NEWS FROM IPS: An essay by John Cavanagh and Sarah Anderson.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090921/cavanagh_anderson
John Cavanagh (Executive director of IPS) will be speaking at Howard University on October 19th at 3PM in the African American Studies Resource Center, Founders Library, Room 300.

THE LITTLE e-NOTE: The 1 Question Interview.

Martin Duberman, founder of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at CUNY.

The Question: What new areas in Gay Studies need to be explored by future scholars?

LGBT Studies, as compared with most fields of scholarly inquiry, is still so new that vast areas remain to be explored. Even in such a field as Greek pederasty, which has been comparatively well studied, we still cannot answer basic questions: How common were adult male sexual relationships? Is there any hope that we can still learn more about lesbianism--about which we have scant information? And so it goes. In a real sense, we know less about historical questions relating to sex and gender, than more. A great deal of work remains to be done.

GOLDEN:

This morning I interviewed novelist Marita Golden at the DC Jewish Community Center. We discussed her recent trip to Israel. Our interview was organized by the DC Public Libraries and will become a podcast. Marita is giving a talk at Martin Luther King Memorial Library on September 15th at 6:30 PM. The title of her talk is: " A Black Woman Writer in Israel: My Own Piece of the Middle East." The King Library is located at 901 G Street, NW.

WWW.MARITAGOLDEN.COM

THE LITTLE e-NOTE: The 1 Question Interview.

Jeffrey B. Perry, biographer of Hubert Harrison.

Question: Does your research on Hubert Harrison require scholars teaching the

Harlem Renaissance (or New Negro Movement) to revise their curriculum?

I think the life and work of Hubert Harrison will prompt curricula revisions regarding both the “New Negro Movement” and the “Harlem Renaissance.”

The New Negro:

Most people associate “The New Negro” with Alain Locke’s 1925 publication of that title.
In 1917 Hubert Harrison founded the first organization, The Liberty League, and the first newspaper, The Voice, of the self-identified “New Negro Movement.” In 1919 Harrison edited The New Negro, a monthly magazine “intended as an organ of the international consciousness of the darker races—especially the Negro race.” In 1920 Harrison became principle editor of the Negro World, the paper of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association. Historian Tony Martin points out in Literary Garveyism that by 1920 “the Negro World [under Harrison’s editorship] was already well on its way to becoming the focal point of a mass pre-occupation with the arts, especially poetry, unequalled by any of the better known publications of the Harlem Renaissance.” Garvey expert Robert A. Hill considers the Garvey Movement a major component of the New Negro Movement, recognizes Harrison as the founder of the first newspaper (The Voice) of that movement, and emphasizes that the demand for a “political voice” distinguished Harrison’s leadership from that of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois and was the cornerstone of the New Negro Movement, which Harrison founded.

Familiarity with the work of Harrison clearly suggests an earlier origin of the “New Negro Movement” than that associated with Locke’s “New Negro” (1925). It also suggests more of a basis in socio-political struggle, the importance of many other people not usually recognized, and more of a national and international perspective. I expect study of “The New Negro” to increasingly move in these directions and I believe such movement is already underway in the work of a number of younger scholars.

Background:

By late 1916, Harrison’s experiences with the “white race first” policies of the socialist and labor movements convinced him of the need for a “race-first,” race-conscious, political perspective for Black Americans. The final steps in this direction were made through the frontier of art as Harrison wrote several theater reviews in which he described how the “Negro Theatre” revealed the “social mind” of the race and offered a glimpse of “the Negro’s soul as modified by his social environment.”

With his new “race-first” approach Harrison served over the next few years as the founder and intellectual guiding light of the “New Negro Movement”—the race-conscious, internationalist, mass-based, autonomous, militantly assertive movement for “political equality, social justice, civic opportunity, and economic power,” which laid the basis for the Garvey movement and contributed so significantly (especially with his book reviews and “poetry for the people”) to the social and literary climate leading to the 1925 publication of Alain Locke’s well-known The New Negro. Harrison’s mass-based political movement, however, was qualitatively different from the more middle-class, arts-based, apolitical movement associated with Locke.

In June and July 1917 Harrison founded the first organization, The Liberty League, and the first newspaper, The Voice, of the self-identified “New Negro Movement.” The movement was based in social and political activism, but was also extremely literary. The publications that Harrison edited – The Voice (1917-1918), New Negro (1919), Negro World (1920), Voice of the Negro (1927) – were extraordinarily literary. They each contained “Poetry for the People” and “Book Review” sections and Harrison was continually encouraging and publishing the works of lesser-known artists and writers. Among those he encouraged and promoted early are Andy Razaf, J. A. Rogers, Lucian B. Watkins, Walter Everette Hawkins, Claude McKay, Charles Gilpin, Sol Plattje, Eubie Black, and Augusta Savage.

Regarding the national and international scope. Hubert Harrison co-headed the 1918 Liberty Congress—a major WWI Black protest effort with participants from 35 states. The Negro World under Harrison’s editorship had wide national and international circulation and impact and included the book review, “Poetry for the People,” and “West Indian News Notes” sections that he started. Harrison wrote and spoke knowledgeably on Africa, the Caribbean, and international events as evidenced in his editing of, and writings in, The Voice, The New Negro, and the Negro World.

Harlem Renaissance:

Regarding the “Harlem Renaissance” (in addition to the above comments on "The New Negro"), Harrison raises important questions about the accuracy of the phrase and the nature of the “Renaissance” and about who is included and who is overlooked by such conceptualization.
Harrison questioned the “Renaissance” concept on the grounds of its willingness to take “standards of value ready-made from white society” and on its claim to being a significant new rebirth. (He maintained “there had been an uninterrupted,” though ignored, “stream of literary and artistic products” flowing “from Negro writers from 1850” into the 1920s.)

One Example – Harrison as a Book Reviewer:

One example of the “ignored ‘stream’” is the work of Harrison himself. Hubert Harrison was reportedly the first regular Black reviewer in history. Almost 70 Harrison reviews and approximately 700 writings have been located. He was brilliant and wide ranging, yet one would be hard-pressed to find a course dealing with literary criticism that even mentions Harrison.
Harrison’s 1921 review of The Emperor Jones with Charles Gilpin in the lead and Eugene O’Neill’s laudatory and insightful response would seem to be the stuff of any serious study of literary criticism of the period.
Harrison wrote two front page New York Times “Saturday Review of Books” pieces on literary criticism in 1907 (he was 24 at the time and working in the Post Office).

Two National Board Members, Scott McLemee and Eric Banks, of the National Book Critics Circle, have recently called attention to Harrison’s insightful thoughts on book reviewing and prominently quoted the following passage written by Harrison in 1922 --

"In the first place, remember that in a book review you are writing for a public who want to know whether it is worth their while to read the book about which you are writing. They are primarily interested more in what the author set himself to do and how he does it than in your own private loves and hates. Not that these are without value, but they are strictly secondary. In the next place, respect yourself and your office so much that you will not complacently pass and praise drivel and rubbish. Grant that you don’t know everything; you still must steer true to the lights of your knowledge. Give honest service; only so will your opinion come to have weight with your readers. Remember, too, that you can not well review a work on African history, for instance, if that is the only work on the subject that you have read. Therefore, read widely and be well informed. Get the widest basis of knowledge for your judgment; then back your judgment to the limit.”

In addition, Harrison’s 1907 description of four types of criticism in the New York Times is similarly thought provoking. He described four different types of criticism ranging from simple impressionism to what he termed “creative criticism,” which “creates new current of thought.” Criticism, he explained, could be regarded as either science or art, but in either case “it has its laws and methods which must be followed if any good results are to be obtained.” The first and lowest form of criticism was impressionism in which “the critic consults no general principle of the art, (or science,) but receives an impression.” This subjective method was the “method of the man in the street,” the admirer, the “essentially uncritical mind.” Next was comparative criticism in which the critic compared two literary productions. Third was interpretive criticism, “in which the critic expounds the work of an author, gives that which is written between the lines, and helps the reader to understand more readily.” Fourth and “highest of all” to Harrison was creative criticism, which had been defined by the English critic Matthew Arnold and “creates new currents of thought to act as points of departure.”

In the New York Times Harrison also quite succinctly described the characteristics of what he considers to be a competent book review. A good review needed to explain the author’s purpose and judge whether it was attained. It also had to summarize the thesis or plot and explain “in what spirit the author’s work is done—in short, it must tell what the book is.” The purpose of such a review, he maintained, was to enable the casual reader to decide whether or not it is worthwhile to read the book.

Food for Thought for Students:

Finally, Harrison’s 1919 message to the youth could easily be recommended for, and included in, curricula on “The New Negro,” “The Harlem Renaissance,” and many other subjects. He advises,
“Prepare by knowing; and never think you know until you have listened to ten others who know differently -- and have survived the shock. . . . Never bow the knee to Baal because Baal is in power; never respect wrong and injustice because they are enshrined in ‘the sacred institutions of our glorious land’; . . . Read, reason, and think on all sides of all subjects . . . . And set it before you, as a sacred duty always to surpass the teachers that taught you.”

It's Not Rocket Science


There is really no need for the Obama Administration to send more troops to Afghanistan. The best reason can be found on the front page of The New York Times. If the US goal is to prevent Afghanistan from being a base to launch terrorist operations, then that can be halted or contained by the aggressive use of Predator drones, and other high tech equipment. Remember Rumsfeld? He was big on the robotic military and reaching a point where there was no reason to place American troops in harms way. Are we there yet?

What's wrong with this statement?

Luckily, we are not yet at a point where the Right is scaring people in the streets of American cities, but they are doing so through the media. What is needed is a vigorous challenge in the media from liberals and progressives, and the obvious place from which that should be coming is the Obama Administration.

- Rabbi Michael Lerner

Folks are not really scaring people by using the media. Much of this stuff isn't politics it's entertainment. It helps sell newspapers and keeps folks on the airwaves. Are we talking jobs? Yes, we are. Republicans have to eat too. Do you think folks were going to leave the Bush Administration and join food and unemployment lines? No, there are book shelfs of memoirs coming out the next three years. These books (that no one will read) will be promoted through the media and we will chat about them for a few weeks. Fat advances that could be used to publish poetry will be wasted.

We also need to acknowledge that many Americans no longer obtain news and information from media dinosaurs. Obama's base, for example is not network news. It's difficult to tell what's going on in America right now. We still have yet to measure the Obama tremors within the US. We can see the impact overseas - in Iran as well as Japan. But what is going on within the US? Republicans are looking at 2010 as if it was the fifties. They are hoping for a return to normalcy.
But what if America has shifted from the Right to the Left - primarily because of a new generation of Americans? The last people to tell us this will be the poll watchers. The last time I looked neither Guilliani or Clinton were president of the US. So much for polls. Which brings us back to today. Obama's goal is not to please the Left or Right. His job and historical challenge is to govern. Listening to the Left these days sounds like the North trying to punish the South after the Civil War. Do you want to be as crazy as a Fox (News)?

THE O WATCH: Black and Brown and Blue(s) all over.

It's time for many of us to unplug. Ask yourself this question, how much time did you spend wondering what President Bush was doing? I'm certain there were days and weeks when you just forgot about him and assumed the country was running itself and even 2 wars - without too many problems. We seem to be suffering from Obama Fever. Each week we place his presidency in crisis or see it as being endangered. We see every attack as being unfair, although it's fair to interpret a number of the attacks as being racist and the continuation of some whites being afraid of the dark and dark people. But do I digress, yes I digress. Sooner or later we all have to pull a Barney Frank and talk down some of this nonsense. It might be best for Obama to be invisible (not difficult for black people) in 2010. Let the important upcoming Congressional elections be about ideas and not personalities. If not, the Right Wing is going to turn Obama into Willie Horton with a veto. I don't see this Socialist label lasting past Christmas. Do you? I do fear however things turning nasty around the issue of immigration reform. Look for the Republican Party to disguise itself as a peace and isolationist group soon. Slogans like America for the Americans might come into vogue. Is States Rights back on the grill? If sane moderates fail to regain control of the Republican Party, then look and listen for chants for a third party with yell and wear brown shirts. Yes, what I fear is the "browning" of America. Van Jones forced resignation from the Obama Administration is the death of green. Looks like there might not be too many colors left to choose from.

POETRY:


Adam Tavel recently invited me to submit some work to Conte- an online
magazine. Tavel serves as the poetry editor. Here is the link:
http://www.conteonline.net/

The poem I submitted can be found by going to:
http://www.conteonline.net/issue0501/p06.shtml

New Movie To See:

DISGRACE based on the novel by J. M. Coetzee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIL9iQmlmik

THE LITTLE e-NOTE: The 1 Question interview.

Wanda Coleman, poet.

The Question: Where do you place your own work in the history of African American poetry?

My first interview and critical review of my writing was conducted in the early 80s by Professor Tony Magistrale, University of Vermont, Burlington. He is not an African-American. His second article on me appeared in American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies (Scribner’s, 2002). Why, I wondered, hadn’t “one of my own” written seriously about me in the twenty-year interval, during which I had published thirteen books and hundreds of poems? When Absinthe reviewed my book Mercurochome, nominated for the 2002 National Book Award in poetry, it summarized me this way: "We can state with a fond degree of security that Wanda Coleman stands as a vital and important figure in modern American poetry." In a belated review of my second and third books Imagoes (1983) and Heavy Daughter Blues: Poems & Stories 1968—1986, theatre director and book reviewer Joel Gersmann (recently deceased) declared back in 1989 that: "Coleman is America's greatest living poet under age 50." In her analysis of my poem "Wanda Why Aren't You Dead," (Break Blow Burn, 2005), Camille Paglia said: "Coleman's vernacular is so alive it practically jumps off the page." Forty years of validations (John Ashbery, John Gardner, Marilyn Hacker, Adrienne Rich, M.L. Rosenthal) have echoed these statements, and have made it considerably easier for me to locate myself within the larger context of American literature.

But when it come to the category of African-American poetry (and prose), I find myself in a rather ugly dither, often victimized by shoddy scholarship and calculated ignorance. Ironically, our Black subculture, from which cries for “freedom” come loudest and longest, always seems to produce a number of critics whose agendas are to punish or silence our exceptional individuals for the very act of exercising intellectual freedom. With few exceptions (among them yourself, Ishmael Reed, Kalamu Ya Salaam, Terry McMillan, Terrence Hayes), the overseers or tastemakers who influence Black readerships have not embraced my work—either to review it or bring it into the classroom, or into national forums—and seem to disapprove of me for a number of odd reasons, many having little or nothing to do with the quality of my writing. I would list them thusly: Regional bias (I'm from the West Coast—“the deep West” of Southern California), I write in many different styles (instead of one that's easily familiar), I have strong opinions and use strong language (often putting "our ethnic business" in the streets and/or disagreeing with sanctioned spokesfolk), the structural complexities of my work are often confusing (thus often categorized as experimental to the negative), I don’t shy away from the erotic. These criticisms leveled at my efforts were summarized in the initial printings of The Norton Anthology of African American Literature (Gates & McKay) in this way: "Coming from the street rather than from the academy, Coleman's work challenges the critical methods traditionally brought to bear on literature."

I blistered at that hypocrisy. No one dared make such a statement about Billie Holiday, Langston Hughes, Bob Kaufman or Malcolm X. "The Streets" only became a negative when applied to me. Until the end of the twentieth Century, virtually all Black American art and music has been rooted in "The Streets" whether rural back roads or urban boulevards. By transforming the nightmares of racism into art, I placed myself squarely in the African-American tradition, albeit apparently as a harbinger for coming generations of poets and writers across the racial divides. Otherwise, I was content to be classified as I was in the Norton, among those post Black Arts Movement writers who have emerged since the 1970s (my debut taking place in 1977). In her 1999 essay “Revising Western Criticism through Wanda Coleman,” Krista Comer located me within feminism (Journal of the Western Literature Association). But to date, the best article locating me within the purview of African-American literature appears in Philip Bader's series published by the Facts on File Library of American History.

Dat'll do.

The Little e-Note: The 1 Question Interview.

Valerie Boyd, biographer of Zora Neale Hurston.

The Question: How did writing a biography of Zora Neale Hurston change your life as a black woman?

Writing my book, "Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston," has changed my life in countless ways, both subtle and dramatic. For instance, when I started working on the book, I was the editor of a nationally circulated black health magazine called HealthQuest. I also had been a daily newspaper journalist for many years. Now I'm an author and a tenured college professor. I travel around the country talking about Zora Neale Hurston, my name will always be associated with hers, and I am now working on a new book, a history of black women in Hollywood. So on a practical level, a lot has changed--all as a direct result of writing a book that opened many doors to me that had been previously closed.

A lot has changed on a more subtle level, too. The experience of diving so deeply into another person's life has, I believe, made me a more empathetic, and a more sympathetic, person--a better person, I believe. I can now see my own story, my own life, my own hopes and fears and dreams, in the lives of others. All of which brings me a little closer to one of my spiritual goals: to "see God in each other," as the great yogi Swami Muktananda advised.

But what your question really asks is how writing my book has changed my life "as a black woman," and I've been contemplating that aspect of the question for several days now. As I've been thinking about that--and also standing in open-mouthed wonder at the resistance that President Obama is facing at every turn--I'm reminded of something that a friend of mine, a black woman, once said. She said, "I'm tired of being 40-something years old and having white people tell me I've got a lot of potential." I'll never forget that. That's an experience that is so familiar to me as a black woman--and I know black men experience it as well. Obama himself experienced it when Arizona State University announced it would not be awarding him an honorary degree because "his body of work is yet to come."

As a black woman in America, I've grown accustomed to being underestimated--by white people, by men of all colors and cultures, by almost everyone. Even when your talent is acknowledged, you're still often thought of as having "a lot of potential." Well, "Wrapped in Rainbows" is an antidote to being chronically underestimated. It has freed me from an imposed sense of limitation because it is a full manifestation of my "potential." It's a book that I gave everything I had, it achieves what I wanted it to achieve, and it has been well received by readers and critics alike. For me, it is a fully realized book, an enduring contribution that I had the good fortune to make to the world of readers and writers. Certainly, I have more contributions to make in the coming years. But I am happy to have been able to harness my "potential" and offer this gift to the world. And, of course, having this opportunity was a gift to me, I believe, from Zora herself.

Growing older means (if one is lucky) growing up. It means better understanding that what we thought we knew-could uncomplicatedly verify -turns out to be partial,shifting,contradictory,mysterious. Barring organic disease,aging is best seen as a process of maturation rather than (as usually described) disintegration.

- Martin Duberman

Listening to one of my personal theme songs -The Hurting Time by Annie Lennox. It's on her BARE album.

Joni Evans has a good article in the New York Times (today) about the changing workplace in publishing. Evans asks a number of important questions. This paragraph appears near the end of her piece:

So, it's 2009. Now what?
Is the screen the new paper? Will publishing houses go the way of the old-fashioned record store?
Is digital delivery the new bookstore? Is Google the new library? Is the author the new musician, playing directly to the audience? Is the audience the new author?

LOOKING FOR SARAH PALIN?

Whatever our current travails, we now have a literate president capable of coherent discourse, but too many other politicians are devoid of syntax and appear to have read nothing. Aggressive ignorance in aspirants to high office is another dismal consequence of the waning of authentic education.

- Harold Bloom

Ichiro Watch:

Maybe at the end of today, Ichiro will be leading the AL in batting.
Mauer is hitting .364
Ichiro is at .363

Ichiro needs one more hit to reach 2,000 in his American league career.
He is 6 hits shy of 200 for the season.

Since coming back from an injury he has been hitting .455

You can do nothing with the past. But something that is coming toward you, the future, don't let it pass. It's in your hands. Have a strong mind. Act like nothing bothers you. Remember the hitter is watching you. You have to play with the mind of the hitter, every game, be ready with your plan.

- Livan Hernandez, pitcher, Washington Nationals.

Quote of the Day:

To use an analogy from medical practice, we are fighting a chronic disease - one with little hope of eradication. Our goal must be to control the threat even if it cannot be eliminated. In many respects, our plight following Sept. 11 closely parallels the experience of Israel of the past 61 years, a continuing threat that is unlikely to go away.

- Kyle W. Nevins and Joseph R. Nevins, The Washington Post, 9/6/09

MOVING VAN

Sooner or later Americans are going to have to ignore some of the tactics of the Right Wing. If you want to discredit anyone you can always go back into their past and discover they didn't want to share the marbles or the yo-yo. Van Jones is the most recent take down. Obama's environmental advisor didn't want to become a distraction for the O Administration so he recently quit. Of course folks on the conservative Right would have turned Van Jones into Bill Ayers by the time Halloween arrived. Why must we mask our true identities? Why the conservative litmus test? Look at the all the crazy things people on the Right continue to get away with? Of course there is also some loony nonsense on the Left too. But at the end of the day should all this past DNA be a reason to deny people the opportunity to do their jobs? No. If you dislike a person's politics and have no alternatives, then you attack the person. Another Miller's Law.

FROM NMS:

Intimacy
09-04-2009 11:18 pm

Intimacy. I keep thinking about this word. When was the last time a woman discovered the unpaved path of the center of my back? The closeness of bodies and thoughts. To know that someone is thinking about you while staring at the sky, trees, the calmness after a storm. Intimacy. The smell of a lover's neck before falling asleep. The tracing of skin in dreams.
The sunset smiling after making love to the day. Intimacy. Being connected to someone with silence. No need for words. Do you prefer to speak with ears or lips? Intimacy. The feeling one gets when touching something different but finding a memory to name it. The moment of blessing and being blessed. The seeing of oneself in the mirror of another. The desire to comfort, to embrace, to hold close and then release. The remembering of special moments with family and friends. Speaking to the dead as well as listening. Intimacy. The promise that is kept. The secret which measures the deepness of love. It's what restores faith. Intimacy. How we struggle to live and find a word for it.

- E. Ethelbert Miller

The above short essay appears in New Meridian Salon Magazine (NSM), which was started by Sharyn Skeeter.

Here is a link to some of my other commentaries:

http://newmeridianmag.com/ethelbert_miller.htm

Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland was interesting last night. Large numbers of black youth just hanging out.
Kids claiming space? I felt old as I meandered my way back to the bus stop. I also kept my ears open listening to conversations. It's becoming sadly obvious the black race is losing how to talk. I feel like a space alien trying to learn a second language. Let's ignore the Hip Hop, every generation is different nonsense and just speak to the ear. The cadence and the rhythm flowing from the black tongue is still there and could be used as background music for the next Cornel West recording. Youth speech however seems to be very muscular, defiant and harsh. It has that first strike ability and the take no prisoner disguise. It's language with a bandanna and all the colors of profanity. When young black girls speak I long for the old days of patent leather shoes. There was a time when one hardly caught a glimpse of underwear. Now everything is open and public like a tattoo. Our voices show the scars that come from vocal misuse. We brand ourselves with our own oppression. When will neo-slavery no longer be in vogue? Are the beautiful ones not yet born? Are these my children? Yes and No. Call me Noah. Who gets 2 tickets to the ark?

Yesterday I went to the movies to see Inglorious Basterds. Tarantino has made a clever movie. Any film about WWII and Nazi Germany's occupation of France which begins with - Once upon a time... has to be different. This is a flick fable. It's Christoph Waltz's show as Col. Hans Landa. The guy seems to be playing Sherlock Holmes and Tarantino shines as script writer. I found myself listening to words more than the sounds of violence. Brad Pitt seems to be leading up to a major role in a future picture. The guy is breaking new ground in what he can do. It reminds me of Barry Sanders when he played for the Detroit Lions. Hard to tackle and sweet to watch. Brad seems to be having fun in Inglorious Basterds. So did the audience (in Silver Spring) that I watched the movie with. They were cheering at the end and it's becoming obvious that folks like to rewrite history or at least make it interactive and packaged as a video game. Can't the Jews win this time? Who has next? I left the movie theater wondering want Tarantino would do with John Brown's raid or Nat Turner's revenge.

Ichiro Watch:

"Chicks who dig home runs aren't the ones who appeal to me. I think there's sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I'd rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Every now and then, just to show I can do that too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out."

Sports Illustrated, September 7, 2009

Tricycle's Daily Dharma

Does Compassion Come Naturally?

Q: Don't we know naturally that it's in our self-interest to extend compassion to those beyond our local groups?

A: No, it doesn't. Because to worry about what some disenchanted Muslim teenager in Pakistan is feeling right now does not come naturally in the sense of visceral response. It does, however, make intellectual sense; the world is moving to a point where, if only out of self-interest, we need to think about that person. One virtue of some of the religious traditions is that they have well-worked-out procedures for assisting this intellectual process. In other words, it's one thing to realize logically that my fate is intertwined with the fate of Muslims around the world: If they're unhappy, they'll eventually make me unhappy. But it's another to feel it, to look at someone and get a deep sense of fraternity with them. That's where religious practice plays an important role. In Buddhism there is metta [loving-kindness] meditation, in which we cultivate compassion for all sentient beings. This sort of practice is what I would consider a product of cultural evolution.

–Robert Wright, from "Darwin and the Buddha: Tricycle Interviews Robert Wright," Tricycle, Spring 2003

The last few days have been productive ones. The desk clean. Deadlines met. I will use the weekend to prepare for my upcoming readings and book discussions. A couple of books to finish reading...

A moment to give blessings to the friends I seem to talk with on a daily basis:

Grace (Ginger G), Michon B, Charles J, Andy S...

Labor Day coming and much more work to do. We must continue to live the legacy.

YOU SAID YOU WOULD DELIVER ME, AND THAT'S WHAT I BELIEVED

It didn't take long. One week. Students at Howard protesting conditions. I listened to their chanting outside my office window. Two people dropped by and gave me copies of the list of the 13 student demands. One has to be impressed by the wide reaching concerns. Two that impressed me were, the updating of all handicap entrances and elevators to be compliant with the Federal ADA Standards and the immediate implementation of a comprehensive recycling program. It was interesting to find nothing dealing with African American Studies as was often a key element in previous protests at Howard. This means I will not see any change in my unit until early retirement or death.

Good News:

Today I received my invitation to the Swearing-in Ceremony of Maria Otero as the Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs. This wonderful event will take place on September 16th. Maria is a beloved friend. We were founders of the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C.

A Go Green Flash Dream

Uncap
Empty
Watertight jugs
Set free
Entombed
Lingering droplets
Rescue
Clouds from bottles.

-Norman Jordan

Tricycle's Daily Dharma

Being natural is very special

Wherever we are, whatever we're doing, what we need to acknowledge is something natural. Something uncontrived. The uncontrived state is actually very special. Being natural is very special. And the natural way is actually already with us, in or out of retreat, but we just don't acknowledge it. If you just acknowledge your natural way, that's enough, good enough. It's like the cow peeing in the field. It just stands there and pees. Every day, it just pees, quite naturally. That's really enough.

–Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, from "The Easy Middle: An Interview with Mingyur Rinpoche," Tricycle, Summer 2003

---

FUTURE SHOCK?

Looking ahead to 2012 and the next presidential election-- the battle for the "soul" of America could take place during the Republican primaries. What ideas will be considered the alternatives to the Democratic Party and Obama? Who will the Republican Party select to be their leader? Who will determine the direction of the GOP? Moderates? The extreme Right-Wing? It's obvious that conservative media is just in the playoffs right now. They are trying out labels to stick on Obama.

I can't tell if they believe the guy is a socialist or a Muslim. I really think it's the fear of a "black" planet. I'm waiting for a few "dark" faces ( dare we use the word darkies?) to begin to organize against Obama under the suspicious title of black independents. Somewhere a list must have been compiled of African Americans who supported apartheid in South Africa and were paid consultants. No reason why these folks won't be placed back on a payroll and appear as talking heads on Fox News. Look for some black person (pundit) to make a living speaking out against immigration reform when that issue returns to the front page. I suspect it might be a black bishop without a church or some colored person wearing a cowboy hat in Texas and demanding everyone speak English. Fools love parades and party hats.

Meanwhile what we are also seeing is the "dumb downing" of the American public. It's the hidden fears that even Jefferson had and another reason to understand why he had a mistress. Is democracy for everyone? Should everyone have a vote and a say? Where is the educated citizen? I ask myself this question whenever I see footage coming out of a town meeting. I also scan the crowds and look for black people. I usually don't see any and my DNA tingles and I sleep with the nightmares of lynchings. So right now I'm in Future Shock. Send in the drones or hum Dixie to me.

THE INCARCERATED YOUNG MOTHER'S BILL OF RIGHTS

1. We have the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
2. We have the right to be mothers and not be discriminated against because of
our age, and status of offense.
3. We have the right to regular check-ups and proper prenatal care and
nutrition.
4. We have the right to have somebody with us while we're having our babies.
5. We have the right to not be in handcuffs and shackled during labor.
6. We have the right to recovery in the hospital after birth.
7. We have the right to see, touch, and speak with our children.
8. We have the right to be informed about our children's well-being and safety.
9. We have the right to have support and advocacy while incarcerated and the
right to know our rights as parents.
10. We have the right to have access to information and education, such as
prenatal and parenting classes, so that we can be the best parents we can
be.


The Center for Young Women's Development

GOOD NEWS:

US, Cuba to Discuss Resuming Direct Mail http://www.truthout.org/090309G?n Matthew Lee, The Associated Press: "The United States and Cuba will start talks this month on resuming direct mail service between the two countries for the first time in nearly half a century as the Obama administration continues to try to engage the communist island, U.S. officials said Tuesday."

Information for writers:

James River Writers Conference
October 9th & 10th, 2009
Library of Virginia
Richmond, VA.

http://www.jamesriverwriters.org/

Quote of the Day:

If we lack the ability to successfully address the urgent problems of health care in our country, the American people and the rest of the world will rightly question our ability to tackle other challenges, domestic and global. And needless to say, given the dominance of my party in the White House and in Congress, Democrats will be to blame.

- Tom Daschle

WHAT PLANET IS THIS GUY ON?

Nearly nine out of 10 Americans say they have coverage- and large majorities of them are happy with it. Of the 46 million uninsured, 9.7 million are not U.S. citizens; 17.6 million have annual incomes of more than $50,000; and 14 million already qualify for Medicaid or other programs. That leaves less than five million people truly uncovered out of a population of 307 million. Americans don't believe this problem - serious but correctable - justifies the radical shift Mr. Obama offers.

- Karl Rove, The Wall Street Journal, September 3, 2009

Rove playing with the numbers is just callous. These numbers are suppose to convince us we don't need to change our health care system. Notice how the first numbers are linked to people who are not citizens. This is like finding a person bleeding in the road after being hit by a car and asking first if they are a member of the Republican Party. Folks who think first about how much things cost will never be able to afford compassion in their lives. But let's talk about the folks who have annual incomes of more than $50,000. Are they suppose to have enough pocket money to afford health emergencies? What's the price of a band-aid for Rove's butt? Is he aware of how expensive a trip to a hospital is? What equipment can you afford. $50,000 will get you 1 big pill for all your aches and pain. Rove is still quoting Jim DeMint's "Waterloo" nonsense. There is political glee in the eyes of Republicans as the upcoming 2010 elections near. What is never mention are the ideas Republicans are going to govern with? Are they going to try and turn the clocks back? Why would anyone vote for the Republican Party if they are not offering any answers to the issues? The GOP also have to put good horses on the track. People are not just going to vote GOP without looking at the candidates. Where are they? Oh, and let's just get back to voter registration. If the Democratic Party gets the vote out across the country the GOP can't win. They just don't have the numbers. In many states a Black/Latino coalition will prevent any GOP candidate from getting elected. If our nation is going to move into the future, it's going to either be pushed or dragged. Why anyone would let Rov(ers) back into power is beyond me.

PASS THE PEAS NOW BUT CAN WE HAVE SECONDS?

The Malaysian government agreed to let Muslims attend the Black Eyed Peas concert. They reversed an earlier ban imposed because the show was being sponsored by Guinness an alcoholic-beverage company. The show is September 25th.

THE PALIN WATCH

So we discover from Levi Johnston (Bristol Palin's ex-boyfriend) in a new issue of Vanity Fair that Sarah Palin doesn't even know how to shoot a gun.

Here is another example of the public being duped by media created images. It's the same manipulation that created a war in Iraq. It's the same type of media manipulation of so-called angry town meetings around health care debates and nuclear missile building in Iran. Have you noticed we suddenly have no plans to go to war with North Korea. That appears to be another conservative media manipulation story. We seem to be living in Tabloids with our own bylines everyday. Half the news seems to be pulled from the bottom of the pot; the other half has evaporated with the truth.

SLEEPLESS AND NO LIBRARIES IN SEATTLE

Seattle's entire library system - from its branches to book drops to Web site - is shut down this week to save money.

Education:

Stanford University has laid off 412 employees over the past 8 months and plans an additional 60.
They are trying to offset a steep drop in the value of their endowment. It is expected to decline 30%, to 12 billion this year. The University is also freezing salaries and faculty hiring, eliminating unfilled positions and suspending campus construction projects.

A NOTE FROM THE SWEET SANDRA BEASLEY:

Hi folks,

The last time I sent out a big ol' mass email was in early spring, celebrating the sale of Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life to Crown. So much has happened since then...

Lightning struck--my second poetry collection, I Was the Jukebox, was selected by Joy Harjo as the winner of the Barnard Women Poets Prize, and will be out in April 2010 with W. W. Norton. I quit my job as an editor at The American Scholar in order to focus on writing full-time--the nonfiction book is due next June. Mid-summer I hopped on a plane and spent a month at the Jentel Artist Residency in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Also: I danced with cowboys. I discovered I could eat blue crabs (whole, with my bare hands). I confessed memories of my high school talent show in the pages of the Washington Post Magazine.

Many of you have picked up the Barnard news one place or another, and I apologize for the redundancy. But I just wanted to check in to say hello and also, thank you for the gracious support and enthusiasm I've received amidst this 2009 maelstrom of events. It's a big/little literary world, and I feel so lucky to be making a home in it. This fall holds a few adventures, some new and some ongoing. I am continuing my service on the Board of the Writer's Center and as the Literary Chair of the Arts Club of Washington. The latter leads me to announce a really wonderful reading coming up in September:

--> Wednesday, September 16 - 7 PM

The Arts Club hosts Jean Valentine and Dave Smith for a celebration of the influential Southern poet Eleanor Ross Taylor, in conjunction with the release of Taylor’s Captive Voices: New and Selected Poems, 1960-2008. Valentine is the current State Poet of New York; Smith is the author of 20 books of poetry and prose. Both will read selections from Taylor’s work as well as their own, with a reception and booksigning to follow.

This reading is free and open to the public. If you're in the DC area, please help spread the word. We'll be at the Arts Club of Washington, 2017 I Street NW, DC. (703) 994-3166.

I am also continuing with my freelancing. My latest piece is an interview with the Pulitzer-winning author Marilynne Robinson, which appears in the pages of Columns (alumni magazine of the University of Washington):

http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/sept09/robinson.html

...and for those who subscribe to the Washington Post, keep an eye out for the next "XX File," which will be published in their magazine on Sunday, September 20, and then for a feature article slated to appear in November.

As for the new news: I've given in to the siren call of teaching, but only in the limited & lucky capacity as an adjunct teacher of writing at the Corcoran School of Art & Design, here in downtown DC (located within the same building as the Corcoran Gallery of Art). My job is to teach kids who love the visual to love the verbal, as well. I can't wait.

Okay, that's more than enough about me. One of the great pleasures of sending out these emails is that they trigger updates from folks I have not heard from in far too long. Please, let me know how you are doing. Onward!

Cheers,

Sandra Beasley

THE LITTLE e-NOTE: The 1 Question Interview

Andy Shallal, founder of Busboys and Poets.

The Question: What factors help shape a good restaurant?

I have to admit that I haven't given much thought to this question in the past.

I am not one to follow formulas or advice from so- called experts in the field. The best expertise lies in the center of the torso - the gut.

I usually follow what my gut tells me. The most important thing I have learned about making a restaurant successful is to set aside the ego, keep my ears open and stay flexible.

Too often people open restaurants that are ego- centered. They don't connect it to the space and time that the restaurant resides in. Ideas once birthed inside one's head

have little meaning unless they are shared. It's the sharing process that allows an idea to take on a dimension that helps it to grow and flourish.

Once the restaurant opens its doors, the best thing a person can do is get out of the way and allow it to take shape while watching from a distance. He or she must also be willing to let go and allow the restaurant to discover its groove on its own.

MILLER'S LAW

Play the notes and then get out of the way.

ARE YOU READY FOR MORE MEDIA NONSENSE?

Next week the media will talk about how Obama's entire presidency will depend on how well his speech on health care goes over with the public. Have we not heard this before? Everything comes down to one speech. Where is Duane Thomas to explain that folks play the Superbowl every year. How many more speeches will Obama give between now and 2012? Are we going to say the same thing when he comes before the nation and discusses immigration reform or the spreading war in Afghanistan?Why does the media create these false alarms of drama? Is anyone going to remember health care reform in two years? Who is now talking about the Stimulus Bill in September? Hey, where did all those angry people from the town meetings go? The image of one person pissing into the wind is never a true weather report. It just smells bad.

ANOTHER BALK?
Somewhere in an old E-Note I wrote about "watching" Curt Schilling. This former baseball player could be a wild-card coming out of nowhere and possibly changing the political landscape. Now his name is being mentioned to seize Ted Kennedy's seat. If he was successful - he would jump to the head of the line of new-face Republicans ready to challenge Obama in 2012. Schilling a hero in Mass (as well as Arizona). Red Sox Nation and Fenway Park - with its Wall is the perfect metaphor and background for a nation that is reluctant to change. Where have you gone Pumpsie Green? Oh, and what's the price of a schilling?

I plan to start writing E-Notes from my BlackBerry. That should make me more mobile.

NEWS FROM OPAL MOORE:

http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/1230

Hello family and friends,

I am writing to announce the appearance of SHAPING MEMORIES: REFLECTIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN WRITERS. My essay "The Mothers Board" appears along with the work of writers Nikki Giovanni, Mari Evans, Joanne Gabbin, Nikky Finney, Sonia Sanchez, and many other fine writers that you may or may not already know.

The book is now available at the University Press of Mississippi website (pasted above) and can also be purchased through Amazon with, I think, a discount. I hope that you will have a look and consider it for yourselves and friends (and teachers of life writing!).

THE LITTLE e-NOTE: The 1 Question Interview

Gerard Brown, script writer for the movie Juice.

Question: What do you remember about Tupac and the making of the movie Juice?

The script of Juice was initially submitted as a writing sample to the producers David Heyman (who is now producing the Harry Potter films) and Neal Moritz (who has been producing the Fast & The Furious films). It was their first venture into film making and they had acquired another script which they felt needed a rewrite. My agent (Sara Margoshes) sent them Juice to try to get me that job. Obviously after reading the script they decided to do it instead and everything quickly went into motion.

In being perfectly candid, after Cindy Herron walked on the set it was difficult for me to focus on much of anything else for a while. But we set about the casting with Jaki Brown conducting that process.

It was David and Neal's desire to have four rappers play the lead roles. Tupac at the time was performing with a group called Digital Underground whose members came to audition for the film. Tupac was in the hallway trying to talk to some women when Ernest Dickerson (the director) asked him if he wanted to read for one of the parts. At first he read for the part of Q (Omar Epps' role) and even though he did well, it was decided to have him read next for Bishop next, which he nailed.

David and Neal finally relented on finding any other rappers they would be happy with and agreed to hire actors for the other roles. (Omar had to come in five times before he got the part.)
Much focus was on the production because it was one of only two films being shot in NYC at that time.

Tupac (who was only 19) was engaging, funny, and a pleasure to be with on the set. He even entertained some of the crew with rhymes he'd just written. At times he'd disappear with some of the neighborhood women, but he'd always be on time and ready to work when called upon.

Money got real short towards the end of the production and corners had to be cut, but the film was still met with some reasonably good reviews at the time and has since gone on to be considered a cult classic. A few years ago Vibe Magazine voted it the 2nd most influential film in hip-hop culture, only behind Scarface.

On a personal note, I was surprised when afterward I would see Tupac in new stories getting into fights and the like. It was not the person I'd hung with during the shoot. It was all such a tragedy as he was the one who career wise got the most mileage out of the film. But it was an honor for me to have known him and been a part of his life and of the history of film and hip-hop.

AFI LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL

September 23- October 12th.

www.AFI.com/Silver

Small News:
Here are two quotes from The New York Times today:

1.
As Iran's universities prepare to start classes this month, there is growing concern within the academic community that the government will purge political and social science departments of professors and curriculum's deemed "un-Islamic," according to academics and political analysts inside and outside Iran.

2.
Ayatollah Khamenei said this week that the study of social sciences "promotes doubts and uncertainty." He urged "ardent defenders of Islam" to review the human sciences that are taught in Iran's universities and that he said "promote secularism," according to Iranian news services.


What year is it? Could similar things occur like this on American college campuses? You betcha!

THE EBONY E-NOTE:

http://www.ebonyjet.com/politics/international/index.aspx?id=14430

MEDIA FEVER AND OTHER SICKNESS

"The Gang of Six" sounds like something out of the days of Communist China. Why is this the name being given to the Republican senators that are pursuing bipartisan talks on health care?
It sounds so negative and sick. It appears as if language is punishing these representatives for just meeting with Democrats. SEE page A3 of The Wall Street Journal today.

Do you know about these sites?

www.paperspine.com

www.bookswim.com

www.booksfree.com

NEWS FROM IPS:

Dear friends,

The Institute's yearly “Executive Excess” report will be featured tomorrow (Wed. 9/2) on ABC World News. The network will do a promo tonight as well on its “Bailout Barons” segment. So if you can, try to tune in and watch. The show runs at 6:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C.

We still don’t know exactly about the print coverage, but there are some promising signs that it will be strong this time around. Sam Pizzigati taped an interview today that will air on MarketPlace. Sarah Anderson, who will appear in the ABC report, has already taped interviews with CNBC, Reuters TV, Bloomberg TV, and BBC TV.

Cheers,

Emily

Emily Schwartz Greco

Media Director

Foreign Policy In Focus www.fpif.org

Institute for Policy Studies www.ips-dc.org

Tricycle's Daily Dharma

Keep Respect for Your Own Tradition

Generally speaking, it is better to keep one's own tradition. It is more suitable. But among some people—in the West they are usually Christians, Jews, and to some extent, Muslims—there is an interest in Buddhism. Sometimes, because of their individual mental dispositions, they do not find much in their own tradition that is effective, but they still want a spiritual practice. They feel a strong pull toward Buddhism, and then, of course, it is their right to follow Buddhism. After all, all religions belong to humanity. What's important is that once we make a decision to follow another religion, we must keep in our minds that we must avoid criticizing our own previous tradition. We must show respect for it.

–The 14th Dalai Lama, from "Ethics for a Secular Millennium: An Interview with the Dalai Lama,"Tricycle, Fall 2001

---

Ichiro Watch:

Ichiro is back after missing several games with a calf problem. Being out for a few games helped with the battle for the AL batting title. Mauer is ahead of Ichiro by just seven points. .367 to .360.
Ichiro had 2 hits last night. Missing a few games should keep him rested and ready for the last games of the baseball season. He needs 14 hits to reach 200 again. I suspect he might reach this goal around September 12th - if not before.

POETRY: The art you have to love.

SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS:

September 2
"It's Your Mug" Anniversary Reading, featuring Toni Asante Lightfoot, Holly Bass, and others TBA. Presented in conjunction with Beltway Poetry Quarterly.
Wednesday, 9:00 pm
$3 Admission. Busboys and Poets, 1025 5th Street NW, DC. (202) 789-2227.

Lyrical City Writing Workshops: Holly Bass leads "City as Soundscape" on Sunday, September 6th from 2:30 to 5:00 pm at the Washington Historical Society at 801 K Street NW, DC. Lyrical City is a series led by outstanding writers with strong DC connections. Workshops are open to all, and focus on the African American poetry tradition in DC and various cultural aspects of the city. To apply: send your name, a brief statement (50-150 words) explaining what you hope to get out of the workshop, a writing sample (one poem or short prose piece). Pre-registration required; limited to 12. Cost: $25 for each workshop; some scholarships available. Email: langstondays@gmail.com.

September 9
Brookland Reading Series: Annual Sterling A. Brown Brookland Invitational Poetry Reading
Wednesday, 7:00 pm
Free. Brookland Visitors Center, 3420 9th St. NE, DC. (202) 526-1632.

Baltimore Book Festival, Baltimore, Sept. 25-27. Free admission. Readings, book fair, workshops, music, family events. Participants include: Amiri Baraka, David Salner, Ned Balbo, Judith McCombs, Michael Fallon, Greg Mosson, Alan Barysh, Mike Maggio, Piotr Gwiazda, Eileen Myles, Lia Purpura, Derrick Brown, Kyle Dargan, Deanna Nikaido, Kwame Alexander, Ralph Nader, Sam Schmidt, Virginia Crawford, James McBride, Venus Thrash, Reginald Harris, R. Dwayne Betts, Tony Medina. Free Admission. http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com.

September 26 and 27
The Poetics of Labor Reading Series: Diana García and Quique Avilés
Saturday, 11:00 am and 2:00 pm; Sunday at Noon and 3:00 pm
Free. Smithsonian Museum of American History, National Mall, 14th and Constitution Ave. NW, in the exhibit space for "Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program," 2nd floor West, DC. (202) 633-1000.

Response to E-Note:


Is This Legalized Plagerism?

While reading Ethelbert's blog on Aug 31st, I was struck by Thulani Davis's plaintive cry regarding the Google/Authors Guild settlement. Written material is supposedly copyrighted for your lifetime, plus 70yrs. What does that mean in the digital age?

This is a quote from the Copyright office from their website, "Since your copyright registration is a public record, anyone can access it and create an alternate mode of delivery. The copyright office is not responsible for the form, or substance of third-party distribution". End quote. So what good is this institution? Can it still be considered viable? Literally you are on your own! Pun NOT intended.

Per information listed on the Authors Guild you can opt-out, via online or postmarked request by September 4,2009. If you choose not to opt-out, you have to establish an account with Goggle by submitting a claim form by January 5,2010. This in order to recieve cash payments of less than 63%. Google takes 37% off the top. The Books Rights Registry then forwards the "appropriate" amount to said rightsholders, keeping an administrative fee. As of yet the amount has not been substantiated.

Rape and pillage taken to another sordid level. Another rip in the fabric that binds the Beloved Community.

Lorrie W.

FIRE IN THE SOUL

http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Soul-poems-human-rights/dp/1906523169

Edited by Dinyar Godrej and published by Amnesty International and New Internationalist

A GOOD RESEARCH TOOL:

WWW.WORLDCAT.ORG

SOME GOOD NEWS:

Armenia and Turkey have agreed on final talks to establish diplomatic ties.

Historians estimate that during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks. This is often viewed as the first genocide of the 20th Century. It has been a major rift between getting the 2 nations together.

Creating Drama in 2010.

Look for the media to create "drama" going into next year. Folks will begin to talk about the Democratic Party losing ground and being in trouble. They will look for a new face to begin to represent the Republican Party. This might be a person who defeats a "name" Democrat in the 2010 elections. A big Democratic defeat will pin the tail on the Obama Administration. Soon every editorial will talk about Obama being a 1-term wonder. Comparisons to J. Carter will be made over and over. Obama's coolness will be interpreted as weakness. Folks will open the debate about whether he was ready to govern, etc. This will be the drama that will fill the airways and give a few folks book contracts. The focus will be on working class white people finding their groove again. If you think the health care debates were ugly - wait until we begin to discuss immigration. If Republicans find a hot hand in the 2010 debates they will emerge as a last ditch Party that will want to circle the wagons. Isolationism will rush in like a Buchanan surf wave. Racism will be back and black pundits will return to explain what the "drum" is saying. Say, what?

Small News:

DC is closing its Community Services Agency. It's the organization that aids the city's mentally disabled population. Patients will be sent to private clinics. 300 health care workers will be out of work. Maybe I'm missing something, but here is another area that I feel the government should be helping and not the private sector. Are we talking care or profit here? What about regulations and protection for the mentally disabled population, who will be held accountable? Are we saving money or saving lives?

Reading (on the # 70 bus this morning) - A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS by Dave Eggers.

Tricycle's Daily Dharma

What's the biggest obstacle to meditation practice?

There are always obstacles to daily practice. Some are quite obvious: traveling, staying up really late, changing your schedule a lot. For the most part, I've found the difficult obstacles to be the ones that come from within, those mental tricks we all use—you know, it's early, it's cold, I can't sit. The biggest obstacle is just the mind. You think you've got to get up right away and make some phone calls, or have breakfast, or go do this other thing. Your mind always tries to play these tricks. Things suddenly seem really urgent. For me the solution has been to create a schedule, to find myself some disciplined time, to just get up every day at seven no matter what. I've made a habit to get up, brush my teeth, sit—in that order—before I do anything else. And then, of course, after you sit you finish and you say to yourself, "What was so urgent that I felt I couldn't sit?"

–Dan Rosenberg, from "Making Time to Meditate," Tricycle, Spring 2001