Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Florida Folk Artists

In my first post about the Florida Folk Festival I stated that the friendships and connections I make with other people are some of the most valuable results of the time I spend there.
Last year I met an older man who made an impression on me with his outstanding performance and honest advice. Carl Sharp, "Florida's Cracker Cowboy Poet," recites his original, humorous poetry about life as a cowboy so expertly that all of his poems seem to blend together into one big story.

Last year I asked Mr. Sharp to critique the poem I then called "adirolF" and told him, "Be honest." He was honest, and pointed out all of the errors in meter and poetic agreement that needed to be changed. He caught some sharp words from Uncle Stu due to his seemingly harsh criticism of some parts of my poem, but that is the way artists critique each other...Telling me "It's good" does not help. I later posted an edited form of that poem on this blog under the original title. Since then, however, I have changed the name to "The Cry of a Cracker" and changed the wording and verse in multiple areas of the poem. In Mr. Sharp's own words, I "Douched it."

That picture does not do it justice. Some Florida readers may recognize this work of art by Regina Stahl Briskey from the cover of the book Wiregrass Country by Herb and Muncy Chapman. I had never heard of the book until I talked to Mrs. Briskey and purchased this, which caught my eye as I sifted through a stack of prints of her artwork. It will hang, along with other Florida paintings, in my dorm room this coming year.

Where will that dorm room be? Don't worry, you'll find out soon!

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember listening to Mr. Sharp way back in '95 on the Great Florida Cattle Drive. They needed to turn up the mic, I couldn't hear anybody up on that stage, sittin' over with the critters.:(

Paintsmh said...

You keep saying it will be soon! I think you are just trying to drag out the suspense as much as you can!!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you are back to posting again. I love Regina Briskey's work. She has a painting of a pioneer woman in a flower garden that I have been coveting.

MinorcanMeteorolgist said...

elena - Welcome to the Minorcan Factor! I'm glad you're here!
We had the same problem at the Folk Festival this year. People were talking a lot while he was reciting, and I considered it a little rude. Oh well. Hope to see you here again!

paint - Maybe, maybe not :-D That's something that tends to be pushed back in favor of posts about recent events.

cathy - I'm glad to be back! She does great work, and her 14x11 prints are very reasonably priced.

Paintsmh said...

So long as there is a reason...