Sherry Chandler

Who knew Jesse Stuart ran away with the carnival? As best I can tell, this was sometime in the early twenties when Jesse was in his late teens. Nobody seems to be really sure how long his career as a carnie lasted or how far it took him.

from Jesse Stuart — The Heritage by David Dick (Plum Lick, 2005):

Ladies and gents, let’s just put it down as the sorriest pack of starved carnival dogs ever was rounded up for the animal shelter. There might have been Henrí, the flame-swallower from Pittsburgh with his rapeseed oil-covered throat and a mouthful of kerosene to light the torch, gurgle the flames, and spew out the fire. And there, in imagination, might be a George, dear soul, the knock ‘em down kewpie doll warhorse from Wheeling. You remember old George, don’t you? He was the right man for the carnival: down on his luck, loser to the ladies, health eaten up by the constant cigarette dangling from the left side of his mouth, ashes growing so long they curved. Sure, you ‘member ol’ George.

and from Jesse Stuart himself in Beyond Dark Hills (Jesse Stuart Foundation, 1996):

The street carnival was a fascinating place to me, the painted showmen, the dancing girls, the vagabond life and the old dull music of the merry-go-round — the whole thing was fascinating! I made up my mind t get a job and follow it. … Where a man settles in one place, his life would someday become empty, I thought. I would follow the merry-go-round.

I’ve posted Elaine Palenica’s review from Pegasus on the My Will & Testament Is on the Desk page. My thanks to Elaine for the good words.

Ladies and Gentlemen! Art and poetry lovers of all ages! Step right this way for the Sideshow! March 22 - April 30, Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. Explore the dark and colorful world of circuses, carnivals, and sideshows through this unique collaboration of artwork and poetry by Women Artists Group (WAG) and the poets of Mosaic: Sherry Chandler, Joanie DiMartino, Shelda Emmick Hale, Karen Koegler, Tina Parker, Pamela Papka Sexton, and Jean-Marie Welch.

• Send in the Poets and the Clown, March 23, 7:30 pm, Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. Exhibit opens with clown, calliope music, artwork, and poetry performed by Mosaic

• Talk to the artists, March 26, Noon - 3 pm, Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. Mix images and text to make your own mini-masterpiece and talk to the artists and poets about the creative process.

• Reception and reading, April 15, Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, 5 - 8 pm. Join us for cotton candy and animal crackers during the Gallery Hop. Bring your camera to photograph yourself as the World’s Strangest Alien. Poetry reading to begin at 7 pm.