Minton SparksTo hear them is to love them: Arlo Guthrie weaving the twisty tale of Alice’s Restaurant punctuated by bits of song, Tom Waits rasping out the romantic epics between hookers and sailors, or slam poet Anis Mojgani dedicating an ode to America’s midnight cereal eaters and elderly Wal-Mart greeters. They are storytellers extraordinaire. Minton Sparks, who describes herself as Nashville’s first non-singing country singer, is one of them.
Sparks established herself as a poet with the 2001 release of “Middlin’ Sisters.” The Tennessee native is also a playwright and author.
Tonight, May 12, she visits the Hunter Museum of American Art as the guest speaker for CHI Memorial’s Cam Busch Endowed Arts for Health Lecture Series.
She spoke by email with Times Free Press reporter Lynda Edwards about what to expect, her favorite story and all-time great storytellers.
Q: Can you give us a synopsis of the most popular stories you tell during a performance, the consistent crowd pleaser?
A: From my perspective, it’s hard to know which performance is the most popular. I think of stories as a type of medicine; therefore, one story will connect with one person and one with another. My personal favorite is “Carnival Ride” right now, a story about a young girl falling in love with a ticket taker.
Q: What are some of the common elements between what you do and slam poetry?
A: Slam is such a big genre. It encapsulates political rants, personal reflection, narratives that take you on a wild journey. I think that my work has more in common with personal reflection and wild journeys.
Q: How much of your performance involves singing as opposed to spoken word?
A: I tend to sing as the mood strikes me. Music is part of every piece, and my fabulous guitarist John Jackson will be along for the performance.
Q: Who are the storytellers, folk singers or performers who inspired you?
A: Currently I’m very inspired by spoken-word artist Anis Mojgani, also songwriters Tom Waits, Nanci Griffith and Darrell Scott. Maya Angelou was such an otherworldly groundbreaker, I continue to watch her on YouTube.
Q: How did you get started and in what cities and venues – Cajun nightclubs, New York coffeehouses, college campuses, etc?
A: I began performing in 1999 as part of my brother’s one-man show, “Sermons From the Road,” in Nashville. Since then we’ve performed at the Lincoln Center as part of the American Songbook Series, at the Grand Ole Opry, Dodge Poetry Festival. I am currently a Fellow in Residence at Vanderbilt’s University’s Curb Center.
Contact staff writer Lynda Edwards at ledwards@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6391.