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| LEO DILLON |
E-NOTES: WHEN THE NEWS IS NOT ENOUGH. THE BLOG OF E. ETHELBERT MILLER
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tricycle Daily Dharma May 31, 2012 | |||
Learning to Let Go
- Gehlek Rimpoche, "An
Interview with Gehlek
Rimpoche"
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EAR UP! WITH JOHN PARKS
Keith Jarrett and
Charlie Haden: Resonate Beauty
We live in a violent world, yet one still filled with warmth
and beauty which sometimes is hard to find. For all of the technological
achievements and even religious affirmations the human creature, allegedly the
most advanced, has not yet figured out how to put an end to military conflict
and gratuitous murder. The television and the internet inform us instantaneously
of global and local atrocities. Children, I believe, are the hope for a better
future, but even they are subjected to heinous behavior. And there is a growing
celebration of vulgar and hateful language that accompanies the seemingly
endless strife. All of this noise settles in and finds refuge in our psyches.
NOISE! Sometimes we don’t even know it’s there.
To those of us sensitive to these problems music is a medium
of healing, but it requires a degree of patience to listen and absorb. Keith
Jarrett wrote the liner notes to Jasmine,
his 2010 release with bassist Charlie Haden. This is the point he makes about
music and this album in particular. The beauty and magic of music (art), he
adds, is dying “and so is listening” because we are distracted by so much
NOISE. Listening, the interpretation of resonance, has become highly underrated
and increasingly difficult to do as technology “advances” civilization. Because
the ear, Ethelbert assures us, “is an organ made for love” what we hear, be it
beautiful or ugly, forms an impression on the heart.
Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden have created a space of
resonate beauty that, in the words of late drummer Art Blakey “…washes away the
dust of everyday life.” Play this album at night as the jasmine flower blooms.
Make time, listen to it and share its beauty with someone you love; share it
with anyone in need of healing. It’s what they intended you to do.
Listen to Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden’s 2010 album Jasmine
Keith Jarrett, piano
Charlie Haden, double bass
For All We Know
Where Can I Go Without You
No Moon At All
One Day I’ll Fly Away
Intro
I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life
Body And Soul
Goodbye
Don’t Ever Leave Me
BOOKS
A stack of books on my desk. Summer reading:
SUMMERTIME by J.M. Coetzee
YEARS OF RED DUST by Qiu Xiaolong
WANTED WOMEN by Deborah Scroggins
WE CAN ALL DO BETTER by Bill Bradley
SUMMERTIME by J.M. Coetzee
YEARS OF RED DUST by Qiu Xiaolong
WANTED WOMEN by Deborah Scroggins
WE CAN ALL DO BETTER by Bill Bradley
MISSING?
Hey, is it possible we made it through a couple of weeks without hearing anything about (or from) Sarah Palin?
THE EMPTY MITT SPEAKS AND HAS NOTHING TO SAY
There is a two page interview with Mitt Romney in the latest issue of Time magazine. The guy says nothing. It's amazing how the nation can consider replacing Obama with him. There is also a race issue that one needs to mention here. I find it interesting that white opponents of the President often talk about how Obama "doesn't understand" something. I can see having a different viewpoint and perspective from the President but don't talk about the guy's inability to grasp an issue. Couldn't Obama make the case that Romney just doesn't "understand" foreign affairs?
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
NYERE NEWS
SALEM COMMUNITY COLLEGE, NEW JERSEY
Head Coach: Nyere Miller
Miller enters his first season as the Head Men’s Basketball Coach. Miller brings intercollegiate coaching and playing experience to SCC. Most recently, he was the assistant men’s basketball coach at NCAA Division III Widener University for three years. His responsibilities as the assistant men’s basketball coach included: recruiting, player development, student-athlete academic success, scouting reports, and team travel arrangements.
A former Gonzaga College High School basketball standout, Miller then played collegiately at Widener University. The two year captain contributed to his teams’ success with three Commonwealth Conference titles and four appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Miller currently holds the single season steal record (92) and is second in school history with 256 career steals.
A Crisis Specialist for Resources for Human Development, Miller holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in sports management from Widener University.
Head Coach: Nyere Miller
Miller enters his first season as the Head Men’s Basketball Coach. Miller brings intercollegiate coaching and playing experience to SCC. Most recently, he was the assistant men’s basketball coach at NCAA Division III Widener University for three years. His responsibilities as the assistant men’s basketball coach included: recruiting, player development, student-athlete academic success, scouting reports, and team travel arrangements.
A former Gonzaga College High School basketball standout, Miller then played collegiately at Widener University. The two year captain contributed to his teams’ success with three Commonwealth Conference titles and four appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Miller currently holds the single season steal record (92) and is second in school history with 256 career steals.
A Crisis Specialist for Resources for Human Development, Miller holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in sports management from Widener University.
Quote of the Day
When the artist gets into some sort of disagreement with politics why are the politicians designated to be the ones to tell us, the artists, what to do and we're supposed to follow - otherwise we're not good citizens or we're not good?"
- Paul Simon
- Paul Simon
PRISON CLOTHES FOR THE TAYLOR
War-crimes court sentences Charles Taylor to 50 years
LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands — Judges at an international war crimes court have sentenced former Liberian President Charles Taylor to 50 years in prison following his landmark conviction for supporting rebels in Sierra Leone who murdered and mutilated thousands during their country’s brutal civil war in return for blood diamonds, the Associated Press reported.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
BLIND DOG CAFE
I had lunch at the Blind Dog Cafe with my friend Lisa Markuson. She's one of the people behind making this a sweet space in the city. I also met Greer and David - good people who seemed to be blessed with happiness and talent. The food was tasty and the cookie Lisa and I shared was divine. Funny, how many times I passed this place without stopping to go in. This must be a happening spot at night. It has a Cheers feel to it.
www.blinddogcafe.com
www.blinddogcafe.com
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| BLIND DOG CAFE |
HOWARD
(for Stephen Henderson)
I arrive at work early...
Summer just beginning.
The campus is empty.
I hear red flowers singing
near the Fine Arts building.
Where is the blackness
so many talk about
and try to teach?
What is behind the closed
doors and windows?
Who will speak of the hope
buried beneath this earth?
The trees near Douglass Hall
tremble, then lean into history.
- E. Ethelbert Miller
(for Stephen Henderson)
I arrive at work early...
Summer just beginning.
The campus is empty.
I hear red flowers singing
near the Fine Arts building.
Where is the blackness
so many talk about
and try to teach?
What is behind the closed
doors and windows?
Who will speak of the hope
buried beneath this earth?
The trees near Douglass Hall
tremble, then lean into history.
- E. Ethelbert Miller
FROM 2 FEET TO 2 WHEELS. WHY?
I remember riding a tricycle and crashing into a parked car on Longwood Avenue in the South Bronx.
My little bike left a long scratch on the car door. It was the type of incident that made you rush home and hide under the bed. It was the type of incident that makes people hate kids. I know all this now - many years later. I don't know how to drive a car and I never learned how to ride a bike. I was always attracted to faster ways of reaching my destination. I've always been an advocate of good public transportation. I want trains and buses to run on time. I want the Metro service in the black community to be just as good as everywhere else. Nothing worse than seeing Rosa Parks "waiting" for a bus. Our failure to put money into better public transportation has resulted in the birth of the bike people. Why in the 21st century are we so into bikes? It seems so Emerson. Didn't the Wright brothers move from a bike business into airplanes?
My little bike left a long scratch on the car door. It was the type of incident that made you rush home and hide under the bed. It was the type of incident that makes people hate kids. I know all this now - many years later. I don't know how to drive a car and I never learned how to ride a bike. I was always attracted to faster ways of reaching my destination. I've always been an advocate of good public transportation. I want trains and buses to run on time. I want the Metro service in the black community to be just as good as everywhere else. Nothing worse than seeing Rosa Parks "waiting" for a bus. Our failure to put money into better public transportation has resulted in the birth of the bike people. Why in the 21st century are we so into bikes? It seems so Emerson. Didn't the Wright brothers move from a bike business into airplanes?
Monday, May 28, 2012
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Douglas
Brinkley is an American author and professor of history at Rice
University. Brinkley is the history commentator for CBS News and a
contributing editor to the magazine Vanity Fair.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
| "The Poetics of Place" |
| Saturday, June 30 at 2:00pm at Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design |
NEW BOOK from George Ella Lyon
George Ella Lyon sent me her new collection of poems this week.
The title is SHE LET HERSELF GO.
The book is published by Louisiana State University Press
www.lsupress.org
Lyon is my link to the Appalachian part of America. Our friendship is rooted in the poetry of Lee Howard. Lyon's poem "She Let Herself Go" should be required reading for those who wish to live well and go beyond.
The title is SHE LET HERSELF GO.
The book is published by Louisiana State University Press
www.lsupress.org
Lyon is my link to the Appalachian part of America. Our friendship is rooted in the poetry of Lee Howard. Lyon's poem "She Let Herself Go" should be required reading for those who wish to live well and go beyond.
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| GEORGE ELLA LYON |
THE HUNGER
A friend sent me this link. I wrote back the following:
It's
obvious (now) that we are subjects of science experiments. Now and
then things go wrong and a few of us escape from the hidden labs. How
else to explain the hunger?
Saturday, May 26, 2012
CONTEMPORARY WORLD LITERATURE
See link:
http://contemporaryworldliterature.com/
Sam Hamod recently invited me to serve as advisory editor to his publication.
POETS SEND POEMS ALL OTHERS SEND CASH.
http://contemporaryworldliterature.com/
Sam Hamod recently invited me to serve as advisory editor to his publication.
POETS SEND POEMS ALL OTHERS SEND CASH.
THE 7th MILLER CLASSIC
Yep. It's that time of year again. The Miller Classic will be played again at the Bennington Writing Seminars. The game will be held on June 17th. Poets against those long sentence Fiction writers. Winners win a book of poems from the Bennington bookstore. I cover the cost and that's why it's the Miller Classic - everything else is folklore.
 |
| The poet Marianne Moore |
NEW BOOK
PHILLIS WHEATLEY: BIOGRAPHY OF A GENIUS IN BONDAGE
by Vincent Carretta. The University of Georgia Press.
$29.95
by Vincent Carretta. The University of Georgia Press.
$29.95
QUOTE OF THE DAY
An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need to have.
- Andy Warhol
- Andy Warhol
WANDA COLEMAN
I recently received this link from Wanda Coleman:
http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?id=604&fulltext=1#.T7KCNl6yXoo.email
http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?id=604&fulltext=1#.T7KCNl6yXoo.email
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| Poet Wanda Coleman |
OVERCAST AND FALLING?
Is the DC sky becoming too Gray? Political corruption often starts with small air bubbles of truth coming to the surface. Smell the air and tell me what you smell. Sniff. Sniff.
NATS FEVER! CATCH IT.
Can the Nationals take 3 from the Braves? Are we going to see a hot June for this team? Can they play championship baseball before the All-Star game? This team can go far if they have a Cy Young winner and a rookie of the year on their roster. Bryce Harper is having a good impact on this club.
Wonderful energy and performance game after game. I'm watching as many games on television as possible. Will head to the park when the Yankees come to town. I might catch those games on June 15th and 16th. What about you?
Wonderful energy and performance game after game. I'm watching as many games on television as possible. Will head to the park when the Yankees come to town. I might catch those games on June 15th and 16th. What about you?
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| BRYCE HARPER |
| Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Friday, May 25, 2012
THROWBACK
So I'm reading the editorial page of The Final Call (May 15, 2012) and the topic is the upcoming elections.
I can't believe that "still in print" is someone writing about the need to develop a Black United Front. This sounds so retro.How long are Black people going to keep talking about this? What's with the closing of ranks in the 21st century? What are we united against? How do we tell the Front from the Back? Language keeps us not only tongue-tied but our shoes too. It's 2012 and I'm cheering for the Nationals more than the Nationalists. Who has the better record?
I can't believe that "still in print" is someone writing about the need to develop a Black United Front. This sounds so retro.How long are Black people going to keep talking about this? What's with the closing of ranks in the 21st century? What are we united against? How do we tell the Front from the Back? Language keeps us not only tongue-tied but our shoes too. It's 2012 and I'm cheering for the Nationals more than the Nationalists. Who has the better record?
Thursday, May 24, 2012
BRINKLEY AND CRONKITE
I received a text from my friend Doug Brinkley this week. His new book CRONKITE will be out this month.
Brinkley is high on the list of writers I admire. I can't wait to read what I'm certain will be another literary gem.
Brinkley is high on the list of writers I admire. I can't wait to read what I'm certain will be another literary gem.
FROM IPS:
Make a gift to the Institute in Bill O'Reilly's honor.
We will send him a thank you message for every gift we receive!
Here's
the back story: The Institute for Policy Studies was honored this week
to join the long list of respected individuals and organizations that
Bill O'Reilly has attacked on his Fox News show. During the opening
segment of his May 22 tirade, O'Reilly attacked us for serving as the Occupy movement's "headquarters."
He
even implied that some shady authority figure (like ME!) is making
decisions about what color Occupy "agitators" should wear. These are
hilarious claims about a movement that defiantly makes decisions
through the direct participation of all of its members, not any
top-down process.
Of
course, O'Reilly and his colleagues cooked up their theories without
bothering to contact us. We’re grateful for this opportunity to showcase
our proud history.
IPS has provided research and analysis to social movements since our founding in 1963.
When Occupy came on the scene last year, we applauded them for
raising awareness about extreme inequality and how war spending fuels
the economic crisis.
O’Reilly
claimed that the Occupy movement is no longer about inequality. He's
wrong. Occupy continues to highlight the great divide between the 1
percent and the 99 percent, and it continues to draw attention to how a
casino Wall Street has crashed our economy and corrupted our politics.
Starting
last fall, IPS conducted workshops with Occupy DC. We let them use our
conference room for meetings in bad weather. Recently, IPS offered
them space in our offices.
Please help IPS continue to support social movements by donating whatever you can manage – from $9.99 to $9,000. Your gift will be tax-deductible and will help us educate Mr. O’Reilly!
Onward,
John Cavanagh
The Institute for Policy Studies
The Institute for Policy Studies
Poets
Joshua Beckman and Stanley Plumly celebrate the birthday of American
poet Walt Whitman by reading selections from his work and discussing his
influence on their own writing. This event is free and open to the
public. Co-sponsored by the Manuscript Division of the Library of
Congress.
Date: Thursday, May 31, Noon
Location: Whittall Pavilion, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-5394
Date: Thursday, May 31, Noon
Location: Whittall Pavilion, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-5394
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
A DIFFERENT TRAIL OF TEARS
On the front page of The New York Times today is an article about sexual assaults against Native American women. According to the Justice Department one in three Native American women have been raped or have experienced an attempted rape. I shared this newspaper article with my friend and beloved poet Susan Deer Cloud. She wrote back a very moving response and gave me permission to present it in my E-Notes. Here are her words:
Yes, others have told me about it but I've not read the entire article, yet.
Yes, others have told me about it but I've not read the entire article, yet.
I have been aware of Amnesty International statistics on abuse of Native
women going back several years, as well. I just hope that people are
aware that a lot of rapes of Indian women are non-Indian on Indian ....
and, also, that the tragedy is much more widespread than people know
because the statistics focus on reservation people with cards. I know
that you will be appreciative of this because of how so many African
American women have been viewed and mistreated (often these women
also have Native in their lineage) ... there are certain types of men who
think that Indian/Black/Asian women are more sexually passive and not
really altogether human and there for their taking.
Sadly and very tragically there is increasing abuse on the reservations.
Gangs and methamphetamine and other drug use and alcohol abuse have
proliferated ... along with various forms of violence and violations of other
human beings.
I and my dearest Native friend, Barbara Mann, have also been shocked
by some of the behavior of younger men who decide to crown themselves
"warriors." They are actually "big mouths" who don't begin to know what
a real indigenous warrior or any kind of warrior is (real warriors don't attack
women or older women ... and certainly rape did not exist in the Iroquois
Confederacy when this part of Turtle Island was first invaded ... even the
"white man" marveled and wrote about that ... well, let's face it, having
one's balls burned off for rape is not exactly an incentive to other men
to try it).
My relationship to my indigenous lineage is so different from that
of a lot of reservation Indians. There have been other assaults occurring
that are of a really vicious nature, and that is of carded Indians on those
of us whose ancestors managed to escape being caught by soldiers and
bounty hunters and who lay low in mountains and swamps and other
sheltering terrains. Now we have the collateral damage-craziness that
has set in from the Indian Arts and Crafts Act and from the casinos.
I feel so sad about all of this. It will take so much to undo over
five centuries of tragedy and colonization, Christianization (and I'm
sure not talking about Jesus who thought/dreamed like an Indian), and
what I have come to call being "collegized" (I'm referring to some of the
"warriors" who have gone to college and are "deconstructed" into arrogant
disrespectful, degree-waving assholes). I can only hold as much as possible to
what I believe is best for all human beings ... which is simply the path
of love and kindness and gentleness (although I admit I can reach a point
where I'll take up the tomahawk in a manner of speaking).
I have been going back to the Catskills as much as possible.
A lot of Indians grow up urban now and have no experience of closeness
to Mother Earth. I hope that I can write about the way I grew up and
about the non-reservation mountain Indians before I die. I am thinking
about this a lot because I just escaped dying in late January.
Ethelbert 
I hope that we human beings and all of life will be
okay and that we can veer off from all the roads of paving over the sweetness
of life very soon. You and I are of an age where we have experienced so
much ... and I grieve that our dreams from the 1960s have not come to as
much fruition as we may have hoped. Even so, I can see that some of those
dreams have been seen through in a good way.
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| SUSAN DEER CLOUD |
THE LITERARY ACTIVIST
People often want to know what a literary activist does. I place a heavy emphasis on documentation. I think I learned the importance of this when I served as research associate at the Institute for the Arts and Humanities (Howard University) under the leadership of Dr. Stephen Henderson. I started this cultural work in the 1970s. Today one can access my collections and work at the following sites:
Link to the E. ETHELBERT MILLER COLLECTION AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/spec/ead/ms2215.html
Link to the E. ETHELBERT MILLER COLLECTION AT EMORY AND HENRY COLLEGE
http://ehcweb.ehc.edu/archives/miller.html
Link to the E. Ethelbert Miller Collection at the University of Minnesota
http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/scrbg005.xml
Link to the E. Ethelbert Miller Collection at the University of Minnesota
http://special.lib.umn.edu/rare/givens/recent_acq.phtml
Link to June Jordan Letters (over 200) to E. Ethelbert Miller at The Archie Givens Sr. Collection
http://www.givens.org/about-us/the-collection.php
Link to the E-Channel: A one year interview project with novelist Charles Johnson
http://www.ethelbert-miller.blogspot.com
Link to the E. ETHELBERT MILLER COLLECTION AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/spec/ead/ms2215.html
Link to the E. ETHELBERT MILLER COLLECTION AT EMORY AND HENRY COLLEGE
http://ehcweb.ehc.edu/archives/miller.html
Link to the E. Ethelbert Miller Collection at the University of Minnesota
http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/scrbg005.xml
Link to the E. Ethelbert Miller Collection at the University of Minnesota
http://special.lib.umn.edu/rare/givens/recent_acq.phtml
Link to June Jordan Letters (over 200) to E. Ethelbert Miller at The Archie Givens Sr. Collection
http://www.givens.org/about-us/the-collection.php
Link to the E-Channel: A one year interview project with novelist Charles Johnson
http://www.ethelbert-miller.blogspot.com
IPS AND THE REST OF US
After watching the attack on IPS, I sent the note below to John Cavanagh:
Our challenge is twofold -define IPS to the public. Use this opportunity to promote the work of the organization to all Americans. Don't get into a back and forth attack with folks like O'Reilly. In fact we shouldn't even respond to him. Ignoring the Right at times is the best thing to do.
The second thing we have to do is warn folks about this increase of anarchism that is taking place around the world. It's very serious. We have yet to define or examine it. Our failure to define the Left can result in a serious crack in the Left Movement. At the end of day I think we have to present ourselves as a think tank of ideas - ideas linked to peaceful social change. We have to talk about our training of future leaders to embrace non-violence. If we are late on this, we will come early to our own funeral.
E. Ethelbert Miller
Board Chair/ IPS
Our challenge is twofold -define IPS to the public. Use this opportunity to promote the work of the organization to all Americans. Don't get into a back and forth attack with folks like O'Reilly. In fact we shouldn't even respond to him. Ignoring the Right at times is the best thing to do.
The second thing we have to do is warn folks about this increase of anarchism that is taking place around the world. It's very serious. We have yet to define or examine it. Our failure to define the Left can result in a serious crack in the Left Movement. At the end of day I think we have to present ourselves as a think tank of ideas - ideas linked to peaceful social change. We have to talk about our training of future leaders to embrace non-violence. If we are late on this, we will come early to our own funeral.
E. Ethelbert Miller
Board Chair/ IPS
THE VISITING POET
What joy running into Rebecca Villarreal yesterday. She will always be a special friend. I can still remember the two of us bringing home Rebbe (my cat). Here is Rebecca looking as wonderful as ever:
.JPG) |
| REBECCA VILLARREAL. Photo by Ethelbert |
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
FRED JOINER AND COMPANY
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| FRED JOINER |
The Goethe-Institut, The Confucius Institute, and the DC Public Library present Time Shadows - Music Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 6:30 PM Watha T. Daniel / Shaw Library 1630 7th Street NW ( Meeting Room Lower Level) Washington DC 20001 202-727-1288 Join us to celebrate three cultures - Chinese, American, and German - through modern poetry and music. Reading by Fred Joiner and other local poets, accompanied by music.
THE DUTCHMAN FLYING OFF AGAIN
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| AMIRI BARAKA |
When I was young one of the poets I admired was Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones). I might not even be writing (today) if it wasn't for his work. I loved his passion. The guy read his poetry the way James Brown sang. How many of us sweat when we read? Baraka was also a political weather vane telling us which way the wind was blowing. But Baraka also had that school yard wit that embraced the dozens. How many times might this guy talk about your mother? Baraka often wrote with sharp elbows. Who can forget his poem attacking Nikki Giovanni because she decided to visit South Africa? So it didn't surprise me when Baraka sent out this email the other day:
After Corey Booker's traitorous condemnation (on Meet The
Press) of President Obama's ads showing just how far from "Job
Creator" MItt Romney was with his Bain Capital. - Closing
companies and unemploying thousands. This shd make it clear that Booker was,
is and will be a right wing Republican - a Real Public
Coon (AS I HAVE SAID SINCE HE FIRST SHOWED UP IN NEWARK)THE DEMOCRATS
NEED TO FORMALLY BANISH HIM JUST AS WE NEED TO BANISH HIS toxic looking right
wing Negro ass from Newark
forever.
Here we see Baraka "joning" again. Attacking the personal because of the political. Do we need this in 2012?
Not really. I can't agree with everything Barack or Baraka says - and that's the way it should be. But what's with this traitor thing? Did I miss the signing of the black oath? Geez- maybe Baraka dislikes Corey Booker because his last name is Booker. Might that be it? All I know is that we have to be careful with how - we sound. Why use language like darts and spears? It's just tacky. Should we expect more from our elders? I think we should. I remember being upset with my mother and father from time to time. I disagreed with them but never called them traitors. Maybe Baraka who loves black music should stop beating other black men as if they were a drum. Show some love Baraka. Why do you have to be so black and blue?
Presents
A Tribute to the Life of Piri Thomas
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 6:00 pm
Bronx, NY – On Wednesday May 23, 2012, at 6:00 pm, an iconic figure of contemporary American literature will be honored when A Tribute to the Life and Times and Works of Piri Thomas is presented at the Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture at 450 Grand Concourse (at 149th Street).
Sponsored by Hostos Community College, and produced and directed by the
noted poet and author, José Angel Figueroa and co-produced by Elba
Cabrera, this special evening will feature performances of Mr. Thomas’
poetry, as well as works by a broad range of artists, friends, and
people that he influenced. The ‘cast’ includes Amiri Baraka, Miriam Colon Valle, Modesto Lacen, Tato Laviera, and Hilda Rivera-Pantojas & Danza Fiesta, and his wife Suzie Dod Thomas, among others.
Also included in the program will be a remembrance of Louis Reyes
Rivera, another brilliant poet whose voice was stilled earlier this
year.
The
program itself is designed to reflect his love, not just of words, but
of the rainbow-hued people of the urban communities who inspired him.
There will be a screening of the documentary film “Every Child is Born a Poet: The Life and Work of Piri Thomas”
directed by Jonathan Meyer Robinson, and a special presentation from
the digital archives of master photographer, George Malave. Each
individual performance piece, be it dance, poetry, essay, or personal
recollection, will be staged to celebrate the way that he lovingly
embraced language as force of nature. One that he wielded with care
because of his deep and abiding respect for its power.
Piri Thomas burst onto the scene in 1967 with his memoir Down These Mean Streets.
The book’s brutally honest depiction of life as a young Black Puerto
Rican growing up in El Barrio was arguably the first to acknowledge the
experiences of Latinos in urban America. His follow up books Savior, Savior Hold My Hand, and Seven Long Times
helped established him in the literary scene, but his passion for words
led him beyond simple autobiographical narrative and into poetry. And
this is where his profound influence is still found to this day.
A photographic exhibition “ Constructing the Legacy of Piri Thomas” will be on display courtesy of Centro Library and Archives , Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College.
A Tribute to the Life and Times and Works of Piri Thomas at
the Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture promises to be an incredible
evening filled with laughter and tears of joy that come from the depths
of the soul. Come and see for yourself. As Piri would say “CHEVEROTE, PUNTO!”