Catherine Lee is a neo-Beat who began exploring poetry as a percussive voice at Studio Red Top, Inc., a loft space, later nonprofit organization she founded in Boston MA in 1978. Her inspiration for creating this salon attempt was her English professor, Percy E. Johnston, who invited her into his New York City loft, Studio Tangerine, in 1970. Until 1995, Lee produced hundreds of concerts, workshops, jam sessions, readings, radio and video broadcasts, and exhibits, including joint performances (1986-87) with her mentor, Beat poet/hipster tedjoans. Ted's “Jazz is my religion” griot legacy continually inspires her.
Late in 2006, Lee relocated to San Antonio TX; she also spent creative time in Asheville NC (summers of 2014-2018). She focused on writing, seeking publication and performance opportunities, creating altered book editions of chapbooks, and recording her poetry whenever possible. Lee collaborates with composer/trumpeter/educator Cecil Reenald Carter, who contributed original music to the Dramatic Reading video of this Mentor Wonders script. This second 2022 Individual Artist grant deliverable is available on VIMEO.
Lee has performed with senior readers theater companies since 2014. Mentored by actor/director Bill Gundry, Lee presented poetry and dramatic roles in theater recitals at Bihl Haus, The Playhouse Cellar Theater, and various San Antonio libraries and Senior One Stop Centers. In late 2017, noted character actor Tony Plana joined Gundry as producer/co-director of the re-envisioned Seniors In Play (SIP) repertory company. During 2020’s Covid-19 lockdown, SIP performances migrated from stage to Zoom small-screen video. Plana became more actively involved as director following Mr. Gundry’s sudden, untimely death in February 2021. With this direction and encouragement, Lee became motivated to write drama for video delivery. She secured funding from the City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture to develop this Mentor Wonders script.
Lee received a BA in English from Montclair State University NJ. While doing graduate level coursework in Linguistics at University of MA, Amherst, Lee applied transformational grammatical analysis to poetic language. Her writing embodies the thesis she developed that fine poetry uses certain words that pivot, encompassing multiple meanings by holding semantic and/or syntactic ambiguity.
Lee augments income from arts and performances with nonprofit grant writing and other freelance writing through Jazz-OvationInn.com