“Drum Voices” Beats On as Eugene B. Redmond Writing Club celebrates its 25th birthday

Darlene Roy writes: “Atlanta was fantastic!” Here’s Rocoe “Ros” Crenshaw’s lively report of how the Euguene B. Redmond Writing Club celebrated its 25th anniversary with a release of a 700-page “Drumvoices Revue.” The event raised funds for the Redmond’s learning center at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. All previous 16 issues of “Drumvoices” are included…

Martin Luther King Jr.-Obama Brunch Marks Milestones & Memories

Freida Wheaton’s sense of occasion and community brings together a diverse and accomplished group of creative and business people that are always a pleasure to meet. Last year we gathered to celebrate the victory and promise of Barack Obama’s new administration. This year we gathered again to remember Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy as it…

Eugene B. Redmond, poet laureate of East St. Louis, master teacher

To watch Eugene Redmond teach is to fall in love with writing, with words, and with the world. Here are some gems from a workshop I attended. Eugene talked about connection and continuum…how our identity is rippling out in circles: woman/womanhood; story; village/community; power; race and class; visionary source and lineage. Eugene has a big…

Connecting Art and Good Times at Freida L. Wheaton’s Salon 53—Home for the Holidays in St. Louis—Savoring a Holiday Party—“Home is where the art is”…Freida’s is a place where old friends meet…and everybody knows your name.

In September, my first private party in St. Louis was at Freida L. Wheaton’s Salon 53 opening for her private residential art gallery. Now, in December, my second private party in St. Louis—and my only Holiday Party this season—is at Freida’s Salon 53, whose slogan is “Home is where the art is.” In September I…