Arts & Culture

Another reason it's great to live here. ("Here" for me being very near Carrboro.)

The Carrboro Poetry Festival is only two weekends away.

The Carrboro Poetry Festival, to be held June 5 and 6 at the Carrboro Century Center in the heart of Carrboro North Carolina, will feature 40 poets.

Renowned North Carolina poets Carl Martin, Gerald Barrax, Jaki Shelton Green, Jeffrey Beam, John Balaban, and shirlette ammons will read their poetry along with some of America's best younger poets--Brian Henry (editor of Verse and founder of Verse Press), Linh Dinh (anthologized in Best American Poetry 2000 and the editor and co-translator of Night Again: Contemporary Fiction from Vietnam), K. Silem Mohammad (author of Hovercraft and Deer Head Nation), and Lee Ann Brown (Charlotte native and winner of the New American Poetry Prize).

The festival is co-sponsored by the Town of Carrboro, The Independent Weekly, The Town of Carrboro Art Committee, and Carrboro Poet Laureate Patrick Herron, the organizer of the event.

Admission is FREE.

Great news for music lovers in Chapel Hill! Long-time WXYC DJ and indie rock afficionado Glenn Boothe has bought the Local 506.

Glenn Boothe, who has worked for major labels including Epic and Island, will take over as [Local 506's] new owner on Saturday (pending various permit and license issues). But patrons won't notice much difference, at least at first.

"My goal is to keep the doors open and operating as-is, then make some gradual changes this summer," Boothe says. "I'm not sure what or when, but I've got a bunch of ideas. Musically, it will still cater to alternative and local music."- News & Observer, 4/29/04

I have been wondering for some time now how "liberal" Chapel Hill really is. It often seems as if our progressive reputation somehow gives us permission to do things we otherwise would be challenged for (like Nixon going to China).

For example, of all the critical issues addressed by the Town Council the one that I have seen bring the absolute biggest number of passionate protesters to Town Halln was the elimination of back-yard pick up. It was like armageddon would be upon us as soon as we rolled our garbage to the curb. In addition, the continued attempts to whitewash downtown so that suburbanites will feel more comfortable parking their large cars while ignoring the poverty that results from their greed is another prime example.

Finally, this very website has been deluged with postings from readers ranging from Republican to Libertarian. Progressive voices here are few. I suspect this may not be representative of the readership, or maybe I'm just deluded by the myth of a left-leaning community.