A 3-D Performance

Ozark Poets
& Writers Collective: May

“The only worse thing than being talked about is not being talked about.”
— Oscar Wilde

By Ginny Masullo

TFW Contributing Writer

Jim Goza, left, and Justin Cunningham in the recent University of Arkansas production of "Othello."

Jim Goza, who recently played Iago in the University of Arkansas’  production of “Othello,” is definitely being talked about.

Goza says he follows a maxim of Oscar Wilde’s, which involves either being the most loved or hated man in town. Right now it would be fair to say Goza’s widely praised performance of Iago lands him clearly into the love arena. Playing the hilarious yet despicable villain of Shakespeare’s finest tragedy, Goza worked magic on his audiences.

At 7 p.m.Tuesday, May 31 at Nightbird Books in Fayetteville, Goza will continue the magic. Expect Iago, via Goza, to spring forth along with some other Shakespeare at the Ozark Poets and Writers Collective’s monthly reading. Goza will pepper the reading with some of his own sonnets.

“Sonnet #2: The Wanton Trucker”

A nervous fever breaks about my brow,
For I’ve been on this road for much too long.
I feel I should have been there before now,
I with my load; a sick, Tysonic throng.

The engine chugs and glugs and bubbles forth,
As roads — like snakes — converge into the nest;
This map tells me I should have headed north,
And yet it seems I’m traveling due west.

“But hey,” I say in an excited sigh,
And then I have an urge to purge my mood;
“I’ll follow constellations in the sky,
And use this paltry poultry as my food!”

For it is an escape that I most need,
And maybe this here truck will help succeed.

Goza, who is a member of the rock/funk band the “Pogs,” will also perform original acoustic. One particular instrumental song, “The Bitter Inadequacy of Words,” sounds like an epic poem despite its lack of lyrics. For Goza, it tells of “the hopefulness of achieving one’s goals while still maintaining uncertainty.”

“Theater is incredibly visceral,” says Goza, quoting his friend, the late Sean Mabrey. “Theater is always in 3-D and always has high definition.”

With Goza taking OPWC’s mic, high definition is a sure deal.

The last Tuesday of each month, Ozark Poets & Writers Collective hosts a featured reader and an open mic — participants limited to four minutes each at Nightbird Books in Fayetteville. Visit ozarkwriters.wordpress.com.