Barbie Angell – Writer, Poet, Artist, Thinker – Returns to Illinois for a Few Performances

Barbie Angell Photo by Rodney Smith of Tempus Fugit Design

Barbie Angell – Writer, Poet, Artist, Thinker –
Returns to Illinois for a few Performances

Fri 10/4 – 7-11pm “Just Jim” and “Fun Poetry Show”
VFW Cantigny Post 367 Joliet, IL
Mon 10/7 – Salt Creek Wine Bar’s Open Mic – Brookfield, IL
Sat 10/12 – 2pm Downtown Normal Roundabout

“Barbie’s poems are reminiscent of Shel Silverstein, but totally unique to her sensibility. They are infused with a bright spirit, a heart that seeks & explores, and a gentle insight. Even though the poems are about the gamut of human emotions & the subtle twists of perspective that happen with repeated experience, her words are never proselytizing or lofty. Her ‘anthropomorphizing’ of feelings (‘irony tastes like fudge’) is quirky & engaging. I imagine children & adults both will revel in her work—both her poetry & her wonderful drawings”
~ Rosanne Cash

Barbie Angell is a poet, short story writer, satirist and artist based in Asheville, North Carolina. Born near Chicago, Barbie grew up on a farm in Yorkville, Illinois. After her parents divorced, she was placed in Mooseheart, in Aurora, Illinois. Known as “The Child City,” Mooseheart is a home for children, sponsored by the Loyal Order of Moose, whose parents are unable to care for them.

While her first Christmas there was difficult, one of the gifts donated to her was a diary that would change her life. Since an orphanage is not a place where one can have privacy, she chose instead to hide her thoughts in poetry. Barbie’s writing flourished there. After graduation, Barbie attended a small, private school near her family. Since she had her sights set on being a lawyer since the age of six, the attention her writing garnered there was not enough to change her career choice—until her mentor, Lincoln College’s theater director Jerry Dellinger, sat her down for an honest discussion. “So here’s the thing.” Jerry said, “You want to study to be a lawyer, but that’s not right. You’re not going to ever be a lawyer no matter how much you study, because you are a writer. That’s what you’re good at and that’s what you should do.” This discussion changed her major—and her life.

In 1994, Jerry convinced her she should perform her poetry in order to grow as an artist, and Barbie gave her first live performance at the Bloomington, Illinois Barnes & Noble. In 1997, she began successfully performing at a local bar, and also started “The Open Mic That Wouldn’t Die,” which she ran until moving to Asheville in 1999. Her words took her to a poetry competition in DC in 1997 as well, where she placed 12th out of 1400 poets from around the world. Barbie has performed in coffee houses, bars, ice cream shops and outdoor venues. Her goal has always been to reach people who don’t know they like poetry, and convince them that they do. In addition to live performances, Barbie has sold over 500 copies each of three previous self-published volumes of poetry. Barbie is a writer who rhymes, and her affinity for rhyme is not surprising at all—she grew up devouring the works of Shel Silverstein and Lewis Carroll. As a child plagued with illness and severe asthma, she spent quite a bit of her childhood alone. As is often the case with writers, her love of words is derived from the fact that books were her closest friends.

Since moving to Asheville, NC, Barbie has performed her varied collection of poetry in venues ranging from coffeehouses and ice cream shops to bars and bookstores. Named a Mountain Xpress Best of WNC Poet in 2011, 2012 and 2013, she is also well known in the online community and was named a Best of WNC Social Media Personality in the 2013 readers’ poll.

And now Barbie is following in Shel’s footsteps again, with her first book of children’s poetry and illustrations, Roasting Questions, which was published by Grateful Steps Publishing House in Asheville.
To find out more about the book, please visit: www.barbieangell.com/roasting-questions

Find out more about Barbie, connect with her on Twitter,
and see more of her words at www.barbieangell.com.

*****

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Roasting Questions with Barbie Dockstader Angell and David Earl at Altamont Theatre on September 30th

Barbie Dockstader Angell & David Earl Perform

at Altamont Theatre on September 30th

~ in support of ~

Upcoming Children’s Book Roasting Questions

In support of her upcoming children’s book Roasting Questions, local favorite Barbie Dockstader Angell will perform two sets with David Earl (of David Earl and the Plowshares) at downtown Asheville’s Altamont Theatre at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday, September 30. The 6 p.m. set is to feature Angell’s children’s poetry and David Earl’s family-friendly, high energy folk style, and the 7 p.m. show will include Angell’s distinctive bar poetry, mixed with some of her more serious work and David Earl will rock out a little harder with some punky swamp gospel.

Barbie Angell is not just a prominent poet, but also a gifted illustrator. Her book, Roasting Questions, features original illustrations as well as child-friendly poems for all ages.

“My goal has always been to reach people who don’t know they like poetry, and convince them that they do,” Angell says.

A self-described “writer who rhymes,” Angell’s affinity for rhyme grew naturally from a youth spent devouring the works of Shel Silverstein and Lewis Carroll. In fact, Roasting Questions features several nods to the Where The Sidewalk Ends author. Rosanne Cash, who knew Silverstein, said, “Barbie’s poems are reminiscent of Shel Silverstein, but totally unique to her sensibility.”

www.barbieangell.com

Sunday, September 30, 2012

6pm children’s set  and 7pm adult set

Altamont Theatre @ 18 Church St in downtown Asheville, $3

Grateful Steps Publishing, 828-277-0998, info@gratefulsteps.org

***

“They are infused with a bright spirit, a heart that seeks and explores, and a gentle insight…Her ‘anthropomorphizing’ of feelings (‘irony tastes like fudge’) is quirky and engaging. I imagine children and adults both will revel in her work– both her poetry and her wonderful drawings.”  —Rosanne Cash

“Art is about oblique angles — seeing things in ways we’ve never seen them before. Barbie has a gift for that, and this book is a generous invitation to the rest of us to climb inside her quirky head for a delightful ride.”  —David LaMotte

“In her poetry Angell opens up her soul for all to see. She discusses her shortcomings, her views on life, lessons learned and a host of other topics. You can definitely read strength in what she is saying and like all good writers she speaks not only for herself but of life in general and of the status quo.
—Rapid River Magazine

Roasting Questions is published through Grateful Steps Publishing, a nonprofit publishing house based in Asheville. The book can be pre-ordered on and after September 30th at www.RoastingQuestions.com, and will be released officially around Thanksgiving 2012.  A portion of the proceeds from the book will be donated to Mooseheart Child City, where Angell lived for four years.

For more information about Barbie Angell, Roasting Questions, Grateful Steps Publishing or the September 30th event, visit www.barbieangell.com, facebook.com/barbieangell or follow @barbieangell on Twitter.

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