By Rodney Richey, Herald Bulletin Feature Writer
ANDERSON — First, there’s the name: boB Henning. That’s not a typo. It’s how the 53-year-old poet, songwriter and musician spells his name. The nickname was bestowed upon him in the late 1980s by a concert promoter.
It stuck.
Second, even though the Ohio native has been a pastor for years, six of them at the Sixth Street Christian Church in Middletown, his poetry is not specifically religious or Christian in nature, as can be seen in his first book, “Traveling at the Speed of Darkness,” now available online.
“My work has mostly to do with the soulful struggles that we all go through, no matter what our religious orientation might be,” said Henning, now pastor at Eastgate Christian Church in Indianapolis.
Henning explains that Christian music, by its definition, has only one audience: Christians.
“That’s not where I’m at as far as my music in concerned,” he continued.
Henning and his wife, Cindy, have three grown children: a daughter, Michelle, 28, Chicago, and two sons, Greg, 26, Los Angeles, and Kyle, 23, Columbia, S.C. All three attended school in the Middletown area.
In addition to the book of poetry, which he had been working on for 15 years, Henning also has two CDs of music: 1995’s “Grandfather’s Mirror” and 2003’s “Nothing to Mend.”
“The first album is all acoustic guitar and me singing, with one instrumental song,” Henning said. “The second album is the same, but there’s also a four-song set by a rock-’n’-roll band called Easter Island.”
The albums are available for download online at his Web site: www.reverbnation.com/bobhenning.
“The music goes on and on. I have (my songs) now on the Internet, where people can download them through iTunes or other venues. And that’s nice, because the music’s still going out.”
The poems in the book, he said, began as lyrics, yet took a different course.
“There are lyrics that are meant for a relationship with silence rather than the company of a tune.”
Poetry reading, music and book signing featuring former Middletown minister boB Henning, plus Jan Flexon and D.N. Knight.
When: 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9
Where: Indiana Center for Written Art, 1040 E. 86th St., Indianapolis
For information or to RSVP: (317) 677-8759 or www.newcenturypublishing.org
Contact Rodney Richey, 640-4861, rodney.richey@heraldbulletin.com.
