The Compass
Thursday, December 12, 2002
C MORE CAMPUS NEWSj
SUCCESS COMES TO STUDENT WRITER WESLEY HOUSE COMFORTS
Heather Malone
cmalone@adelphia.net
When a writer sends his or her
finest work into a publisher, it is with
great hope that a response is given in
return. A lot of times, it’s a rejection.
One student here at Elizabeth
City State University knows what it
feels like to receive a favorable
response; the editor she sent her
poem to wants to publish it.
Jessica Barrier is a senior, and
now, a published author. Her poem
“Lost Story” has been accepted and
will be published this month in an
Internet magazine called Kota Press.
“Lost Story” is a visual poem, which
means the sentences are written in a
way to make the poem itself into a
picture. In Barrier’s case, the poem is
in the shape of a cross, representing
a tombstone. The poem asks ques
tions as to the identity of the owner of
a faceless, eroded headstone.
Barrier was born in New Bern,
North Carolina. When she was two
years old, she moved to Edenton
where her grandmother raised her.
She became enthralled in writing
when her fifth grade teacher, Mrs.
Jones, grew tired of Barrier’s unend
ing energy (and talking) and gave her
writing assignments to do in class
when her regular assignments were
done.
“I wasn’t even interested in
becoming a writer until Mrs. Jones
had me write those stories,” Jessica
said.
It turned out that the stories and
poems she wrote were good, and
Mrs. Jones urged her to write more.
Her grandmother also read her work
and encouraged her.
Jessica is not the only writer in
her family. Her mother has also
written a few short stories and has
had them published in magazines.
Barrier’s future plans are to
graduate from ECSU in the spring
with a Bachelor’s degree in English.
To improve her craft in writing further,
she plans to earn her Master’s de
gree. She is, as of yet, undecided as
to a career path; however, she does
want to be a writer.
The inspiration for her poems
and short stories mostly comes from
nature. Barrier enjoys writing things
from a different point of view so that
her works create a sense of aware
ness in objects of nature.
“Lost Story” was inspired by her
leisurely walks she and her grand
mother used to take through the
cemeteries. She would see the old,
weathered tombstones that had had
the epitaphs worn off.
“Nobody knows who they were,
what they did,” said Barrier. When
you don’t know, it creates such a
feeling of loneliness. This poem is
asking who this person was that has
no flowers on his grave and no one
visiting.”
Asked how it feels to have a
poem published, Barrier said, “It feels
good. I’m glad that it’s getting pub
lished and I hope to publish more as I
go.”
To view Jessica Barrier’s poem
and to read other’s works in the Kota
Press, you can visit the web site at
http://www.kotapress.com.
DURING TIMES OF NEED
PURLIE”: THE REVIEW
Antonio Barrow
Editor
tony8248118@yahoo.com
On November 14, 15, and 16,
the University Players opened up the
semester with the musical comedy
“Purlie.”This play was very interest
ing and the music was superb. The
Department of Language, Literature,
and Communication, the Department
of Art, and the Department of Music
worked together to make this play
exciting.
This play took place during the
Civil War times. The overall theme of
the play was about a man, Purlie
Victorious, who goes to his home
town in Georgia to start a church.
During this, he must face 01’ Cap’n,
the “massa” to keep his church. Big
Bethel.
In this musical comedy, you will
find betrayals that lead to unexpected
outcomes, silly catch phrases, songs
with humorous lyrics, and of course,
silly characters with silly expressions.
Gitlow, played by Minu Nianda,
for example, was the comedian in the
play. He was recognized for his song,
“Skinnin’ a Cat,” his response to 01’
Cap’n’s death when he said that 01’
Cap’n was the first guy who dropped
dead while standing.
Luttiebelle, played by Courtney
Henderson, also Purlie’s sweetheart,
had an excellent voice when singing
songs like “I Got Love,” and her song
about Purlie.
Missy, played by Sabrina Brown,
was very convincing in her role. She
seemed like the perfect example of a
housemaid. She had the attitude and
that comforting spirit. For example,
the scene when Luttiebelle and Missy
are together. Missy sings a song, “He
Can Do It” to comfort Luttiebelle. This
was a heart-touching moment in the
play
Idella, played by Glenda Griffin,
was a tough lady proved that she
was not afraid of anything or anyone.
When or Cap’n threatened her, she
rose up and had 01’ Cap’n scared.
She was also like the mother to 01’
Cap’n’s son, Charlie, played by Adam
Nixon, who loves to write songs,
although they did not sound too good
until the end.
or Cap’n, played by Scott
Morrison, had some funny expres
sions when he was angry. Near the
end when his son betrayed him, he
had a fit and died.
Purlie was played by Graley
Reddick and Robert Overton. Both
did an outstanding job while perform
ing. They both did well in the singing
scenes, but their expressions to
certain situations were a little differ
ent. Overall, they both did an equal
job because the audience was still
attentive to what was going on.
I cannot forget about the en
semble. The singing, dancing, and
acting were great! I especially liked
the opening scene when they sang,
“Walk Him Up The Stairs.” Everyone
in the church was singing and danc
ing, even the little children. Opening
of Act Two was funny also. The
slaves’ singing was excellent and
their dancing was nice, although
some slaves wanted to lighten things
up. The audience was laughing when
Jerome Brothers started dancing. It
was hilarious.
The band, directed by Vince
Corozine, was great also. It accom
panied the music well. They did a
good job.
Overall, this play was good, and
I heard comments of other people
who also liked. If you did not get a
chance to see this play, you missed a
good performance.
DeTra L. Stith
Depot9@hotmail.com
Are you visiting loved ones in the
hospital during the holiday season, or
has an incident occurred that may
have you in and out of the hospital as
a visitor? If you have, or if you
haven’t, there are people who, during
this festive time of the year or when
there seems to be a sense of urgency
to get everything done, who do. If you
need a place to stay because of a
special medical-related situation for a
loved one, don’t panic because there
is a place available to you.
The Wesley Hospitality House is
a place where you can stay while
visiting family confined in the hospi
tals in the Albermarle area. The
Wesley is open 24 hours a day, seven
days a week.
The Wesley’s director is Bernie
Taylor. Other staff includes Ashaunda
Davis, Resident Manager; Gladys
Jones, Administrative Assistant; and
Ann Whitehurst, Assistant Resident
Manager. The house has 12 bed
rooms, 15 bathrooms, a children’s
room, a laundry room and a television
room.
The Wesley is located at 1129
Horseshoe Road in Elizabeth City.
The staff is warm and friendly
and offers comfort and support for
those who find it a temporary home
and source of comfort.
“I love it, and I can’t believe they
are going to pay me to play,” says
Gladys Jones, who first volunteered
at the house in 1998.
Afterward she was offered a
part-time position, which led to a full
time position, and then her current
position.
“I’ve had this type of hospitality
shown to me before, so I don’t mind
giving it to others,” says Jones.
The Wesley Hospitality House is
funded strictly by donations. Dona
tions come from hospitals, churches,
organizations and people in the
community who are not directly
connected with the house. Money,
food products, and paper products
are some of the donated products.
The house provides food for the
people who stay there and they have
access to cooking facilities.
“There is stuff to do around the
house everyday, so it’s beneficial to
have volunteers,” says Jones, of her
additional unpaid staff.
Volunteers range from young
mothers to retired people and are
never asked to do anything with
which they would be uncomfortable.
Volunteers clean bathrooms, do
house chores, cut grass and clean
windows.
During this season of giving,
think about donating to or volunteer
ing at the Wesley Hospitality House;
a house that gives throughout the
year.
A 9
The cast of “Purlie. ”
Photo by Rich Harvey
ECSU PROFESSOR STRIKES
OUT WITH MORE POETRY
and a midget with no arms. We also,
discover that this poor man doesn’t .
really live alone and his roommates
are rather hairy creatures. ;
After I read this book, I learned
that Dr. Lisowski has written several.
other books as well. Among them
are “Near the Narcotic Sea”, a book.
of poems, and “Looking For Lisa”, a
detective novel. These books as
well as “Stashu Kapinski Strikes
Out” are all available for your enjoy--
ment.
To buy these books, you can ;
visit the website, http://
www.fictionworks.cnm or see Dr.
Lisowski in Johnson Hall, room
217. If students purchase “Looking
for Lisa” or “Near the Narcotic Sea,”:
Dr. Lisowski will donate a percent
age of the proceeds towards the
Department of Language, Litera
ture, and Communications fund
here at Elizabeth City State Univer
sity. Another incentlve”all auto
graphs are free!
Heather Malone
cmalone @ adelphia.net
I never have liked poetry much,
except for the short and to the point
poems. Most of the poems I’ve ever
read were the kinds where you
need a secret squirrel agent to
decipher the poem so that you can
actually understand it. But, when I
heard that my English Professor, Dr.
Joseph Lisowski, had written a book
of poetry, I had to check it out.
“Stashu Kapinski Strikes Out” is
my kind of poetry. It is a book of
short, free verse poetry that all pulls
together to form a story. It is easy to
read and the characters seem and
sound real. Humor is accompanied
by images of harsh reality.
The poems in this book take us
through a couple of day in the life of
a man who is not so lucky and has
perhaps made a few wrong choices.
On the journey we are introduced to
ruthless, hammer wielding thugs
j
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