The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 20, 1977, Page Page 13, Image 13
Parkse
waits ii
" , I
r
Tom Parks entertained a capai
beer drinking surroundings acc
humorous accounts of his own i
USC stud<
|juuii9iiea
literary w
By HENRY GREEN
Staff Writer
Dwaine Sharpe, a sophomore
majoring in English at USC, has
recently published a book of
poetry, "The Blues Bank Bard."
Tall, with shoulder-length brown
hair, deep brown eyes and a rather
scruffy beard, Sharpe really looks
the part of a bard.
He explains the title of his book
by saying he is a lover of blues
music, and he also wanted to play
on the name of his home town of
Red Rank, in l>cxington County.
RED RANI) has exercised a
great influence on Sharpe's poetry.
Sharpe, who began writing poetry
at the age of 13, calls this mill town
an oasis. A large number of young
people have moved in to occupy the
old mill village houses. Thev first
concerned themselves with partying,
but soon began dabbling in
the arts, not with the intention of
becoming professional artists but
just as a sideline.
Sharpe pays tribute to Red Bank
when he writes of,
"a place of rest beyond
the forks of a river
a place no exposed eye
of beauty could resist . .
I.IKE THE nniPP AMTIBTfi at
Red Bank, Sharpe began to dabble
in the arts (poetry, that is) himself.
He says he did not take his ability
as a poet seriously at first, but was
more interested in the visual arts
rtU..s?(..vWv .v ;
mtertain
n the win
m \ wg
mm bL $$
WT'K?
i
city crowd in the Golden Spur Monday nig
ompanied his humor quite well, as he <
days in college.
snt m
> own 9
rork 8
(naintinc) Affpr hp ? SfiHi
leave school for a while, he came to
USC in 1972 and dropped out,
disillusioned by the system of
mass, impersonal education. After
three semesters, he began to experiment
with his writing. Kjegsla
This is why his book is subtitled r5
"Exercises in Apprenticeship," .
Sharpe is an apprentice poet, and
"The Blues Bank Bard" is the MHr
product of the three years he spent
Sharpe is quite philosophic in his
concept of poetry. He simply wrote
what he felt, finding it worthwhile,
us ne siresseu me sponienauy oi iraSHaayg
his writing. "I almost never rggraM
rewrite," he comments, adding his jlSggl
poetry is written straight off the Jest^
cuff. He characterizes his book as a aSSap
"raw, surging, animal." He then
adds modestly, "I'm just a
beginner."
"Tl
HE LIKES to think of himself as ...
part of a new romanticism, with W hi
links to such poets as John Keats on "*8
and Percy Shelley of the nineteenth
century, and Allen Ginsberg and wants tc
the beat poets of the 1950s. he does i
These links are part of what he by writi
calls a strong "connection with the "The
past" in his poetry. Sharpe wants divided
to return to the oral tradition, to "Conga
the idea that a poem is to be heard Rank" a
an<4 nnt conn In fvo rnaH ntmirl
iiw? ?vv.., IW MV I V?U UIUUVI dCVVIUIli
rather than silently, to be more the Conj
pleasing to the ear than to the eye. the intri
Sharpe, who returned to school "Columl
last spring, says he is aware of the but it d<
small market for poetry today. He it tosses
sSpurc
tie for (i
WB II
By TOM "ED"CLYI)E
Gamecock Staff Writer
.A ,f-< '
The Golden Spur was p
night and the air was
ticipation. The st{
apologized for the heat
"nobody's fault." He ]
troduce the comediar
mVinCOr^H H\J (ho Cr\n*n
%<vt vllV V-VIIlt
Committee.
"I saw this guy last
vention," the announcer
thought he was real
welcome Tom Parks."
If the crowd reaction '
Tom Parks' comic abiliti<
r""" "real funny." For a
minutes Tom had the
nntlirpH nilHionna lotiii
? ??U5
cheering wildly as he r
college life, the sexu
adolescence, the drug see
mother's cooking.
According to Parks, h
that food isn't done until
and that when she cooks, 1
most of the time turning
Kelly smoke detector. H
picnic and ate half a bag o
he realized that he wasn'
TOM REGAN his show
old college days at th
Florida. Everything s<
around the football play
have their own dorm.
Hall," as the football pla
h);Th? with anything but mono
offered onjy polysyballic
vocabulary were "scl
"coed." The audience
Wm&Wm?
: j *'' ';Tw^l
**; fii< '^'i vr -1I
~^;^~y-- /-/I;T~\ -'_,i + ^ ;'j^KiMfflBc3^f||fl^^SEB^^WH|KBKy^ff->
V^??iMffiv;ieaB
le Blues Rank Rarb" is a book of |
?n by a student at USC. It is his refl
home town, in his own poetic styl<
> be a producing poet, but to side
not intend to make a living under st
ng poems.
Blues Bank Bard" is ANYO
into three sections: muggy,
ree Dreams," "Blues night in
nd "New Banks." The first "sticky i
which contains a tribute to Columbi;
;aree River, also contains when he
guing line, Columbi;
bia sleeps overgrov
A73 iiui nirtfiii, never gc
from side city wa
. ?bV 1.1
rowd;
JH 1^
exactly what Tom was saying.
Tom Parks has built his act around his
experiences in college and, therefore,
aw 1 *
w.i iTiuuuay piays mostly college dates. In a postthick
with an- performance interview Tom said he enjoys
ige announcer college crowds and will probably continue
, saying it was working colleges for at least two or three
aroceeded to in- years.
i, Tom Parks, Right now he is in a very comfortable
mporary Sounds position, being just about the only
reasonably low-priced stand-up comic
year at a con- around today who is consistently funny,
declared, "and I
lunny. riease HIS HUMOR seems to be directed
toward the middle-of-the-road college
vas indicative of student; the boisterous type who just
js, he was indeed wants to come out and laugh. His show is a
pproximately 50 clean show, the type that offends pra^relatively
good- tically nobody. In fact, after a recent gig
hing and often Tom was approached by an elderly woman
elated stories of who told him "If you had told that 'day glo
al struggles of condom1 joke any other way I would have
ne and finally his been offended."
His sexual jokes seem to be parodies of
is mom believes sexual jokes rather than direct, often
it's burnt black, repulsive 'dirty' material.
lis family spends Tom Parks sees himself as being in no
! off the Captain hurry to try to make it big; he wants to
e once went to a work more and more with the colleges,
f charcoal before learning and Dolishine his art writino nmi/
_ , w ? " - O "v **
t eating biscuits. material, in general becoming more experienced
before he takes any big steps,
telling about his Tom wants to discipline himself to the
e University of point where he can produce new material
emed to center upon his own demand, not upon in- !
^rs; in fact they spiration.
It's called "Yon HIS GOAL is to write "prolific," lasting
yers had trouble material which will leave an impact on the
syballic words. audience. Woody Allen seems to be quite
terms in their adept at this as was Mark Tu/ain cave
lolarship" and Tom. ' .
seemed to know See IWKKS, page 15
& it {^^pM^^mBpjm^^^M|
mm#-#
>oetry cover of his book depicts his mood throughout
ection the book, full of simple yet deep meanings.
p. The ,
imagination. i
icky sheets." Sharpe provides some rich
imagery as he speaks of stealing j
MP UIIO lioc n.mr ~ " " ' * ' ' " -
? ap^iu ct me sweet juices ana iiesny insweat-bathed
summer nards" and "bursting suntanned
Columbia can understand scuppernongs." He often makes
sheets," but why doesn't point-blank statements, such as t
i dream? Sharpe explains "NttC and EXXON are trying to ,
wrote the poem he hated run my life," and adds a little ,
i. To him it was an alliteration, "lean leaping limbs."
m farm town and it would
anywhere ? maybe the In doing all of this, Sharpe writes
s lacking a little in some highly readable poetry.