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On Sunday, April 30th at 7:00 Morris McCorvey will perform his striking works of spoken word art, with a full band together with him at the Grey Dog Listening Room at 812 14th St. in Bartlesville in an event called MORRIS MCCORVEY; CREATING LEGACY.

 

Appearing on COMMUNITY CONNECTION, Morris McCorvey and Bridget Wood said the day begins much earlier with a formal recording starting at Noon at Red Cat Recording Studio next door. This recording will be a full-band event with room for a fortunate few to witness with their own eyes and ears. 

 

Bridget said that for a $20 donation, you will gain access to the process taking place as we work to catch "Lightning in a Bottle" with Morris and friends. 

 

ABOUT MORRIS McCORVEY

 

Morris was born in Oklahoma City in 1951. After graduating from Frederick Douglass High School and then from Friends University with a degree in English literature, Morris helped to start the Black Liberated Arts Center of Oklahoma City in 1972. There he appeared in a number of theater productions and served as artist-in-residence with the Oklahoma Arts Council for 12 years, teaching poetry and theater in public schools. In 1980, he moved to Bartlesville, where he founded the Dustbowl Players II and Westside Players. 

 

He has introduced many people to poetry and the arts with open mic nights at local venues. Morris served as Executive Director of the Westside Community Center from 2004 until 2018. He spearheaded the Peaceful Warriors program, which taught a generation of children mindfulness and conflict resolution techniques, with a healthy sprinkling of poetry. 

 

He has written several poetry books: ‘Bus Station Poems and Other Verses’, ‘Dread Poems’, and ‘Alexander’s Song’. In 2015, he was invited to be the Grand Marshal of the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry’s ROMPFest Prairie Poetry Parade at Locust Grove, OK. His poem “ June 19, 1865, Indian Territory” was included in the 2017 book ‘Ain’t Gonna Be Treated This Way: Celebrating Woody Guthrie Poems of Protest & Resistance’; he was also a featured reader at the 13th Annual Woody Guthrie festival that same year. Morris was honored with the BLAC Inc.’s Consuelo V. Tompkins Drama Award in the fall of 2018. 

 

ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE ON SUNDAY

 

The band with Morris on Sunday made up of Chris Foster on keys, John Jenkins on percussion, Bill Lowman on bass, violinist Chazlyn Rook, and Victor Rook on trumpet. These are some of Morris's dearest friends who are game to make this event as special as possible. After the conclusion of the formal recording, the performers will have a break, and then at 7:00, they will move to the Grey Dog Listening Room for a performance of epic proportions. 

 

There will be poems deemed "Classic Morris," plus many you have never heard before.

 

 The evening performance suggested donation is $20 which goes to the artists, if you choose to join us for both segments of the day the suggestion donation will be $35 total. 

 

ABOUT THE GREY DOG LISTENING ROOM

 

The Grey Dog Listening Room is a house concert-style room that comes with the expectation of no conversations during the performance. We are BYOB and have a voluntary potluck for the show, (and could use donations earlier that day to feed the band). Seating is limited to 40 people, and you must be on the list to attend. 

 

Text 918.397.5818 to reserve your spot before they run out.