Acclaimed poet, chef lead ‘Writers Ball’ to $340,000
Writers tend to have a lot of coiled energy. Inprint Poets & Writers Ball provides an opportunity to cut loose. An excuse to close one’s laptop, slip into black-tie with fellow literacy artists, and schmooze prospective Inprint donors. After all, the latter is responsible for funding the local Inprint chapter’s literary performance programs, writing workshops, fellowships and juried prizes.
Which paints the scene for the 34th annual gala at the Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa. Though — because we’re dealing with creatives, here — the evening’s format varied wildly from the usual program trappings. Think no live auction and lots of spoken word.
During the cocktail reception, for instance, all 380 attendees began their night on the hotel’s woodpaneled second floor. That’s where three of Inprint’s prized writers each held court inside a trio of ballrooms. Between Ricardo Nuila, Cait Weiss Orcutt and Ashley Wurzbacher’s salon-style readings, the mob of tuxedos and formal dresses rotated spaces, often pausing for a libation refill or to grab one of chef Robert Del Grande’s steak tartare, tuna or dried fig mascarpone hors d’oeuvres.
Later, husband and wife gala chairs Michael Skelly and Anne Whitlock led the merry crowd downstairs for even more Del Grande fare. The James Beard Award-winning executive chef of The Annie Cafe and Bar had prepared a terrine of exotic mushrooms, wild salmon with short rib and rutabaga hash, and poached pear with dark chocolate mousse, because again, this was no run-of-the-mill soiree.
Uniform centerpieces would have been offbrand. Instead, each host decorated his or her table with literary-theme accents in mind. At Skelly/
Whitlock headquarters, this meant a spray of wildflowers, leather-bound notebook with each guests’ name scribbled inside, and miniature golden shovels.
You know, ala Terrance Hayes’ tribute to the Gwendolyn Brooks poem, “We Real Cool?”
Hayes, a critically acclaimed Houston poet and the ball’s honored speaker, launched “The Golden Shovel: a 21st century formal poetic in(ter)vention” in 2010 to inspire his contemporaries, schoolchildren and the public to write poetry by sourcing the last words of each line from another poem.
Each dinnergoer received a copy of Hayes’ “A Poem By You,” a fill-in-theblank workbook, which came in handy once Hayes took the stage and challenged attendees to put their pencils to paper in real time. A few brave patrons — under the influence of the meal’s thoughtful wine pairings — bravely read their musings aloud.
Afterward, light revelry continued at “Postscript,” a one-night-only nightcap spot in the hotel’s lobby bar. Efforts raised more than $340,000 toward supporting Houston-area creative writing students. And hopefully, the Ball’s unconventional and engaging tactics inspire more shindigs to shake things up.