Wikipedia

Will Dockery

Joined 30 June 2005
Current photo of Columbus, Georgia poet Will Dockery.
Will Dockery
File:Shadowville-Speedway1.jpg
Background information
Birth nameWill Dockery
OriginLaGrange, Georgia
GenresRock, folk rock, word jazz, art rock, noise rock, experimental rock
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, pizza delivery and advertising, poet, minicomic creator
InstrumentVocals
Years active1983–present
LabelsIndependant
WebsiteShadowville All-Stars

Will Dockery is an American poet, minicomic artist and singer-songwriter.

Early Years

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"A little known story of when my father & mother met, it was at a BBQ shack outside La Grange, Georgia called Hansen's BBQ. True story." -Will Dockery on Sean Rox Trio & BBQ

The son of Kelly H. Dockery, a World War II and Korean War veteran, later a Howard bus and taxicab driver, and Mildred Ethel Whitley, William Abraham Dockery was born in LaGrange, Georgia on May 7, 1958, where he would visit frequently during childhood, being the home of his maternal grandparents. He lived in Columbus, Georgia, forty miles south of LaGrange, and both areas meld into the alternate universe of Shadowville in his various works of art.

He started playing music in 1961, when he got his first guitar. This early phase in music was cut short, though, when he smashed the guitar over his father's head, who was napping. He remembers he was emulating a scene he'd seen on an episode of the television series Bonanza or another of the westerns popular in that era. Hank Williams was an early hero, especially after watching Your Cheatin' Heart, the 1964 film of Hank Williams' life story with George Hamilton playing Williams.

He attended Waverly Terrace Elementary school, where he won first prize in kindergarden in a school-wide competition for a crayon drawing of a witch, obviously influenced by his early exposure to comic books and film noir, which everything on television resembled in the pre-color era of the 1960s.

The next year, in May of 1965, his family moved to the east side of Columbus, where he attended Edgewood Elementary school. There, he wrote his first poetry, influenced by reading Edgar Allen Poe and combining that with ideas influenced by popular music such as The Beatles. Also during this time he created hundreds of hand made, unpublished minicomics, which included over 500 issues of the adventure serial Uncle Jim, Uncle Jim Comics and Stories had a spinoff comic strip called Tonight Show Starring Uncle Jim, which filled many episodes in which guest hosts filled in for Uncle Jim in a parody of Johnny Carson's television series of the time. In May of 1970 Dockery made his return to music, performing a cover of the Tiny Tim song Tiptoe Through the Tulips.

Discography

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Minicomics

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File:Demon-House-Theatre.jpg
Demon House Theatre minicomic by Will Dockery

Will Dockery entry in the Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999 Excerpt from the Introduction of the Who's Who:"The Who's Who of American Comic Books is a database designed to document the careers of people who have contributed to or supported the publication of original material in U.S. comic books in the years 1928-99. It is not a checklist, but rather a resume of a person's creative career. Each resume covers not only a person's comics career, but as much information as could be located about his/her other creative and professional work in advertising, prose, TV, animation, syndication, and other sister fields and professions. The scope of the Who's Who includes anyone known to have contributed directly to or supported the field of original U.S. comic books..."

Poetry Chapbooks

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Exile in 1995 chapbook by Will Dockery with art by Liam Brooks

felt, 50c postpaid. Minicomic, eight pages. William Dockery, P.O. Box

xxxx, Phenix City, Alabama 36868. On the back cover of this tome is written the words, "Second Printing." I was going to joke that with Dockery, this means my copy is not only the second printing but the second copy. However, this damn thing is actually very well written. Maybe he did actually print more than one copy in the first printing, and sold out! felt begins poorly, but picks up at the top of page four. Then things really get going at the bottom of page four, and the lines roll on through thunderous poetic crescendoes right to the end. There are amazing images here; Tatumville park, the memory of Tracy, the father who's "a grey cat," even a lake of disappearing paths. I highly recommend this chapbook on two counts, as a stunning book of

poems and as a sample of the best the comics small press has to offer. -Andrew Roller, January 7 1996 in alt.zines

Video appearances

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Dockery was a part of documentary film-maker Truman Bentley, Jr.'s multi-part video cassette observation of the poets, artists and oddballs of Columbus, Georgia from the years 1996-2000. These have not been transferred to DVD and are at present out-of-print. Various peformances of Will Dockery are available on YouTube, including

  • Ozone Stigmata, written with Henry Conley.
  • Truck Stop Woman, written with Henry Conley.
  • Last Dream Today, written with Brian Mallard.
  • The Ride/Combat Zone, written with Dennis
  • Shark Pact Manifesto, written with Rusty Wood
  • Truck Stop Woman produced by Artemis Records

Television

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Will Dockery hosted a television program "Kaleidoscope" for 12 episodes for East Alabama TV channel 7. An Access channel for Cable TV of East Alabama from August to December of 2012. He interviewed artists from the Chattahoochee Valley area in the Phenix City, Alabama/Columbus, Georgia area.

Will was a 3 time guest on the show, "Minstrels on the Block" with Brian Mallard. A biographical show featuring musical artists from the Chattahoochee Valley area in Phenix City, Alabama and Columbus, Georigia area. The show was produced by East Alabama TV channel 7 on Cable TV of East Alabama.

Known Associates

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- Jim Pontius
- George Sulzbach
- Tito Wals
- pd wilson
- Gene Woolfolk, Jr.
- Henry F. Conley
- Wes Sprunger
- George Buck (Drummer)
- Brian Fowler
- Dan Barfield
- Rusty Wood
- Brian Mallard
- Jack Snipe (guitarist)
- Patricia Suddeth

Hangouts

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- Majestic Diner (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Ken's Tavern (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Dinglewood Pharmacy (Columbus, Georgia)
- The Alley behind Rhino's on Broad (Columbus, Georgia)
- SoHo Bar and Grill (Columbus, Georgia)
- Del Ranch (Smiths Station, Alabama)
- Uptown Columbus

Later Years

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Will Dockery currently resides in western central Georgia, pursuing his lifelong passions for art, music, poetry and performance art, recently appearing with Henry Conley and Gene Woolfolk at Pat's Place in Americus, Georgia June 14, 2008.

A new collection of songs written with Henry F. Conley, Shadowville Speedway Blues was released on compact disc on April 18, 2009.

Will Dockery has been working since 2011 writing songs with Brian Mallard, Jack Snipe, and Rusty Wood.

See Also

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 This user writes poetry.
POEMThis user has had one of their poems published.
 This user is owned by one or more cats.
 This user is old enough to remember what a typewriter is, and that's all you need to know.

References

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  1. ^ Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-199 Will Dockery Who's Who listing "The Who's Who of American Comic Books is a database designed to document the careers of people who have contributed to or supported the publication of original material in U.S. comic books in the years 1928-99. It is not a checklist, but rather a resume of a person's creative career. Each resume covers not only a person's comics career, but as much information as could be located about his/her other creative and professional work in advertising, prose, TV, animation, syndication, and other sister fields and professions. The scope of the Who's Who includes anyone known to have contributed directly to or supported the field of original U.S. comic books..."
  2. ^ Library of Congress/Copyright Registration for Demon House Theatre Demon House Theatre Copyright Registration Text: Demon house theatre / William A. Dockery. Type of Work: Visual Material Registration Number / Date: VA0000374716 / 1989-11-08 Title: Demon house theatre / William A. Dockery. Description: art reproductions. Notes: Comic bk. Copyright Claimant: William A. Dockery Date of Creation: 1989 Date of Publication: 1989-06-23 Names: Dockery, William A., 1958-
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