Here in Cedar Creek Lake we have many local artists that go on to do great things in the world and don’t look back.

Some, bring that great right back to our community. Even in the most unique of forms can make a positive difference.

Many forms of artistry can be found in the nooks and crannies of Cedar Creek Lake and one artist who was born and raised here in Henderson County, Jeff Callaway, will be launching his official website today.

www.TexasOutlawPress.Com

Jeff, better known as the Texas Outlaw Poet, has wrote poems, short stories, books as well as painted his expressions on over 30 canvases.

John-Paxton Gremillion, Co-Founder and Publisher had a message, “Texas Outlaw Press was founded when my good friend Jeff Callaway was sent to prison for the non-violent offense of possession of psilocybin mushrooms. Together we founded the Press to publish chapbooks for readings both while Jeff was in and when he got out of the penitentiary system. The legacy of our inception is our ongoing interest in working with artist who have had to suffer the indignities and injustices of the hypocritical drug laws in Texas and the U.S. In the coming years we hope to shape the Press into a helpful resource for artists trapped in the Texas prison system for non-violent drug possession. We are also interested in collaborating with Texas's artist and political communities to bring further awareness to the injustices of Marijuana Prohibition and the harms to people's lives caused by incarcerating non-violent drug offenders. Ultimately we would like to help educate citizens and voters about the negative consequences of current drug laws and the benefits of treatment vs. incarceration in regards to serious addiction issues. At the same time we'd like to offer a rewarding forum for self-expression to those negatively impacted by those laws and to our readers and listeners.” -JP

Jeff has had many experiences over the years playing in and near Cedar Creek Lake including, 211 Gallery, The Trace Bar and many more.

Jeff has even played at our infamous Cedar Isle, right beside where Boondocks currently stands, before it burned down. Coal Miners, another favorite, was able to have the honor of having Jeff speak before it shut down.

Good things can be said when a famous Hollywood Director has something to say about a local. That is exactly what happened when C.M Talkington had this to say.

"It is my personal opinion that Burroughs, Kerouac & Rimbaud never died. A highly advanced alien civilization abducted them, extracted their DNA, & genetically engineered “Texas Outlaw Poet” Jeff Callaway. His first collection of poems, “Party Fouls”, is a harrowing road-trip through the fragmented Texas psyche of an artist who has truly survived a “season in hell”. Callaway’s “graduate degree” in poetry was earned in the bloodcurdling corridors of Huntsville State Prison. Like Jack Henry Abbott, Paul Verlaine & other “outsider artists” before him — Callaway has brought his “prison ink lessons” and a life spent-on-the-margins into gut-wrenching redemptive cinematic glory. I don’t read poetry. And I read Callaway’s electric collection in one sitting." -C.M. Talkington, Directed movies such as Love and a .45, Killers Head, Captain Rum and Mud Mules and Mountains.

Benjamin Leder, Speaker for Texas Outlaw Press, wants the community to know, the outlaw press is a platform and a voice for the oppressed. We have several million people incarcerated in the country alone, 30 million who are convicted felons that are classified and have been permanently branded as convicted felons. Texas outlaw press intends to make sure they know they are not forgotten or ignored and we have a strong desire to put an end to corrupt incarceration practices. These practices are now known as the prison industrial complex.

Jeff Callaway, Chief Executive Outlaw of this organization, represents the embodiment of outlaw and mafia culture.

If it doesn’t get any better, Callaway, is running for U.S. Congress for District 1 with the Libertarian Party. Voted on by citizens of Smith County, where Jeff currently lives.

Check out Jeff’s website for upcoming events here in Cedar Creek Lake as well as don't forget to look at all the Texas Outlaw Press shirts and more!

texasoutlawpoet@yahoo.com
www.texasoutlawpress.com
http://cedarcreekpoet.blogspot.com/
http://youtube.com/texasoutlawpoet
http://myspace.com/texasoutlawpress
http://facebook.com/cedarcreekpoet
http://twitter.com/texasoutlawpoet