Community members perform poetry, share stories at Eno Arts Mill Gallery events

On July 10, community members and artists gathered at the Eno Arts Mill Gallery in Hillsborough, sitting before a performance space set with a microphone and music stand. As the sun set, the room was cast with a dim, warm glow and the ambient noise hushed as someone stepped into the light. Weave & Spin had begun. 

The Weave & Spin series is an open-mic event held every second Wednesday of the month from 7-9 p.m. Weave & Spin features a different artist every month who gets to share their work before opening the floor to others. 

July’s featured artist was Ashley Lumpkin, a Georgia-raised writer, editor, actor and educator. Lumpkin is also a Bull City Slam coach and has been a competing member in the slam poetry group since 2015. 

After a brief introduction from Morrow Dowdle, the series organizer, Lumpkin took her place at the front of the art gallery. She shared poems about experiences with her family, being an educator, growing up in the church and being from the South.

Lumpkin said she is always truthful in her poetry; she often writes about her identity and where she hopes to see herself in the near future. 

“I came out in writing about being queer in my poems before I was ever out to anyone in my family,” Lumpkin said. “I wrestled with my own mental health in my poems before I ever saw a therapist.”

She said that writing helped her during those times of coping with her identity and mental health, but that it helped only because it was the only outlet she knew.

“I wish I had been more open to being out and seeking actual medical, professional help, seeking actual help a lot earlier than I did,” she said. 

Lumpkin was able to mix old and new works during her set. She said her next project — a memoir called "The Saddest Days" — will be out in September, with hopes to have a book tour attached to its release. 

After Lumpkin finished her poetry, community members came to the front for the open-mic part of the event, performing their own works. 

Most of the poems from this night touched on identity, from stories of femicide to Southern connections to mental health struggles to substance abuse. Stories were told through song lyrics turned into poetry, data and statistics and haiku. One poem focused on the speaker’s relationship with nature, comparing dense, dark forestry to feeling lost. 

Dowdle said that Weave & Spin typically attracts more poets than musicians, which has been nice for the local poetry community to have a safe space where they can share their work. 

“What I've noticed is that, because we set a tone of welcoming and inclusivity, people often feel able to share very intimate stories through their poetry that often doesn't happen at other public events,” Dowdle said.

The program also emphasizes an invitation for BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and those who have waited to be heard to perform, they said. 

“There's a certain reverence that comes in an art gallery space, especially because the Mill also has a real focus on diversity and inclusivity in the kind of art exhibits they show,” Dowdle said. “And I think it just really enables that sense of being held in a really creative environment.”

Katie Murray, the director of the Orange County Arts Commission, said that Weave & Spin is a collaborative effort between herself and Dowdle, since the gallery is used as the primary Weave & Spin event space. 

She said that it helps that the space is not a bar, which is common for open-mic events, to ensure everyone feels comfortable to participate. Plus, every Weave & Spin event is surrounded by a rotating exhibit that is showcased at the Arts Mill on the first Friday of every month, she said.

“I think whenever you can combine multiple types of art in the same space, they kind of contribute to each other, you know?” Murray said. “And I am a vibe person, and I feel like, if you're a creative person in a creative space, then you know the vibe is right.”

The next Weave & Spin event will be on Aug. 14 and will feature Gabrielle Calvocoressi, an award and fellowship-winning author, editor and UNC English professor. 

“They're such a dedicated teacher and they have an activist bend to the work they do,” Dowdle said. “And they also share so openly about their experience as a queer and nonbinary person. So that’s really inspiring to me.” 

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