"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.

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.

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.

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:

http://forgejournal.com/forge/

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.

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.

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.

The web address is http://www.blackmountainnorth.org/

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.

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.