard. Then I attached the whole thing onto one wood frame with velcro and strong glue. I painted the frame with black acrylic paint. I then used silver duct tapes to cover the white styrofoam things to make them more metallic-looking. I had a silver chain and used it to hang the work, held by two silver hooks.

There is a blue tin metal box, which had a watch in it when I bought it, emptied, at the bottom. I attached this particular blue metal box with velcro and glue. I then used glues to make the small silver disco ball stay attached in the box as if it were actually being hung. I found a tiny clear plastic box. I crumbled a shiny silver fabric and put it into the clear plastic window, then closed the box, sealed up. I then cut an image of an astronaut on EVA chair in space and glued it onto the front of the clear plastic box. Lastly, I taped the outside of the blue metal box with silver duct tapes, which helped remove the blue color. The color blue on the box did not fit with the rest of the gray/silver colors of the project.

You may ask yourself, "Why did he put a disco ball and an astronaut in the box?". It is a conceptual information that refers to big science technology (space explorations), and fantastic novelty and "It's so cool!" feeling (the disco ball at concerts or in night clubs). This relates to the technological progress and extravaganza of video-phones. We can say, "Hallelujah!", because video-phones really enabled deaf/hard of hearing communities to communicate with the world so much better. If you look at the video-phone conversation between a friend and myself on a clear acetate paper, you would notice the image are being reflected off the mirror behind it. The reflection is fun to notice when you look through the clear acetate paper. It also conveys the idea that 3-Ds or holograms are coming around soon.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

"Fragile Earth" Poem Published in The Talon Magazine

My one poem just got accepted and it is published in The Talon Magazine. The poem is titled "Fragile Earth" and it speaks upon the environmental damages and human violence.

I am indeed amazed to have had two other poems published in Dark Lady Poetry and this poem in The Talon Magazine during this summer of 2010.


Enjoy!

Eddie Swayze (WildPoet)

Monday, June 28, 2010

4 Science Fiction Images










































I discovered 4 science fiction-related images, saved and forgotten, in my old desktop Mac computer. These images were used for a video project that got lost and disappeared. I will re-do the project very soon. Those images will become slide shows in the video. Of course, I will add motion videos. I would want to show eerie lights and special affects in the work. The video will have my recorded spoken words, reading a science fiction-related poem, with original composed electronic music. Meanwhile, enjoy those 4 images as previews.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

"An Amazon" and "Beautiful Days" Published in Dark Lady Poetry E-Zine

My two poems just got published in Dark Lady Poetry e-zine. You can see my poems by clicking on this site address:


You need to click on Author Index and then find my name, click on my name, and then you should be able to read my two poems.