the Sordid Path of Debra Matthes
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| Featuring: | Savannah Blue | Tracy Lyall | |
| | Megan Copestake | Salvador Macias | |
| | Kira Jazz | Rachel Rogers | |
In its debut performance, the Invisible Lines troupe will present a dramatic interpretation of Debra Matthes's poetry from her 2003 collection Up Against You (Fools Court Press, 2003) at AvantGarden, Wednesday, November 23, 2011, at 8 p.m.
The performance of Up Against You follows Matthes's turbulent mythos of desire and disappearance as she recoils from sexual trauma, wanders through a world of pain and confusion, and finally lands in respite and renewal. In his forward to the book Up Against You, University of Houston professor Randall Watson says that through Matthes's work, "the injury of the past, as resurrected through memory, becomes a vehicle for redemption... The fractured, self-indicting voice of the past undergoes an evolution that, through its own rage, progresses towards purification."
Matthes is a 1998 alumna of the University of Houston and a longtime fixture of the Houston spoken word art scene. She performed with Meta-4 and was a founding member of the Twitching Limes spoken word troupe.
Matthes is known for her sardonic wit and an unflinching, uncompromising attack on the harsh realities of life in post-disco America. Invisible Lines is proud to bring her work to the stage and urges Houstonians to take time out to see a unique performance featuring a powerful and original voice.
Invisible Lines is a poetry performance troupe dedicated to bringing original word craft to the Houston performing arts scene. Core members are local poets Bucky Rea, Tracy Lyall, and Salvador Macias. They will be joined in the "Up Against You" show by special guest reader Savannah Blue of the Houston Slam Team and Invisible Lines associates Rachel Rogers, Megan Copestake, and Kira Jazz.
An anthology of Debra's poetry, Up Against You, will be also be available at the show. AvantGarden is located at 411 Westheimer, Houston, Texas 77006.
