Today's Washington Post has a long article on Douglas Brinkley. Brinkley is the author of TOUR OF DUTY: John Kerry and The Vietnam War. I guess this is the book at the center of all the Kerry/Bush/Vietnam discussion the last few days. Brinkley is a person I admire. He's up there with Ichiro in terms of productivity. A good friend -Brinkley wrote the introduction to my collection of poems WHISPERS, SECRETS & PROMISES back in 1998. I still consider it one of the best pieces written about my work. Brinkley not only read my manuscript but also interviewed me prior to writing the introduction.

Don't spend your money on the movie HERO. I was very disappointed. This is a rental for a weekend when you don't have anything else to do.

Well congrats to Michael Glaser for being named the new Poet Laureate of Maryland. This was done on August 2, 2004. Glaser is reading at the Silver Spring Borders at 6:00 P.M. on September 18th. That's the official Grand Opening of the bookstore.
The entire day will consist of literary events and music.

One for the record books.
Ichiro gets hit 200. He becomes the first player in MLB history to have 200 hits in each of his first four big-league seasons.

1st Year: 242 hits
2ndYear:208 hits
LastYear: 212

I just received a book party invitation from my friend Kitty Kelley. Her new book is THE FAMILY: THE REAL STORY OF THE BUSH DYNASTY.
I expect the party on September 21st at The Warner Atrium to be a media event. Congrats K2.
I plan to be there. Glad it's before Furious Flower. Kelley wrote a nice blurb for my BEYOND THE FRONTIER anthology.

But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask.

- Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)


Well no dreams for Bert. Last night was rough at the hospital sleeping with a mask on. Who makes these things? Where is FUBU? Zorro? Anyway, I slept until about almost 3 AM...then couldn't get back to sleep. I had to discontinue the test. I took a cab home around 4AM...did some work and then crashed.

But I've been feeling great all day...so the air pumping into my head has wonderful results. :-)
Guess I'll have to get one of those little units to help me sleep better.

I took the day off from HU to get ready for my trip. Bank for T-checks. I went to the Border's in SilverSpring and purchased a mango smoothie. I sat outside and read the NEA material on Operation Homecoming.

I had lunch again at the Austin Grill. Afterwards I wrote a short statement for maybe the opening reception at Camp Ederle in Italy. I think it reads well. I might post it on the blog when I return. Checking messages there was one from a staff member at NEA. Stars & Stripes publication wants to do an interview with me.

Someone in downtown SS was handing out flyers for fall classes in Yoga and meditation. If you're interested here is the info: www.crossingshealing.com
Crossings is a healing center and a learning community located at 8505 Fenton Street in Silver Spring.


OK. Nobel Prize in Literature will be given on October 7th. Make a list. Here are 5 black writers I would give the Prize to:

August Wilson, Wilson Harris, Edward Brathwaite (poet), Charles Johnson or Jay Wright.

Goodies in the mail. PEN/FAULNKER Schedule is out. You can get it by going to their site:
www.penfaulkner.org
It seems like it was many years ago that I was on the board of the PEN FAULKNER FOUNDATION. I'm glad to be moving forward in my life.

I also received the new lit schedule for American University: www.american.edu/cas/lit/mfa-lit.htm


I'm calling Arena Stage tomorrow and confirm my tickets to see Madame Butterfly on September 9th.

The artist Lou Stovall is having a show at Strathmore Fine Art. Opening reception is September 10th. I'll miss it because I'll be doing a reading in Rockford, Illinois.

Oh, the 28th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Memorial Human Rights Awards are September 30, 2004.
This event is sponsored by the Insitute for Policy Studies.

Well fellow" Bennie" Mariela sent me a nice letter and a CD that I can't stop playing:Papa Noel & Papi Oviedo - Bana Congo. Cuban rhythms. You can read Mariela's blog by going to: www.perezsimons.com

I ran into Meta DuEwa Jones at the cleaners. So good to see her again. She's a professor at George Washington University who moves and talks at a high energy level. It's great. We started talking about several things at once. We almost forgot about our clothes. Meta is giving a talk at the upcoming Furious Flower Conference on the poetry of Margaret Alexander and Elizabeth Alexander. Her presentation is on September 24th (James Madison University). Meta drove me home and we sat around talking about Cave Canem, trends in African American literature, and countless other stuff.
I see young scholars like Meta moving the criticism of African American literature forward. It's important to have folks looking at poetry and not just the novel. The upcoming Furious Flower Conference next month is going to be a very important event. I think every young African American poet should try to attend.

Bank. Post Office. Barber. Cleaners. I'm getting ready for my trip overseas. I was invited over to WAMU radio in the early afternoon and did a show with Kojo Nnamdi. A 1/2 hour of good fun. I read a few poems from HOW WE SLEEP ON THE NIGHTS WE DON'T MAKE LOVE.
Over the years Kojo has been a wonderful supporter of my work as well as the work of other writers in the area.

Sleep Center tonight. More tests. I'll get to wear a "mask" and see if I sleep better. Ah...I can smell that good oxygen filling my brain cells.

Ken Burns has a new film: Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. It will be shown at the New York Film Festival in October.

Name and bio information just added to the Operation Homecoming site. If you want to know why I will be making a trip to Italy click on the following: www.operationhomecoming.org

I'm up to almost 200 blog entries. Ichiro is at 198 hits. It takes as long...

The best part of the HU job is that you get to meet new students at the beginning of the school year. Folks get lost in the library and stumble into my work area. I don't have an office...never did. If I had an office would I keep my door open? Whenever I take a job as a visiting professor I have to adjust to a door.

with the invention of the door man changed the western world.
suddenly any man who had a door could rearrange the universe
to suit himself/include himself/or exclude himself;
society was invented.
- Thulani Davis

I met two nice students this morning. One was interested in photography, so I introduced her to the work of Deborah Willis. The other was from the Twin Cities...she walked in as I was finishing a short essay about my recent trip there.
Minnesota folks are cool. If I played baseball I would accept a trade to only the Twin Cities, Seattle or San Francisco. Call me Curt Flood.

I completed work on my workshop outline for Italy. I think it will go well. I want to package a good amount of information into 2 1/2 Hours.

In preparation for my interview with historian Ira Berlin I started reading John Hope Franklin's THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION.

This morning was an email day. A chance to touch base with friends across the country. I also spent time talking to an HU student who wants to produce "The Toilet" on campus. That's an early LeRoi Jones (Baraka) play. Homosexuality is hinted at in the work. I thought a good forum or discussion should be organized around the production. Many people often focus on "The Dutchman" and "The Slave" by Jones (Baraka).

I had a phone conversation with Kim Roberts (editor of Beltway On line magazine). She talked about the upcoming celebration of Walt Whitman's work next year.

Today is the first day of school at HU. The yard is packed with folks. Another year. I've been at Howard for 36 years.

This morning was an email day. A chance to touch base with friends across the country. I also spent time talking to an HU student who wants to produce "The Toilet" on campus. That's an early LeRoi Jones (Baraka) play. Homosexuality is hinted at in the work. I thought a good forum or discussion should be organized around the production. Many people often focus on "The Dutchman" and "The Slave" by Jones (Baraka).

I had a phone conversation with Kim Roberts (editor of Beltway On line magazine). She talked about the upcoming celebration of Walt Whitman's work next year.

Today is the first day of school at HU. The yard is packed with folks. Another year. I've been at Howard for 36 years.

Downtown Silver Spring is a spot everyone seems to be discovering. I took the bus there around 10AM. The new Borders was open. I purchased a copy of Yusef Komunyakaa's TABOO which is dedicated to Zoe, Reetika and Jehan. I also purchased a little book that will help me speak Italian overnight. It fits nicely into my cargo pants. While in the store I ran into Jabari Asim and his wife. Asim is an editor at the Washington Post Book World.

I checked the new Borders for copies of my books. It's something I encourage all authors to do when these places open in your neighborhood. Of course they didn't have my books or other local authors. They did have a large collection of Black books...unfortunately the world has gone Zane crazy. The shelves in bookstores mirror the food chains in many of the malls and strips. Same stuff. Pizza with toppings. Quick read books. Microwave literature.

I sat outside Borders and read the newspaper and TABOO. Just before my belly spoke I wrote a poem and then went into Austin Grill. They have live music. It was country and it was so good I later went back into Borders and purchased a copy of Hank Williams Jr. 20 HITS.
Blues and CW is how I feel these days.

It's amazing how many different groups and organizations are in the community. I went to my friend Kweli Pitt-Bey's group. Moorish Americans. OK...checkout website: www.TNOMA.org

I'm going up to the new Borders that opened in Silver Spring, Maryland yesterday. I want to see what their poetry section looks like. On Friday night folks were standing in front of the store waiting for it to open. It looks like it might become a popular spot.

New book catalog out from the Library of Congress. W. Ralph Eubanks the director of publishing is doing a good job. You can see what to buy by going to: www.loc.gov/shop.

Ichiro 4 hits. That puts him at 372. If he can end the month at 380 I think he will have a crack at 400 this year. He should be over 200 hits next week.

I talked with my friend Melissa during the early afternoon. I watched the men's Olympic basketball team. Sad. A team with no good outside shooters. I also looked at the Redskins. Hmmm. They still need a good offensive line. If they are going to make the playoffs this year they will need good defense and special teams. The QBs don't look good.

Another death reported in the news: Herbert Hill, the NAACP labor director in the 1950s and 1960s. He spoke out against racial discrimination by Unions. I'll remember him as the editor of ANGER AND BEYOND: THE NEGRO WRITER IN THE UNITED STATES (1966).

I can't believe I'm still in my upstairs office trying to clean my desk. I really need an assistant.

Well, tomorrow I'm going to get some more rest.

Went and saw the movie Collateral. Some of the dialogue isn't bad.

Foxx is becoming a better actor. He should be ready for the Ray Charles movie.

I'm going to relax this weekend. I have to prepare for the Italy trip...outline my workshop ideas.

I enjoyed my visit yesterday to the NEA office. Great staff down there. Gioia is doing an excellent job.

The latest issue of SPEAKEASY magazine is out. Fall 2004. It's a publication of the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. I contributed a short piece to the Forum on Fear and Imagination. The other writers participating are: Luis Rodriguez, Janet Fitch, Geoff Dyer, Naomi Shihab Nye, Aleksandar, Wang Ping and Robert Creeley.

Ariel Dorfman has work in this issue. I love the line he repeats in his essay:

The world does not have to be the way it is.

I'm so glad it's Friday. I had two good morning telephone conversations. One was with Jon Peede who works at NEA. I plan to see him this afternoon when I visit the Endowment to discuss the trip to Italy.
I also spoke with Jessica Circus at the DCJCC. We are getting Windows & Mirrors back on track.
That's the cultural project I started a couple of years ago. The purpose was to highlight the shared traditions between Blacks and Jews. Next program will be on October 4th.

It looks like my interview with Danticat will take place on Friday, September 17th at the Anacostia Museum.

September is going to be a busy month. I have two television shows to record, a reading in Rockford, Illinois and the Furious Flower Conference. I'll be riding down to FF with friends Carolyn Joyner and Jamie Walker.

I just received the flyer for The Nora School Poetry Reading Series: www.nora-school.org.
I'll be reading with Kenneth Carroll there on October 14th.

A sad note...Robert Browne died. His Obit was in the New York Times on August 15th.
Browne was an economist who founded the Black Economic Research Center in 1969. That organization published The Review of Black Political Economy. I met Browne in the 1980s when he was a senior research fellow in African Studies at Howard University. On many occasions I would drop by his office just to laugh and tease the guy. He was a beautiful person and will be missed. Love and prayers for his family.


The WALK FOR LITERACY 2004 will take place on October 9, 2004.
Register Online at WWW.Signmeupsports.com/27252.

Bennington work done. Whew...now I can do some leisure reading for 2 evenings. I did my morning jogging and also went to the nearby park. My son was in the middle of doing his basketball practice. We played a quick game...quick for him. I hadn't been out on the court in several months. I've been staying in shape. Blood pressure is excellent.

Breakfast with Naomi at Tryst in Adams Morgan. We talked about creative writing; she returned her Mark Strand book (REASONS FOR MOVING DARKER).

I had lunch with Linda (a former Humanties Council board member) at The Islander on U Street.

It feels so good to just clean my desk again.

I just downloaded Brenda Marie Osbey's "Notes From France." Osbey is an African American poet living in New Orleans. She was writer-in-residence at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France.

I pulled John Hope Franklin's THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION from the shelf in the Center. This will help me prepare for my upcoming interview with Ira Berlin in September.