Friday art gallery reception features book signing

***NJC Press Release***

Former NJC teacher debuts new chapbook during art show

ALL HAIL, AMERICA

Against oppression they stood bold,
Lest qualmish protest oft' be sold
Lugubrious, as days of old.

Had not those men of foresight seen
Ahead to days of self-esteem,
I doubt that we could know or mean
Luther King's, "Let freedom ring."

America, all hail to thee;
Mark well those patriots' decree,
Each man and woman shall not be
Restrained, constrained illicitly.
In other words, had liberty
Capitulated 'cross the sea,
Americans would not be free.

At a time in our country when patriotism seems to be a hot fashion, the words from this title poem in Bud Christian’s new 48-page chapbook should resonate with many of us. Christian will be showcasing his second book this Friday from 4-5 p.m. in the Peter L. Youngers Fine Art Gallery on the campus of Northeastern Junior College. The signing will coincide with the closing reception for an art show by Martin O. Linson from St. Charles, Missouri. The show has been on display for the last month. The reception is free. The public is encouraged to come and see this wonderful exhibit before it leaves town and to check out the written work of Christian.

“This book is filled with a cross section of my views on American life,” says Christian, who was a teacher at NJC from 1969 to 1997. “In particular, there are several which are rather critical of the nuclear arms race and proliferation of those weapons.  There are also photos and illustrations which accompany many of the pieces  There are a few light-hearted limericks and some poems which poke fun at everyday life and activities.” Christian notes that the illustrations and photos and paste-up of the book was done by his wife, Joyce. “This makes her not only my wife, but I publisher and my editor, I suppose,” Christian says, grinning.  “She did a beautiful job selecting pictures that reflect the thoughts in many of the poems and John and his staff at Royal Printing put it together and did the printing.”  He will be offering a limited number of the books for sale at the gallery for $10 each.

All Hail, America is Christian’s second poetry book. His first was published 10 years ago and was titled "Dusty Rivers.” In addition, Christian has published a speech textbook and also written and had published "Potpourrivia (A Digest of Curious Words, Phrases, and Trivial Information)," and "Nicknames in Sports: A Quiz Book." During his tenure on campus, he taught English composition, creative writing classes, humanities, every literature offering, poetry, speech communication, voice and diction, group discussion, public speaking, journalism, mass communication, and even taught a philosophy course in an outreach program one year.  He was the faculty sponsor for literature for the New Voices magazine for many years (with Larry Prestwich) and the advisor for Plainsman Pathways for several years as well.

Martin O. Linson, an accomplished artist, is an adjunct professor in Lindenwood University in St. Charles.  He was well acquainted with NJC’s former art professor and gallery curator, John Cross, who booked Linson’s show into the NJC gallery more than a year ago.  His current show at the gallery includes sculpture and drawings, primarily centered around the human form. “The action of drawing the human body is more than an exercise in draftsmanship,” he says, “It has become an ongoing investigation into the human process.  I have found that I enjoy movement and in choosing the human form to represent that movement I have a lifelong subject to be engrossed in.” A large wall in the gallery is lined with a progression of his human sketches, all done brilliantly in ink as opposed to pencil. Regarding the work, he says, “Most recently I have begun a series of sculptures that I have tried to “sketch”. I have been calling on my experience with hydrocal to show the hard calloused skin and strong mental virtues that are a must to be a migrant worker or a day laborer.  I am trying to present the difficulties that the “simple” life has.  I started the series with homage to my father who was brought up in the cotton fields of Arkansas. I have represented the millions of faces that had to struggle through the dust bowl.  I have touched on the dock workers during the depression years. This subject matter I believe is being lost in our society.  These are historical shoulder that the United States was built upon. I want to bring these stories to a new generation so the struggles of our ancestors do not go unrecognized.”

In addition to the sketches, there are some beautiful flower bronze sculptures, which he says were inspired by nature.  “I have been sculpting a variety of wild flowers in large scale to create my person wild flower field.  I have been selecting flowers to be representative of all 50 states and some exotics.”

Linson will be at the reception and will welcome questions and comments.  The gallery is located inside the E.S. French Building, adjacent to the Dorothy Corsberg Theatre. Again, the reception is open to the public and admission is free.