📖 Poetry from the pandemic

Insightful Tuesday June June is here Silver Streak readers We have a week of profile interviews and historic commemoration over at this edition of Silver Streak Singer-songwriter Ron Sowell sat down with Rough Draft intern Hannah Much to discuss guitars music and attitudes on aging Activist and poet Franklin Abbott s latest poetry collection My Ordinary Life navigates his experiences during the COVID- lockdown And with the Save the Fox campaign turning this year Atlanta s beloved theatre reflects on progress in population and tuition initiatives But first a inadequate headlines Watch your mailbox or bank account The Georgia Department of Revenue will begin issuing one-time state income tax refunds this week Georgia Power s plan to aid a surge in statistics centers with fossil fuels is under scrutiny by the state s Population Amenity Commission The installation of solar panels at the Dorothy C Benson Senior Center and other Fulton County facilities will save taxpayers an estimated million over the next years The fate of two historic buildings on the Georgia State University campus in Downtown Atlanta remains uncertain after a contentious town hall meeting Healthbeat reports that Georgia has the highest rate of new HIV infections in the country plus they offer a guide on where to get tested in Atlanta The Center for Puppetry Arts broadcasted that it is lowering children s ticket prices beginning this month due to rising costs for families Our food mavens Beth McKibben and Sarra Sedghi look back at their favorite dishes from local restaurants in May Here s what s in the present day s newsletter Musician Ron Sowell Poet and activist Franklin Abbott Save the Fox turns AND Stories of Atlanta Lance RussellEnjoy Photo by Rafael Barker Aging is inevitable but getting old is optional an interview with Ron Sowell Singer songwriter Ron Sowell embraces that getting older doesn t mean getting old Now in his seventies Sowell just disclosed his third solo album Dance Till the Music Stops which encourages people to live in the moment appreciate life and stay young no matter how old they get Sowell was born in New Mexico where he fell in love with the guitar in his teenage years He studied political science in college and intended to enroll in law school but decided that wasn t for him Believe in yourself trust your intuition and do what you love Sowell stated Find out what you re passionate about and commit yourself to that and you ll never regret it Read more about Sowell and his music here Don t miss Movies on the Town this summer SPONSORED BY TOWN BROOKHAVEN Town Brookhaven kicks off Movies on the Town an annual summer movie series on June Gather on the green space for this family-friendly activity to be held on Thursdays at dusk in June and July excluding July Bring a blanket or chair and order dinner from one of our restaurants to enjoy on the green space The movies are perfect for family nights date nights girls nights or nights out with a limited friends Look for a special DIY craft station and character meet on June Free popcorn courtesy of LOOK Dine-In Cinema Visit our merchants before the movies too Learn more here Photo by Collin KelleyFranklin Abbott s new poetry collection born from COVID lockdown Decatur resident Franklin Abbott has been a guiding presence in LGBTQ activism in Atlanta for more than years Abbott was operational in Civil Rights and anti-war protests before joining the nascent gay rights movement in the early s His correspondence with gay men poets and radicals from all over the world including Harry Hay James Broughton and Assotto Saint is a backbone of his extensive archive housed at Georgia State University He is the author of two books of poetry Mortal Love Selected Poems - and Pink Zinnia and also edited three noted anthologies on men and gender including Boyhood Growing up Male Abbott s new book My Ordinary Life was born from his experiences during the COVID- lockdown which forced him to take stock of his life The book will be published by RFD Press on June Learn more about Abbott s new book here Photo courtesy of Fox TheatreFox Theatre celebrates th anniversary of Save the Fox campaign Fifty years after Atlantans rallied to save the Fox Theatre from demolition the city s historic entertainment venue is not only still standing it s thriving This June marks the half century anniversary of the grassroots Save the Fox campaign a pivotal effort in which local leaders activists and everyday citizens helped preserve the local theater which continues to host a wide array of entertainment acts to this day In commemoration of this milestone the Fox Theatre highlighted a number of substantial developments that the venue in recent months accomplished as part of its ongoing commitment to arts tuition and group Read more about the anniversary here The First Electoral process Stories of Atlanta by Lance RussellVIA SAPORTAREPORT In this episode of Stories of Atlanta part of our Iron and Ambition series we voyage back to the year Atlanta held its very first city vote Fueled by fistfights whiskey and political passions this raucous vote set the tone for the kind of city Atlanta would become With just votes cast in Thomas Kile s store located at what is now Five Points in downtown Atlanta the city s future was shaped The winner The popular owner of a Decatur Street saloon And as we will see in future episodes that was only the beginning Learn more on this week s Stories of Atlanta Explore more of our newsletters Did you know Silver Streak has other newsletters that go deeper into what s happening across metro Atlanta Stacks Our newest newsletter covering Atlanta s literary scene author profiles book reviews and more comes out the second Sunday of each month Sketchbook All about Atlanta s art scene Artist profiles art openings museum events Wednesdays Side Dish News about the food scene Beyond just openings and closings Side Dish includes recipes and a regular feature on pop-ups Thursdays Scene The only newsletter focused on the movie world Reviews interviews podcasts Fridays All of our newsletters are free you can unsubscribe at any time and we never sell your input Subscribe here Nowadays s Silver Streak was edited by Julie E Bloemeke The post Poetry from the pandemic appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta