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Troubadour 21
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A Troubadour is a class of lyrical poet/musician often of a knightly rank who flourished from the eleventh to the end of the thirteenth century whose major theme was courtly love. Founder of Troubadour 21, Carlton Smith, is opening doors for poets and artists in the 21st century. Carlton Smith (pictured right) has created an online showcase for artists who love what they do. Creators of visual and written art can display their work and become recognized through a network that has significantly drawn the attention of the masses since its inception in June of 2009.
The idea for Troubadour 21 started out when Carlton Smith became part of a blog website group of southeast Michigan writers. Carlton Smith wanted to take his idea to the next level and develop a place online for poetry to flourish and gain national and international recognition. Carlton Smith began meeting with a poetry group at AJ’s music café in Ferndale to develop personal contacts for his online group. Carlton was successful in meeting a diverse group of individuals with a deep passion for poetry.
Carlton Smith grew up in Ferndale, Michigan and became interested in poetry when he was sixteen years old. During the interview Carlton Smith recalled his English teacher, Barbara Demlow, of Ferndale High School whose fervor for poetry inspired Carlton Smith to persue it seriously himself. Carlton Smith recalled with kindhearted feeling his teacher’s genuine love for the written word. He believes that at that time he formed a strong appreciation for the art because of Demlow’s zeal for the art form.
“If you have people who are excited about what they do it can be very infectious,” said Carlton. As a part of his social mission for Troubadour 21 Carlton is looking to get involved with school districts to present art and poetry to young people. He forecasted that if the artists themselves can display their work and discuss their inspirations that it will become a great encouragement for the youth. Carlton believes direct involvement in the schools by the artists is the only way to teach the arts in a meaningful way.
During the time of the ancient Troubadour it was very difficult to reach people with poetical expressions. One would have limited exposure in a local village and would have to travel miles on horseback to recite works. The twenty first Century Troubadour has an easier path to travel to be seen and heard. Literary and visual artists can submit work to the editors at Troubadour. A review by the editors will determine if the work is suitable for publication online. Artists are free to submit as many works as they want.
Currently Troubadour 21 is receiving submissions in the visual medium, such as photographs and paintings, as well as short stories, essays and poems. The staff of Troubadour 21consists of four well-known local writers. They are W.B Burkholder, Carla Dodd, Paquita Roth and Carlton Smith. Troubadour 21 has published fifty pieces of work from artists around the country since June 2009. Work has been published from artists in California, Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, New York, London, (United Kingdom) to name a few. Carlton Smith is happy to report that at this time the website received ten thousand page views during the month of August. Carlton Smith hopes that at the current rate of growth the page views will increase dramatically in the coming months as people discover this invaluable resource for the arts.
Carleton expressed his feelings that many talented people are overlooked and do not become published in “mainstream bookstores”. Carlton Smith said he realized the challenges of many artists is to display their work to a mass audience. Troubadour 21 is a place where artists can receive proper recognition and become exposed to a great variety of people in the publishing business. For the modern Troubadour there will no longer be any gallivanting from village to village trying to be the next great poetic marvel. The global village can now come directly to the Troubadour.
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