Next Friday evening, we’re opening our doors for something especially close to our hearts: the book release party and live music performance for The Color of Carina’s Dreams by Marcus Amaker, Charleston’s first Poet Laureate.
From 6–8pm, the gallery will be filled with words, sound, and story as Marcus celebrates the launch of this beautiful new book alongside illustrator and musician Geoffrey Chandler. It’s part reading, part performance, part book themed art, and very much a gathering—one of those nights where art feels alive and shared in real time.
Marcus has been a friend of the gallery since the very beginning. When we first opened our doors, he was there—supporting, showing up, and collaborating in ways that helped shape who we are. Over the years, we’ve had the joy of seeing his words intersect with visual art, including a past collaboration with Nathan Durfee, who illustrated one of Marcus’s earlier books. Those moments—when disciplines meet and something new emerges—are exactly why we love hosting events like this.
The Color of Carina’s Dreams continues Marcus’s gift for tenderness, imagination, and emotional clarity. His writing has a way of disarming you—simple on the surface, expansive underneath. One of our favorite examples of that comes from his poem “a 6-year-old explains God”, which feels especially fitting to share as we prepare for this night:
we step outside near the beginning of night,
into the thick fog of an oddly warm & slow december.
& she says,
“it’s like we’re stepping in someone’s breath.”
– Marcus Amaker
That sense of wonder—quiet, observant, and deeply human—is what this evening is all about.
Join us next Friday from 6–8pm to celebrate Marcus, Geoffrey, and the release of The Color of Carina’s Dreams. Come listen, linger, and be part of a night shaped by friendship, poetry, music, and the long, meaningful threads that tie this community together.
