logo
  • About
  • Porches
  • Performers
  • Sponsors
  • Map
  • Contact
  • Blog

2015 Performer Spotlight #12

Devin is this year’s Poet Wrangler! She’s taken the reins from our inaugural Poet Wrangler, Travis Naught. Thanks for all your hard work Travis and Devin!

 

DEVIN DEVINE – POET WRANGLER –

PFEST2015PPP1BSM2

 

Bio:Devin Devine is a proud Spokane local and a graduate from Gonzaga University, where she studied both theatre and creative writing with a concentration in poetry. She spends too much time lamenting her loans instead of paying them. As she pursues the life of an artist, she works as a server downtown at Sante Restaurant & Charcuterie in the Liberty Building.  She was a member of the 2015 Spokane National Poetry Slam Team that traveled to Oakland this August, and recently self-published her first chapbook Feral Empathy. She can be found reading in bars around Spokane, convincing strangers the magical properties of a pickleback.

 

Talk to us a bit about community, about yourself as an artist, and about PorchFest, please…

 

1 -What got you interested in PorchFest? What do you think about it?

I went to Porchfest last year to see some friends perform (and perform myself!) and loved it! It felt so routine to walk from one porch to the next, eat some hummus from a stranger, shake their hand, sit on their lawn, and enjoy some local talent. It was a beautiful day and I expect this year to be just as fantastic.

 

2- What is “community”? How do we build it? 

For me, there’s two ways to look at community. The larger and greater community of Spokane that brings us together through winter storms, dry summer heat, “near nature/near perfect”, our handful of national headlines a year that leave us with our heads in our hands, a hashtag to defend our worth #SpokaneDoesntSuck, and so forth. And then within that there’s your passions, your life, your choices. The neighborhood communities are obviously easy to spot, especially with centralized spots like the Perry District providing more and more reason for businesses and restaurants and action to truly become a part of residential areas. But for me, my community isn’t my street (living off Division does that), it’s definitely my pursuits. The poetry, and then the greater literary and arts community of Spokane continues to surprise me with growth and support.

 

3- What have you done to build community? What else would you like to do?

I know this is silly but honestly… Spend my money at local places. I’m a restaurant industry worker that just goes out and spends what I do make by eating out, drinking out, and connecting with friends and strangers by breaking bread. I’ve learned more about Spokane in the last year by drinking my way through downtown bars and talking to strangers than I have in my fourteen odd years of living here. Also, participating. You’ll find me almost every Wednesday at Neato for Broken Mic, and at the poetry slams in town too. But also going to events that aren’t my usual scene, letting friends drag me to their favorite band that is at The Bartlett, or maybe a co-worker has an art show coming up etcetera. I’d love to enter a role of facilitating soon, in some form. Not sure what that will look like yet. Maybe volunteering more.

« 2015 Performer Spotlight #11
2015 Performer Spotlight #13 »

Pages

  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Map
  • Performers
  • Porches
  • Sponsors

Archives

  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • September 2015
  • September 2014
  • August 2014

Categories

  • Misc. (4)
  • Performers (34)
  • Porch Hosts (24)

WordPress

  • Log in
  • WordPress

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)
© PorchFest