Kodac Harrison’s new memoir chronicles 40 years as a musician and poet

Courtesy Kodac Harrison Kodac Harrison s new memoir Chasing My Vagabond Heart chronicles more than years in the life of the musician poet artist photographer and emcee And while he might call himself a vagabond the term renaissance man more aptly describes his devotion to Atlanta s art scene Harrison began working on the memoir more than years ago then put it away while touring releasing albums and poetry collections and getting married to his wife Patty During the COVID- pandemic he pulled the book out of the drawer and began again I spent a lot of time taking out verys and other adjectives Harrison mentioned taking sage advice from Gertrude Stein to Ernest Hemingway He also worked with local poets Travis Denton and Katie Chaple on honing the manuscript into its final form Harrison spent a great number of months poring over extensive photo albums notebooks and correspondence to flesh out the memoir that covers his the greater part operational years from to The memoir is punctuated by his poems and lyrics offering the stories behind the songs A native of Jackson GA Harrison graduated from Georgia Tech and then received a master s degree in business administration from Tulane University But he couldn t get the idea of being a musician out of his mind While studying in New Orleans Harrison honed his guitar and songwriting skills before heading west to California His first gig was in in Salinas at a bar called East of Eden named after famed resident John Steinbeck where he played regularly for a year Harrison would go on to spend time in Texas a commune in West Virginia New York and a stint in the Army In the s he decided to plug in and become a rock and roll star but a near-fatal car accident in made him re-evaluate his career I realized I didn t need to be a rock and roll star and decided to go back to my acoustic guitar and move to Decatur he revealed Kodac Harrison s memoir Chasing My Vagabond Heart is out now from Poetry Atlanta Press Harrison became a regular performer at Trackside Tavern and later at Eddie s Attic As his presence in the indie music scene grew Harrison also discovered an audience in Europe especially Germany and has made seven tours of the continent including a spot at the Prague International Jazz Festival In Harrison began laying the foundation for the nascent Intown poetry scene that blossomed in the s He hosted gigs at Gravity Pub and the Margaret Mitchell House before in the end landing at Java Monkey Coffee House in The weekly Java Monkey Speaks open mic was a cultural watershed with future Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists Jericho Brown Natasha Trethewey and Patricia Smith as well as new City Lights co-host Jon Goode gracing the stage Every Sunday night the large patio was overflowing with onlookers and there was often a waiting list for those hoping to get a spot on the mic Harrison presided over Java Monkey Speaks for more than years and co-edited five award-winning poetry anthologies featuring poets who had appeared on the mic He passed the emcee duties to poet Theresa Davis in who carried on until a disgruntled former employee set the coffee shop on fire in It never reopened and the space is now The Reading Room Java Monkey Speaks was one of my biggest accomplishments Harrison explained I m very proud of it Davis continues to carry the torch by hosting a weekly virtual open mic called Java Speaks on Sunday nights at p m An essential tremor now under control after surgery at Emory University Hospital sidelined him from playing the guitar for a number of years but he now performs monthly and hosts an open mic at Wild Heaven Beer in Avondale Estates called Kodac s Last Thursday After releasing more than albums over the last years he is right now working on what he stated will be his final record Harrison will be in conversation with fellow poet Rupert Fike at The Book Bird in Avondale Estates on Wednesday June starting at p m Books will be available for sale and to be autographed by the author The post Kodac Harrison s new memoir chronicles years as a musician and poet appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta