Posts Tagged“christopher watkins”

“Pruning” by Christopher Watkins

By Poet Laureate Christopher Watkins   Pruning Early morning, and like middle-schoolerschicken-pimpled beside a swimming pool, the once-mighty vines stand humble, naked in their rows;I swear they’re shivering—a finishing schoolof apprentice scarecrowspracticing on snowflakes… I walk the morning-after battlefield — the fightan ancient rite of deconstruction —marveling at the meagerquintessence of these vines: arms thinas antennae, slender trunks poorly mimickingtheir elder’s muscularity; reminded of a bubblegumcartoon, I imagine Old Vines walking byand kicking sand in all the littlevine’s faces, then stealing off their girls… A long year ahead, and I have no song I can singto march them onwards, but…

Christopher Watkins Live @ Roanoke Vineyards This Saturday at 7 p.m.

Christopher Watkins is a man of many talents. You might know him as our resident poet laureate here on LENNDEVOURS. Or, you might know him as the operations manager and tasting room czar at Roanoke Vineyards. Still other people know him as a poet who has done several residencies to focus and hone his craft. But, do you know Preacher Boy? That’s Christopher’s alter ego and he’s an accomplished roots/blues/americana singer and songwriter. He’ll be taking Chris’ place at Ronaoke this weekend, combining with Will Scott, another accomplished musician to entertain tasting room visitors. Normally, the LENNDEVOURS crew would be…

“All Seasons Every Day” by Christopher Watkins

All Seasons Every Day -or- When You Have Mother Nature As A Business Partner -or-The Vineyard Manager’s Long Island BluesBy Christopher Watkins In this hand I hold water, in this hand I hold heat. Call them rain and sun, but never seasons. I may call upon the wind with dawn still percolating softly, or raise it with the onset of the dusk – But with a snap of practiced fingers SHOT! Lightning, then the thump-tom-thump of thunder; count the seconds in between counting one-one-thousand…then again, the thunder. In my heart it is the solstice, But my mind’s a melt of…

LENNDEVOURS Q&A: Christopher Watkins, Director of Operations, Roanoke Vineyards

You probably recognize the name Christopher Watkins. Not only is he the new director of ops at Roanoke Vineyards, but LENNDEVOURS readers will also now this writer/musician/artist as our poet laureate. He also happens to be one of my favorite people in our local wine country…and he’s someone with the energy and ideas to really help the industry grow and move to the next level. What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking?  When I was 9-10 years old, my parents and I lived in Italy for a year (Florence, Venice and Rome), and we quickly…

One Last

As winter slows and we look to spring, LENNDEVOURS’ Poet Laureate, Christopher Watkins presents a piece about what this time means for grape vines that have been sleeping during the cold months. One LastBy Christopher Watkins One last hurl of winterfor the sleeping vinesto unknowingly withstand; One last morningof vivid, blinding beauty—sunlight caroming off snow slicks—and the dirty days that followas the oily trucks tattoothe banks built upalong the salted roads; One last fire for warmth; One last reminderthat the world’s not at our mercy,that our mercy’s what we plead forat the door of Mother Nature’s busy home—darkened by our…

Introducing Christopher Watkins, LENNDEVOURS’ Poet Laureate

It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to LENNDEVOURS’ newest contributor, and first poet laureate, Christopher Watkins. Chris is a poet and songwriter. His chapbook "Short Houses With Wide Porches" is forthcoming from Shady Lane Press, the publishing arm of The Kerouac Project. His poems are appearing or have appeared in The George Washington Review, Euphony, Talking River, Red Rock Review, and the anthology In Our Own Words: A Generation Defining Itself (MWE Press), among others. He was the Fall 2006 writer-in-residence at The Jack Kerouac Writer-in-Residence Project of Orlando. As a songwriter, he has released five albums…