Roasting Questions

Local poet Barbie Angell is known for her mischievous sense of humor (in case you missed it a year-and-a-half ago, go here for Angell’s Rapture Survival tips), her fanciful, elfin-inspired fashion, and (most importantly) her poetry. Angell moved to Asheville in ‘99, making her presence known at open mics; she performs, these days, at The Hop.

You can read about Angell’s background here — she talks about being inspired by the works of Shel Silverstein and about living, as a young teen at Mooseheart, “a home for children whose parents are unable to care for them.” Both of these likely had a hand in Angell’s work, “Poems for Children and the Child-Like,” to be published by Grateful Steps in Angell’s upcoming book, Roasting Questions.

The book launches with a special event at Altamont Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 30. It’s an evening of poetry and music (Angell, with David Earl Tomlinson). There’s a 6 p.m. children’s set (“to feature Angell’s children’s poetry and David Earl’s family-friendly, high energy folk style,” according to a Facebook invite), followed by a 7 p.m. general set (which will “include Angell’s distinctive bar poetry, mixed with some of her more serious work”). In the invite, Angell says, “My goal has always been to reach people who don’t know they like poetry, and convince them that they do.”

Tickets are $3. Learn more about Roasting Questions, which will be available for pre-sale beginning Sept. 30, at Grateful Steps.