POETRY : Ozark Poetry matriarch returns home
Posted on Sunday, August 24, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Living/68444/
Anaconda III. I have opened like a bowl for you I have split my skin like a wet, ripe husk muskmelon orange tomato red sweet warm pulp, blood purple I have moved aside, leaving you room to crawl inside my skin a shell
— Brenda Moossy Drink in the smooth Southern voice of local slam legend Brenda Moossy, feature for Ozark Poets and Writers Collective, at 7: 30 p. m. Tuesday at Nightbird Books, 557 S. School Ave. in Fayetteville. In a sense, she will be returning home.
In the mid-1980 s, Moossy and other local poets formed OPWC, the longest continuously running poetry organization in Northwest Arkansas. Since the early days, OPWC has grown and embraced other genres of writing, and the slam poets have splintered off into a sister group that has some common members and devotees.
Moossy was one of the first area slam masters, and has gone on to write and perform poetry for the page and the stage. She competed with the Ozark Poetry Slam Team in four National Poetry Slams.
At the tender age of 18, Moossy walked her first novel into Grove Press in New York City for her book deal, which was rejected. This in no way put a damper on her zeal to continue writing.
A first-generation American of Lebanese descent, Moossy has found similarities between her work and that of other Arab poets, like an emphasis on details and the inclusion of rich descriptive terms. Moossy, a member of Radius of Arab American Writers, took First Place Excellence in Writing in Fiction, as well as a Certificate of Achievement in Poetry in the 1999 Qalam Awards Contest.
Moossy was born and raised in East Texas during the ’ 50 s and ’ 60 s. She fled small town life for Austin during the Summer of Love, 1967, discovering hippies, feminism and more. Moossy began her studies at the University of Texas at Austin, but was distracted by what was happening on the local scene and dropped out.
With her new friends, Moossy sought cheap land in Arkansas’s Madison County, where they formed the Blunderosa Commune near the town of Red Star. Only two of the original 15 members of the ill-fated commune had any experience in country living. After only five months, Moossy moved out.
Moossy entered the University of Arkansas, but three years into her course work toward medical school, she discovered she was pregnant with her son, Peter Moossy adjusted her studies to become a nurse.
Moossy concentrated on caring for patients with HIV and AIDS as a hospice nurse, a task few others were willing to attempt in the mid-1980 s when there were so many frightening myths about the disease. She feels her work has impacted her world view and her writing.
Moossy enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing at the University of Arkansas where she received a 1999 Lilly Peter Fellowship in Fiction and was active in the Arkansas Writers in the Schools program. She performed in Poets on Tour and served on the SlamMasters Council and the executive council for Poetry Slam, Inc. the parent corporation for the National Poetry Slam.
Writers of all ages have enjoyed classes and workshops that Moossy has conducted on poetry and performance. She has given numerous public readings across the country at the hippest places in Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif.
Moossy was a poetry / spoken word correspondent for “ Ozarks at Large, ” a news magazine produced by the UA radio station and NPR affiliate KUAF. One of Moossy’s poems was included in “ Spoken Word Revolution, ” an anthology of the world’s best slam poets. Brenda has four limited edition chapbooks and co-produced an audio tape titled “ Ozark Women Poets — Snake Dreams. ”
Moossy is a rare breed where the craft of her written word is as important as how it is heard by the audience. Her language use is as precise as it is strong. Her poetry shows that she has mastered the art of turns.
In the supreme irony of life, the noble caretaker of the sick is herself now battling inoperable lung cancer. In October 2007, Moossy smoked her last cigarette. Three days later she learned she had lung cancer. Her prognosis will remain uncertain as she continues with her treatments in Dallas. For a person who likes to read the end of the novel first to find out how it all turns out, the waiting is difficult.
A few months ago, friends had organized a fundraiser to provide for her in her time of need. Moshe Newmark, owner of Nature’s Water, had previously been on slam teams with Moossy. Ginny Masullo, another OPWC founder, felt moved to try to give back to someone who had given so much of herself. Moossy is no lon- ger able to work, and medical bills are piling up.
Join OPWC for the performance poetry of Brenda Moossy, one of the most sought-after poets in the South. Performances are not censored and strong or racy language is sometimes used. Admission is free, though a hat is passed for the feature. There’s also a free raffle for a book from the UA Press and a Nightbird Books gift card. For details, visit www. uark. edu / ua / mmasull / opwc.
Cat is a nontraditional undergraduate student in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Arkansas, and lives in Durham with her husband, two sons, two pugs and 30 chickens.