Open to the public, the 1 p.m. show features Lourie, a quirky, graying man sporting his signature duds - a faded jean jacket with "poet" written in pink letters on the back - speaking his poems and playing his tenor saxophone over his recent album, Ghost Radio Blues.
Fans of his show call Lourie's performance unforgettable and dramatic. After a recent event in New York, Poetry Project Director Ed Friedman said Lourie's "honking and smooth rhythm and blues tenor sax provided a perfect counterpoint to the astute and sweet remembrances in his poems... "
A longtime supporter of the museum and a frequent visitor to Clarksdale, Lourie said his current trip to the birthplace of the blues has a deeper purpose - the creation of a poem book about the history of the Mississippi Delta, with special focus on Clarksdale.
"Being a poet, I'm interested in a lot of things in addition to music, and I started thinking about Clarksdale and the history of Clarksdale, and how it goes back," said Lourie, who first visited the city in 1997. "And I decided to start a project writing about that history through my poem. The blues will be a central aspect of this history, but it will not be the whole story."
Local resident Panny Mayfield will provide photographs to illustrate the poem book, which is slated for completion early next year. Lourie said he is still searching for a publisher.
For the East Coast artist, Clarksdale is about as real a city as they come - a place where the people are friendly, the food is rich and the landscape wears the past proudly.
"The first thing I did when I came to Clarksdale (in 1997) was drive to the museum. It seemed like the logical thing to do," said Lourie, who came to visit longtime friend and one of Ghost Radio Blues' featured musicians, Big Jack Johnson. "The first thing I saw was Mike James teaching kids to play the blues. He saw my sax case and said, 'Come on and play.' That was my first introduction to Clarksdale, and I wrote about that."
Lourie's poetry is widely respected, and his musical skills have been heard throughout the city during jams with local musicians like Big Jack, Johnnie Billington, Terry "Big T" Williams and Wesley Jefferson.
"We are very honored to be able to feature Dick Lourie and host this event," museum employee Joni Mayberry said. "It was also to support the Crossroads Bikes and Blues rally, so that we had another event downtown for the public to attend."
For more information about the free performance, call the Delta Blues Museum at 627-6820.
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