On Sunday, November 11th, I had the pleasure of hearing poet Janet Scott McDaniel and singer-songwriter Jim Rezak at Acorn Books in Dover, DE. Janet read several of her poems accompanied by gentle guitar rhythms from Jim and he also interspersed several of his songs into her array of poetry. It was a fine combination.
Janet’s poetry is melodious and songlike, with well crafted imagery and plenty of emotion. Her reading is very skilful, clear and well paced with just the right low key dramatic touches. Janet's poems are personal and sometimes sentimental but never maudlin. She also never falls into the trap of turning sentiment into sappiness, which is no small accomplishment. She is the author of two collections which she has self published: “The Light and Other Collected Poems” and “Parallel Dreams”. Both are available at Acorn Books and on Amazon.com.
Jim Rezak has been playing music for forty plus years but only recently started writing songs. His tunes are romantic country, harkening back to the days when country music wasn’t driven by over-produced, rock style arrangements. He has a fine voice and an easy touch with his guitar. From his first notes I was thinking of how much like country great Don Williams Jim sounds.
If you get an opportunity to hear either of these folks perform, either separately or, if you’re lucky, in a joint program you should stop in. You’ll be glad you did.
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