Sin City Poetry
 by, Joshua Coburn


Mary L. Carter cannot be described with one word. She is an actress, a photographer, a film maker and a poet (just to name a few) who has just recently made Las Vegas her home. She has brought with her an undeniable passion for the arts and she hopes to share this passion with the community through her new venue called SPIT. Spit will host poets, musicians and artists of all walks of life, bringing them together into a strong cultural community. She was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for I. A. Magazine.


I. A: When did you develop your appreciation of poetry?
 
Mary: My appreciation for poetry started with nursery rhymes/poems I used to memorize them and recite them. I still love them and share them now with little ones. I started writing poetry with best friend in the 7th grade, Leah Eggers. We would write poems and songs together then perform them in front of our families.

I. A: What inspires you to write a poem?

Mary: Anything and everything can inspire me to write a poem. It could be heartache, happiness, love, lust, or even a rainy day. In life inspiration for creation and beauty is everywhere if you do not let fear and doubt mislead you. Life is a journey and a learning experience. With each day we grow as individuals… Learn to open your heart and mind to all the beauty that surrounds you then log your experience in your own poetic words of wisdom.

I. A : Who are your influences (poetry)?

Mary: I love the works of Socrates, Homer, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert frost, Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, Milton, Lord Buddha, Charles Bukowski, Dante, Plato, Confucius, Emily Dickinson, E.E. Cummings, T.S Eliot, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Sri Ramakrishna, John Keats, Virgil, My own writings, Poets and lyricists everywhere… just to name a few

I. A: Would you say writing poetry has helped you personally?

Mary: It helps keep me sane. I regurgitate my thoughts on paper which keeps them from swirling around in my head. Poetry also gives inspiration and awareness to others when I perform or post my words online and that is what gives me the most joy. I want to inspire and help make a difference in this world even if it is just a few that cross my path at least I know that I helped them thru a time when they needed to not feel alone.

I. A: What is the relationship between you and your poetry?

Mary : It is like a record of my life which I can go back and reflect on and in turn watch myself grow thru my life lessons as well as see the lessons I still need to learn or to remind myself of the demons still left unconquered.

I. A : Do you feel poetry to be different from other forms of self expression, such as photography or theater, or do you find a similarity?

Mary : I see it the same as I see nature... All is different yet all the same. I feel any sort of art or creation is all connected… It all stems from our inner dreams and passions then creating a visual reality to share with others

I. A : What will set SPIT apart from other poetry venues?

Mary : I have sat in many a poetry venue in the last year and I have noticed that poetry venues everywhere have a click of sorts… Not to label anyone for that is not my way but just for a clearer view for the reader to understand… I have noticed these different poetry cultures… There is the radical urban hippie type movement, the educated serious college student type movement, the hip hop def poetry type movement, and the quiet coffee house type of movement in poetry.

I want to take poetry to the next level and unite all different types of poetry cultures together because we are really just one big family that bleeds, creates, and scribbles our souls onto paper to shout at the masses in an attempt to understand ourselves and know that we are not alone… that indeed others share our passions.

The venue might work and it might not but I have to try because it lives and breaths within me to unite people of all cultures and color to form an artistic family with no judgments… segregated no more!

I. A : Why did you decide to open this venue?

Mary : To bring communities and cultures together thru the expression of art


I. A : What is one goal of SPIT?

Mary : RAW ART IN THE PUREST FORM!

Freedom, expression, performance, diversity, voice, music, community, creativity, no color lines, no judgment, and no apologizes!

I. A : Do you hope to bring about a better appreciation for poetry in the area?

Mary : Yes the more appreciation and awareness for poetry results in more poets getting out there and performing in front of an audience opening up their souls for all to see and live their dream for a moment in time

I A : When will SPIT open?

Mary : That is a good question… If I could get the rest of the community to have the same passion for the arts to get SPIT started then it would be open now.

I have decided to change strategies after the holidays. I am going to collaborate with an artist event I helped exec. Produce a couple of years ago in Los Angeles before moving to Las Vegas a year ago. This event was the fledgling idea of an extremely talented artist friend, Tasso (www.myspace.com/tassoart). Articulated is now a huge success so SPIT and Articulated are planning to join forces in 2007 with our first opening in Los Angeles which will help fund the first SPIT opening in Las Vegas. Los Angeles is one of many major cultural cities so I am going to have to step outside city limits in order have the funds available to bring culture to the city of sin!

It has been a hard to road to open SPIT. I have been working on this dream of mine for a year and I will continue to do so until SPIT becomes a reality because it is not only my dream it is the dream of all the artists SPIT represents!

I. A : Do you have any advice for young people who wish to pursue a career in the arts?

Mary : Once an artist always an artist… You must continue to create or else a part of you dies… Live life, keep family close, never cease to appreciate ALL THE BEAUTY that surrounds you, and never forget to take time out for yourself to create your art. Create your own legacy in paint, song, and/or words and this does not need to be done on a large scale sometimes the largest scale is the one closet to your heart… Create your own family legacy and the world will follow.





To learn more about Mary L. Carter and to read her poetry, visit:
www.MaryLCarter.com
www.myspace.com/MaryLCarter
www.SPITlasvegas.com