Information from Joanna Chen

http://www.shearsman.com/ws-shop/category/801-translations/product/6052-agi-mishol---less-like-a-dove

Good News

The DC Public Library System has many of my books. If you have no cash to buy then borrow.
Read poems and relax...a nice way to enjoy one's summer vacation.

The Brooks after a Bend in the River

I can't remember when I stopped watching The News Hour. Listening to David Brooks often made me upset. I must have stopped watching television evening news last year. Has it been that long?  I took issue with much of what Brooks had to say, it didn't matter what the topic was. Brooks reminded me of the type of guy I got tired of listening to when I was traveling. The guy across the aisle who had an opinion on everything because he attended an Ivy League school. Sometimes I would look at the person's clothes and how they dressed became linked to a better understanding of how the world was run. I've been forced my entire life to listen and observe privilege. Whiteness was just a cover for things people wanted to steal in the dark.

Yet lately like sunrise it seems each day I've found something written by David Brooks interesting and on point. I find myself quoting or simply shaking my head in agreement. Brooks the last few months have been asking the big questions behind our problems.  He has introduced a level of ethics and clear thinking that has been missing from our the news now disguised as entertainment. One can learn something from the short op-ed articles Brooks has been publishing in The New York Times.
I read them and they are refreshing like air-conditioning on a hot day in DC.

Dear E. Ethelbert, J. K. Rowling at the 2016 PEN America Literary Gala With the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union, there is an unsettling sense around the globe that the impossible is suddenly possible, and not necessarily in a good way—terrorist attacks in the unlikeliest places, a political season that not even PEN Member Beau Willimon, the creator of House of Cards, could have dreamed up, and a Supreme Court down one and deadlocked on some of the most important issues of our time. At PEN America, we are urging the political parties to ensure media access to campaigns and respect for the First Amendment and press freedom, matters that once seemed beyond question. Bans, insults, and epithets have become an almost accepted dimension of our political process. As I wrote in The Washington Post, our language and categories are failing us when it comes to talking about hateful speech, much less the vital work of doing more to address its consequences. These pressing national questions are buffeting our daily work at PEN America. When we chose Mexico as the focus of this year’s PEN World Voices Festival, we did not know that as we sought to build bridges, others would be calling to erect walls. And when J. K. Rowling agreed to appear at PEN America’s Literary Gala, we did not expect she would be schooling us all on the high cost of easy answers. Rejecting the call to ban Donald Trump from traveling to England, she stood firm for free expression. “I consider him offensive and bigoted,’’ she said. “But he has my full support to come to my country and be offensive and bigoted there. His freedom to speak protects my freedom to call him a bigot. His freedom guarantees mine.” Defending Free Expression The power of international advocacy for human rights was triumphantly in evidence when the indomitable Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova—winner of the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award at PEN America’s 2015 Literary Gala—walked out of prison in May. She was granted a conditional release following months of campaigning by PEN and partner organizations outraged at her conviction on trumped-up charges linked to her groundbreaking exposés of corruption, including revelations confirmed in the recently released “Panama Papers.” In a Skype conversation with PEN America after her release, Khadija spoke of how important the Freedom to Write Award had been in keeping her spirits strong in jail. The 36th imprisoned writer recognized by PEN America’s Freedom to Write Award to be released, Khadija is now speaking out on behalf of the other writers, journalists, and activists still imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Khadija Ismayilova released in May We have stepped up our advocacy and assistance work on behalf of writers and activists under threat in Bangladesh following another spate of murders in April, including of Xulhaz Mannan, a prominent journalist and LGBT rights advocate. PEN America enabled an imperiled blogger Ashif Entaz Rabi to travel to Washington to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner where the ongoing free expression crisis in Bangladesh and PEN America’s work were highlighted from the podium even as the release of Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, whose unjust imprisonment in Iran was the subject of sustained advocacy by PEN America members, was being celebrated. PEN America has continued to lead a coalition of 16 human rights organizations calling on the United Nations Human Rights Council to address Bangladesh at its June session. Celebrating Writers Our 2016 Literary Gala gathered more than 800 supporters to celebrate PEN America and honor champions of literature and free expression. In addition to the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award presented to J. K. Rowling, our annual publishing award was presented by author Donna Tartt to Hachette Book Group CEO and PEN Trustee Michael Pietsch. The PEN/Toni and James C. Goodale Free Expression Courage Award went to LeeAnne Walters and Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the mother and the pediatrician whose brave demands to be heard brought national attention to the lead-tainted water flowing to homes in Flint, Michigan. The PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award was presented to Egyptian writer Ahmed Naji, whose story of imprisonment for writing about sexuality can be seen in the video here. Ahmed’s brother, Mohamed, came to accept the award and, as the evening concluded, guests penned hundreds of heartfelt messages of solidarity for him to take back to Egypt. Each day we release one of these cards via social media (#FreeNaji).   Kathy Bates sends her message of support to Ahmed Naji The Gala garnered extensive media coverage from The Wall Street Journal, Observer, the AP, People, and more, especially for J.K. Rowling's remarks that so meaningfully distilled PEN’s work defending free expression even for views with which we disagree. PEN America President Andrew Solomon offered his reflections on her speech in The Guardian. Also much in view during the evening was the debut of PEN America’s new brand identity, invoking an open book, a “thought bubble” and, through our new tagline, The Freedom to Write, a rallying cry for free expression.   The 12th annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature brought together more than 100 writers from dozens of countries for 70-plus events, performances, lectures, tributes, readings, and conversations in venues across New York’s boroughs. We spotlighted the perils faced by journalists such as Lydia Cacho; the work of visual artist Gabriel Orozco who was in conversation with PEN America Trustee Colm Tóibín; Russian crime fiction writer Boris Akunin in dialogue with Walter Mosley; Fran Lebowitz and Richard Price talking about the state of New York City; and Kwame Anthony Appiah, Marlon James, and Jamaica Kincaid comparing notes on being ‘’expats’’ navigating two cultures. At the “I Wish to Say’’ event in Bryant Park, passersby offered messages for the presidential candidates to writers operating manual typewriters. Capping the week was the Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture delivered by Roxane Gay, joined afterward for a conversation with Saeed Jones of Buzzfeed. Gay spoke of making her way through her upcoming  memoir Hunger and how she invoked “the power of Beyoncé” in this period of “AL – after Lemonade” to overcome her fears.   Roxane Gay delivering the Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture At the 2016 PEN Literary Awards Ceremony earlier in April, Master of Ceremonies Tina Chang welcomed some 500 guests, honorees, and presenters to confer more than $200,000 in prizes. Winners of five of our awards were announced live at the ceremony: the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction to Mia Alvar; the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay to Ta-Nehisi Coates; the PEN Open Book Award to Rick Barot; the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award to Lauren Redniss; and the PEN/FUSION Emerging Writers Prize to Jean Guerrero. Take a look at the celebration here.   PEN America also applauded the work of incarcerated writers during Breakout: Voices from the Inside with readers such as Piper Kerman, Sunil Yapa, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Mitchell S. Jackson, Jeffrey Toobin, and Siri Hustvedt showcasing the winners of the 2015 PEN Prison Writing contest. Coming less than 48 hours after the horrific mass shootings in Orlando, our Members Mingle with LAMBDA Literary to celebrate LGBT Pride took on special significance this year. With writers t’ai freedom ford, Naomi Jackson, Darnell Moore, and Darryl Pinckney co-hosting, the event became an opportunity to come together in mourning and solidarity. As Darryl Pinckney reflected: “This was an attack on secularism everywhere, and the secular values of liberalism: the social equality, intellectual freedom, personal liberation, and political power through coalition that make up this secular will—beliefs that have everything to do with LGBT rights.” More than 600 PEN America supporters participated in the 17th season of our Authors' Evenings, intimate gatherings for literature and conversation. The dinners featured writers including John Waters, Erik Larson, Hanya Yanagihara, Mary Karr, Edna O'Brien, and Fareed Zakaria. There will be more evenings this fall; to find out about attending or hosting please contact Lorna Flynn at lorna@pen.org. For May’s Monthly Member Mingle, we partnered with VIDA: Women in Literary Arts—we love their mission of elevating contemporary writing by women.  We have just launched PEN Live series with Nothing Compares 2 U, a tribute to music icon Prince hosted by historian Zaheer Ali with readings from Porochista Khakpour, James Yeh, Lincoln Michel, and Elissa Schappell. Next month, the theme will be “Stump Speech,” another chance to consider the importance of free speech and satire in today’s political climate hosted by Haroon Moghul, author of the novel The Order of Light and an upcoming memoir How to be a Muslim: An American Story. You can get the details on the July 7 event here. As we start a summer that seems bound to be steamy in more ways than one, I look forward to your thoughts on how PEN America can best bring light amid the heat. With warm regards, Suzanne Nossel Executive Director

What?

There are many things I just don't understand, for example who came up with the idea of having Lil Wayne pour champagne on his phone?  Please tell me race had nothing to do with this. I also don't understand why we keep wanting to discuss the levels and degrees of President Obama's blackness.
How many years has this been going on?  Eight?  What?  Why do we keep "pouring" blackness on Obama presidency?  In the New York Times today, one can find "The President of Black America?"
by Michael Eric Dyson. This comes close to recycled journalism and analysis. I had problems with Dyson using the word "flawed" when describing the president. There is something about the word that makes one human. If the president is imperfect is it because of his character or his policies? Strange for an "imperfect" president to work so hard to have a more perfect union. Is there such a thing as a race flaw?  Many years ago I thought it was a black person with a jerry curl. The last I looked the president's hair was only turning gray.

In his essay, Dyson mentions he twice worked hard to get the president elected. What did he do?
Stuff envelopes and go door to door?  I remember when I learned President Obama wrote poetry. I suddenly felt very close to him. I wanted every speech he gave to be well written and poetic. Maybe before we ask if Obama is a Black president, we should determine if he is a poet or a black poet.
Would this make things easier for history?

In the 21st century why should President Obama have to highlight black suffering?  We keep throwing the "Dyson" at this question. Simply talking about race has become a cottage industry for black intellectuals. My working class mother and father didn't need pundits to explain racism or race relations to them. When their backs hurt and the money in their pockets subtracted itself from a hole, they turned to face each morning as blues people, trying to make a way out of no way. I majored in African American Studies when I went to college. Today there are many black books published about race I have no intention of reading, for the simple reason that these texts are not visionary. They might have a cute title but that's just gimmick marketing. We are not going to progress on slogans and sweet couplets.

From the moment President Obama took his oath, the black intellectual had no tool or way of measuring his importance or impact on society. Think of Obama as one of the Wright brothers - convincing folks that the airplane is coming. Here was a black man elected to the most powerful office in the world. I doubt this was what Stokely was thinking about when he shouted "Black Power." What if we began to see Obama as another Einstein. Do you think we might be able to travel faster than the speed of light?  Or would we be held back by the gravity of our blackness?

Meanwhile, Lil Wayne sticks his phone in the fish bowl and is surprised that it still works.
How many black people continue to look at President Obama still shocked that he was ever elected?

What?

Howdy Doody Time

Our world is filled with sacred nonsense. We love a tribe as much as 13 colonies. Any type of world federation or union is always suspicious. After Britexit I guess comes Texas.

Maryland and Washington, DC premieres of Raising Bertie Saturday, June 25 - 1:45pm AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center 8633 Colesville Road Silver Spring, MD 20910 Sunday, June 26 - 3pm Landmark E Street Cinema 421 7th St., NW Washington, DC 20004 Join filmmakers Margaret Byne, Ian Kibbe with  Reginald “Junior” Askew, David “Bud” Perry, Davonte “Dada” Harrell for Q&A following the AFI DOCS screenings of Raising Bertie Tickets and festival information available at afidocs.com ABOUT Raising Bertie is a tender portrait of the lives of three young boys: Reginald “Junior” Askew, David “Bud” Perry, and Davonte “Dada” Harrell as they face a precarious coming of age in the rural community of Bertie, North Carolina. When the supportive community school they attend is forced to close, the boys must navigate a path of their own, which they hope will lead them away from the cycles of racism and poverty that threaten to engulf their lives.  Directed by Margaret Byrne (a cinematographer on American Promise) through production collaborative Kartemquin Films (The Interrupters, Life Itself), Raising Bertie world premiered in April 2016 at Full Frame. It has screened to acclaim at the Sarasota, Ashland, and Bentonville Film Festivals. "Astounding and powerful” (Indiewire), the film "brilliantly weaves the young men’s stories together, as they transition from their teens into manhood, engaged in a shared struggle for social and economic survival," (Huffington Post Black Voices), and is “beautifully filmed” (The Guardian). Visit RaisingBertie.com facebook.com/RaisingBertieFilm @Raising Bertie

Playing Ball and Writing at Bennington

Tomorrow (4PM) will be the 11th Miller Classic softball game at the Bennington Writing Seminars.
A literary clash between poets and fiction writers.
I began sponsoring this event as a way of having fun on the literary playing field.
No need for a genre to be left outside the game.

Go Poets!

ARE YOU HAPPY SO SEE ME OR IS THAT JUST A GUN IN YOUR POCKET?

In a few days the media will move to their next story.  Orlando will be left with a new identity similar to Dallas after the Kennedy assassination. It's amazing how quickly we moved from Muhammad Ali's life, funeral and interfaith messages back to staring at Muslims with fear. Oh, and let's not talk about gun control and the NRA again. We tend to be vampires and no amount of blood is going to prevent us from not loving blood. There will be more mass killings with guns before the year is out. Pick a city, a school or a workplace. Meanwhile do the black math in Chicago. Black people dying without headlines - like guppies we seem to eat our young. If we desire gun change in our society we will have to depart from our history and mythology. We hold dear the right of the individual to arm and harm. There is something so sadly American about this. Can you imagine John Wayne giving up his gun? Of course not. Did Dirty Harry carry a knife?If you want to talk about the need for gun control then talk to the old buffalo community. Listen to their stories. Well, let's get back to Clinton's email and the wall Trump wants to build so we can't see Mexico. We love a good story as much as we love cookies and milk before bedtime. We are not serious when it comes to gun control or putting an end to violence in our society. Yet, we still fear things that go bump in the night. We are starting to believe there is a Muslim hiding under every bed waiting to harm us. It might be time for adults to turn the lights back on.

Book Launch: The Butler’s Child

A Politics and Prose DC book launch with author and IPS board member Lewis M. Steel, whose new book tells his personal story of a Warner Brothers family grandson who spent more than fifty years as a fighting, no holds barred civil rights lawyer.

June 22 @ 6:30 pm

Busboys & Poets – 14th& V
2021 14th Street NW 
Washington , DC United States
+ Google Map

Join IPS board member and civil rights lawyer Lewis M. Steel for a Politics and Prose discussion, Q&A, and signing of his new book, The Butler’s Child: An Autobiography.

The Butler’s Child is the personal story of a Warner Brothers family grandson who spent more than fifty years as a fighting, no holds barred civil rights lawyer. Lewis M. Steel explores why he, a privileged white man, devoted his life to seeking racial progress in often uncomprehending or hostile courts.

Lewis speaks about his family butler, an African American man named William Rutherford, who helped raise Lewis, and their deep, but ultimately troubled relationship, as well as how Robert L. Carter, the NAACP’s extraordinary general counsel, became Lewis’ mentor, father figure and lifelong close friend.

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Events from the Institute for Policy Studies: Ideas into Action for Peace, Justice, and the Environment

Father’s Day Connections

Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer

At the beginning of the school year I gave my 102 College Composition students the assignment to read Ethelbert Miller’s memoir Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer. The book traces Miller’s journey from his childhood in the Bronx to his education at Howard University and ultimate career as a gifted writer and literary activist. I told my students I wanted them to read Ethelbert’s memoir and look for their own story in his.

My students took my challenge seriously; over the course of the semester they explored issues of identity and self-invention, family roles and parenting, grief and loss, and goal setting and perseverance. “Why name the book Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer?” I asked my class during one of our last discussions of the memoir.

“Maybe to emphasize Ethelbert Miller made himself who he is today because he knew he was meant to be a writer, despite what others thought he should do with his life?” One student offered.

From the back row, a shy student who spoke very little during the semester raised his hand.

“I think the title is stressing the idea of “fathering.” Some of us grow up with fathers who are supportive and communicate to us that we are valued. Other fathers simply don’t know how to express themselves, and we can live without ever knowing how they feel. My dad only talks to me during the TV commercials of football games. I wish we had a better relationship, but I’m not sure how to change it. It’s like having an absent father—he’s sitting right next to me, but it doesn’t feel like he’s there. Then I think of those who have fathers who already died; they can never get the answers they need from their fathers. I still have time with my father, so maybe I need to try harder to connect with him. I think “fathering words” is not so much about what is passed on to you by your father, but what you do with how much or how little you have been given. In the end, our stories become the words we father for ourselves.”

This Father’s Day, get two copies of Ethelbert Miller’s Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer. Give one copy as a gift, keep the other for yourself. Whether you want to celebrate, repair, or remember your relationship with your father, I extend my challenge to you—

Read Ethelbert’s memoir and ask yourself, where is your story in his?

-Kirsten Porter

Professor of Composition

Marymount University

ORLANDO NO LONGER DISNEY WORLD BUT OUR WORLD

We report the dead and the wounded as if we are suddenly shocked by the violence in our society. We say prayers for the survivors while taking sides as to what we should do. The result is we do nothing. We search for explanations and clues without first looking in the mirror. It's easy to blame a religion as it is to point a finger or pull a trigger. But what is this thing -we call man?  Is it a beast that walks on two feet with a hunger for blood? Full moon over our innocence tonight. The stars no longer whisper about forgiveness.

IS THE KEY IN THE WRONG DOOR?

When I started reading black poetry in the late 1960s the word revolution could be found in much of the work. Growing up the word (for me) was linked to the American Revolution, French Revolution and the Russian Revolution. For some reason I also associated the word with snow on the ground and hungry people on the march. The revolution was always overthrowing the rich and powerful.

In the 1960s the idea of revolution became popular with the bearded one known as Fidel and the romantic Che. One had to love just saying the name Che. He looked so much like Jesus in photographs and many converted to his ideas and beliefs. How many thought they could come out of the mountains and takeover cities? If Havana could be taken why not Philadelphia or DC.  I call this romancing the nonsense. Amiri Baraka was a witness to the early days of the Cuban revolution and wrote about it in Home, a book of essays.

When I first heard Bernie Sanders calling for a "political revolution" the language sounded as antiquated as the word socialism. If we are aware that our economic systems (including capitalism) have failed, why do we cling to outdated language? Why do we try to define the future by examining the garbage of the past?  Is this the danger of recycling?

What Sanders has opened the door to is simply political reform not political revolution.  The word "reform" is the girl standing against the wall at one of those old house parties. The overlooked person holding a warm cup of punch. Reform is not the sexy one in the room - it's her classmate - Revolution. So we never take time to see the beauty of reform or understand her character.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked Katrina vanden Heuvel the question - what does Bernie Sanders want?  This was the old bluebook question that folks threw at Jesse Jackson when he ran for president. Jackson made changes to the primary system as well as the Democratic Party. He also pushed for Ron Brown to lead it.

In 2016 what will Sanders do?  I never caught the Bern. He reminded me  too much of the popular humanities professor in a small college who can't find your term paper on his crowded desk. Sanders I felt was an outgrowth of the Occupy Movement and the young people who changed the narrative of our nation. But changing a narrative is too often linked to storytelling where we want the happy ending. Unfortunately the present remains a dangerous place to live. The world is fragile. Even the small gains ushered in by Obama could be quickly overturned next year. We fail ourselves if we compromise with old language. We fail ourselves if we refuse to observe the motion of history - the gradual steps made by the winds of reform.

Our technology has increased the speed by which we think and act. We are losing the patience that is often associated with reflection. We turn first to our youth instead of our elders.
The young have the knowledge of how things work, but it's the elders who still have ownership over the keys to history. We have the choice of unlocking the door or simply knocking it down.

FOR FATHER'S DAY

Here is an excerpt from my memoir FATHERING WORDS: THE MAKING OF AN AFRICAN AMERICAN WRITER:

Once I caught my father kneeling, praying in his bedroom. It was before he was to have an operation on his lungs. I was still in college, home for a few days. The house was like Yankee Stadium after the loss of a close game. Everyone was caught in the moment of thinking about their performance. How could they lose? My mother, always a pillar of strength, had been picked off first base and caught in a rundown. How could she live without my father? We were running toward second when my father became sick.

My mother and sister confronted me about school  You better get a job or come home. Don't be wasting our money with this foolish idea about becoming a writer. We didn't send you off to college to do that. Don't you see your father is sick?

https://www.amazon.com/Fathering-Words-Making-African-American/dp/1574780565/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465640887&sr=8-1&keywords=fATHERING+WORDS

Books On My Summer Reading List

1.Mike Tyson Slept Here by Chris Huntington
2.Letters from Langston: From the Harlem Renaissance to the Reds Scare and Beyond 
    edited by Louise Crawford and MaryLouise Patterson
3.The Narrow Door by Paul Lisicky
4. Back From The Dead by Bill Walton

Hopefully by the end of this weekend I'll finish reading Trust Me I'm Lying: Confessions of A Media Manipulator by Ryan Holiday. Thanks Michon for recommending this book to me several days ago.

Call for Submissions Split This Rock Poem of the Week Open to Split This Rock Festival Attendees & Presenters Submit by June 19, 2016     We are now accepting submissions for Split This Rock's Poem of the Week Series which publishes a contemporary poem online each week.  Submit up to 3 poems via Submittable by June 19, 2016.   Who Can Submit: This call is only open to poets who attended and/or presented at Split This Rock Poetry Festival: Poems of Provocation & Witness 2016 AND who do not yet appear in The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database -- the anthology of poems of provocation and witness at Split This Rock's website .   What We're Looking For: We're looking for socially engaged poems of provocation and witness, poems on topics such as (but not limited to) identity, community, civic engagement, politics, economics, government, war, leadership, education, activism, history, Americana, and cultural icons.  We are especially interested in themes currently under-represented in The Quarry, poems on themes such as (but not limited to) Indigenous life and resistance, disability issues, working class issues, poverty and inequality, international perspectives, transgender and genderqueer themes. Read the full list of guidelines at Split This Rock's website or Submittable page. Accessibility: If Submittable is not accessible to you, please contact us at info@splitthisrock.org for instructions on how to e-mail your submission. It is important that we know about your situation before receiving your mailed or emailed entry. Please allow sufficient time for your submission to be received.

Submit To Poem of the Week

----------------------------------------------------Split This Rock | 1301 Connecticut Ave, NW | Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20036 | 202-787-5210

THE HOUSE OF CLINTON AGAINST THE TRUMP CARD

Time to make history again?  Clinton's election to the White House will be just as important as what Obama accomplished. In our changing society we must move forward and not backwards. We keep getting distracted by the small things. We form our opinions of political candidates from diet soft drinks of information. We get the sugar blues from consuming nonsense. It was nice that Sanders ran for president. He did better than many would have expected. But let's not "Nader" ourselves and ignore the real politics of governing our society. We have work to do and political gains to protect. No candidate is going to be perfect. Many of the things spoken on the campaign trail cannot be turned into working policies without full debate and government agreement. A change in Congress is just as important as a change in the White House. One can't ignore how important the next judges we select for the Supreme Court will be. Let's not view politics as a game show and a personality contest.

Don't let lies circulate and continue to flush the truth away from sanity.  The media creates drama and suspense. It's hungry for that first Trump/Clinton debate. It's just a matter of time before the media tells us one of the following groups or states is going to determine the election. Make your own list.

Here's mine based on what I expect the media to tell me is theirs:

The election will be decided by Youth, Women, Latinos, the state of Ohio, angry white men and who Beyoncé supports. Really?

No, the election will be decided by good Americans who are decent and uphold positions of tolerance and civility. Our election will be won by the type of people who today are the new abolitionists, civil rights workers, and caretakers of the ill. Our task is to elect Clinton to the high office, while we continue to do the day to day community work on the local level. This is not a one person show.  We are electing a President not a Pope. Yet, should we vote or sin?  Do we sin if we fail to vote? Is it time to be born again?   Your choice  - I made mine.  Oh, and I do remember the days of slavery. Maybe the next John Brown returns wearing a dress.

E- Thoughts

The ego is such a fragile thing.  I think about how much time I have left here. The next 2-3 years I plan to downsize and let go of things first and then air.

It has been a lonely life.

I'm tired of the same equations we keep repeating in our heads. There are no answers to racism or violence. There are only circles and more circles.  Love is water splashing and spilling on us - love is what evaporates. It's the blues that too often stains us. Spots left on our souls which we try to cover with flesh. I'm a stranger knocking on the window and not the door.

E-Note: Read and Listen for the following delays...

Welcome to the Third Rail and Third World.  I don't drive so I'm dependent on public transportation for getting around. I tend to arrive at my destination an hour early. I guess I'll have to make that two now for the next several months. I see myself only going downtown  once a week. The Metro crisis might encourage more businesses to let their employees work from home. Why have your staff spending more time commuting than attending meetings?

Look for hot ugly moments beneath the surface this summer. Imagine yourself in a crowded car with the train not moving. Body to body and odor to odor. What might be the some of the racial implications for the slow down and all deliberate speed?  Young black kids won't be able to spread their legs and control two seats on the Metro. Will this be like banning the drum in Congo Square? What will happen to black speech and behavior?  Will folks become more aggressive and shout a few hot MFs in the air - just to create more space for black butts on train cars? Or will people just verbal abuse someone into waiting another 28 minutes for the next ride?  Oh, and let's discuss the laws of physics. How long can a white person stand before refusing to sit next to a black person?

Well, it's just June but I have a feeling Metro Center is gonna be hotter than July.

New York Journal of Books

Yesterday I was invited to review books for the New York Journal of Books.  I see it as a good way to stay current with the new poetry and memoir books coming out.  Here is a link to their site:http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/

MUHAMMAD ALI

http://muhammadali.com/

'It was my honor to meet Muhammad Ali twice: First, at the Virginia Film Festival in 1986, and in Washington, the early 1990s when he lived above me at the same DC hotel, the Capitl Hill. Brother Ali turned up in full tuxedo grandeur at the film festival in Charlottesville. Authors Norman Mailer and George Garrett were there; Sissy Spacek, Sam Sheppard, Robert Altman, Ossie Davis, and Samuel Goldwin, Jr. Ali emitted a soft glow and smiled so warmly when we shook hands that I could feel his playful spirit. Mind you, this event was black-tie big-time. But because I hadn't read closely the elegant invitation, I showed up in my writer's corduroy suit. When I apologized to the hostess, she laughed and said, "Oh, you don't have to wear black-tie. You ARE Black." George Garrett couldn't stop laughing. While Ali, my hero, also thought this gracious remark funny, he beamed back at me such a ray of sympathy and compassion that, even in this hour of loss, I smile and brush the tears.'
-- Al Young-

'FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, STING LIKE A BEE' -- Black Superman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGhXaBLIBso

POEMS OF MUHAMMAD ALI -- Articles, Quotes -- Poetry Soup http://www.poetrysoup.com/Muhammad_Ali

ON THE MARGIN WPFW 89.3

 If you missed some of my ON THE MARGIN radio programs, you can access them by going to: www.wpfw.org    Click on Archived programs and then scroll down to On The Margin which airs every Thursday at 9AM.

Here is the list of guests who have been ON THE MARGIN:

Bridget Warren/ Brian Gilmore/Kenneth Carroll (April 14^th)

Teresa Mei Choc (April 21^st)

Fred Joiner (April 28^th)

Jonetta Barras and Dan Moldea (May 5^th)

Katrina vanden Heuvel (May 12^th)

Muhammad Fraser Rahim (May 19^th)

Grace Cavalieri and Cori Thomas (May 26^th)

Kyle Dargan (June 2)