The new catalog from Graywolf Press lists two books coming out in the fall that might be interesting to read:

WOUNDED by Percival Everett
AMERICAN SUBLIME by Elizabeth Alexander

I'm back in the flow. I did a tremendous amount of work yesterday. Today, I have a meeting downtown at the Arts Commission. We will discuss the poem I'm working on for the DuPont Circle Metro Station.

I also need to pull together my notes and handouts for my memoir workshop in Boston.
The workshop is Sunday morning.

I dragged my bags across the Bennington campus around 4 AM this morning. Next door to my dorm a party was still going on. A 4:30 AM limo came for me and Naomi. It was nice having flying company. We caught a 6:30 AM flight from Albany back to DC. Overcast but still good to be home. I made a quick trip to the bank and barber. I leave for Boston on Wednesday morning.

Plenty of mail - letters and books and of course bills.
Here are a few of the goodies I want to share.

Nathalie Handal's new collection is out with a foreward by Carolyn Forche. The title is THE LIVES OF RAIN. It's an Interlink book: www.interlinkbooks.com

Dima Hilal (my DimaBean) sent me her CD: GHAFLAH: THE SIN OF FORGETFULNESS.
www.dimahilal.com

The latest Callaloo is out. Percival Everett is on the cover and featured in this issue. However, get this issue for Ada Udechukwu. She's my buddy who just graduated from Bennington last January. Her story is "God's Blessing."

I received a copy of Ursula K. LeGuin's A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA. This is the book I will be discussing on NPR on July 20th at 11AM (Rehm Show).

A. Van Jordan sent me a copy of his QUE SERA SERA. Special chapbook. Only 100 copies printed.

Rashid E. Darden sent me a copy of his new novel LAZARUS.
www.oldgoldsoul.com

Rebecca Hoffberger, the founder and director of the American Visionary Art Museum
sent me a wonderful packet. I have to make a trip to Baltimore (within the next 2 weeks) and visit the Museum.
Visit their website: www.avam.org

I'll spend the rest of the day preparing for the memoir workshop I have to give in Boston.
Here is information on my reading with Forche and Weigl:

June 30th
Harvard Epworth Church
1555 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA.
6:30 P.M.

Big happy bubble over Bennington yesterday. Another class of writers heading out into the world. Honoree Jeffers gave the graduation address. She shared good advice, warning writers about the crossroads. Yes, Robert Johnson is not the only person who might sell his soul to the devil.

I'm tired but I'm packed. I return to DC tomorrow. Wow...the Nationals are getting a nice first place cushion. If they can get a 10 + game lead going into late July and early August,they should make the playoffs. Only a big collapse and another club getting very hot will prevent it. Hopefully, the Nationals will have everyone else in their division playing for a wild card slot. All this means good vibes for a city that is adding a strut to its name. DC should be first in everything, including being the poetry capital of the world. He He. Why are people still living in New York? A few days ago the NY Times had an article about how the South Bronx is turning around. Hmmm...can you see me moving back? It would have to be a Yankee day in hell.

The last Bennington workshops are this morning. Later in the afternoon I might just sit on campus and watch the sun go down. Where's my guitar? I got blues inside, trying to sing their way out. They say the blues ain't nothin but a good woman on your mind.

Sad news:
The poet Hilary Tham is gone. She died this morning. Another flower uprooted too soon. We are left with petals and memories. We cling to the fragrance of her words.
Love and prayers for her family.

2 more days and I'm home. Last nightI wrote a poem after reading "The Killers" by Ernest Hemingway. Doug Bauer circulated the story as a handout during his lecture.
What I wanted to do was get inside the story and become the black character and have some fun. The poem plays with the sonnet structure and uses the first line of Hemingway's story for the last line.


THE KILLERS

(for Scribner's Magazine)

1927
and I'm just a nigger
in a kitchen. Will they kill
me too? I got a towel
in my mouth like its ham
and eggs. Sam they call me
but it's not my name. Al
ties Nick to me like I'm Sidney
Poitier. Two big killers
in a small diner looking for
a big Swede. Do they think I know?
Have they lost their Hemingway? Short
stories die young. Characters try to run.
The door of Henry's lunch-room opened and two men came in.


- E. Ethelbert Miller

My sister had me laughing this week when we talked on the telephone. She told me how the robots are already working in her hospital in Yonkers.
Yep...they are here.

Bennington news:
The Poets defeated the Fiction writers 13-10. Folks are talking about playing another game today. Baseball fever...catch it.

Key baseball dates:
All-Star game in Detroit is July 12th.
Playoffs begin on October 4th
League Championship games are October 11th
World Series begins on October 22. Will the Nationals be there?

Krispy Kreme is having serious business problems. Double-digit decreases in quarterly sales,investigations into accounting improprieties, etc.
KK is now testing smaller stores that won't make the doughnuts on site. If they do that they can open a store for $300,000 instead of $3 million.


TELL ALL THE TRUTH BUT TELL IT SLANT
- Emily Dickinson


The key word that will begin to enter our vocab from the Muslim word is: Haram.
It refers to things that are forbidden.
Yipes!


I went to the Bennington bookstore yesterday and purchased a copy of THE STUFF OF FICTION by Doug Bauer.

I might catch a lecture on Lowell this morning. 3 more days in Vermont.

I started packing and looking for wings. In the words of Dylan:
So long New York...Hello, East Orange.

Well my son is a college guy. He attended orientation on the campus of Widener University this week. I think he made an excellent school choice. It's important for a child to decide where they want to go. I was happy to see my son making what will be the first of many important decisions.

Just a couple more days in Vermont. I have a number of things to work on when I return to DC. I'll be doing an NPR program on the 20th of July. More about that in a later E-Note.

There was an interesting story in the New York Times Health section yesterday on robotic legs and the new developments in technology. Cyborgs are here. The separation of man and machine is becoming less and less.

Ichiro had 3 hits yesterday. It looks like he might be back in a groove. Hopefully he can get his average up to about .320 by the All-Star break. If he turns it around the second half of the season he should take another batting title. I see him hitting around .340 or .350.
It would be good to see him hit straight in about 40 games. Not impossible.

One more week at Benningon. The lectures by students graduating have been very good.
It's one of the highlights of the residency.
Yesterday David Bonanno, one of the editors of American Poetry Review gave an afternoon talk. It was good to listen to his comments about APR.

I also read manuscripts and a few poems from Bidart's new book. In the evening I had a long telephone conversation with novelist Charles Johnson. It was also nice to receive those Father's Day wishes from my kids.

So was that Horry doing the do again? Folks think those Laker wins were all Shaq and Ko...Horry and Fisher were giants too.

I can't wait to see some sports. I'll try and catch another Nationals game when I get back to DC.

Happy Father's Day to all those Dads...keep Fathering Words.

New book out from Wyn Cooper: POSTCARDS FROM THE INTERIOR
It's published by BOA Editions. www.boaeditions.org
Congrats to Wyn. Yesterday he was on the Bennington campus.

YANKEE ZEN

I'm a bad ball
hitting Yogi

E. Ethelbert Miller


Congrats to the Edward P. Jones for being the first American to win the International Impac Dublin Literary Award ($120,000).
The HoCoPoLitSo interview I did with Jones was recently on television (in Maryland).
One should be able to order a copy of the tape by contacting HoCoPoLitSo.
It's a good interview.

Why?
Japan is once again printing Little Black Sambo books. The Japanese title is Chibikuro Sambo. The company is Zuiunsha, based in Tokyo.


Last night I read an excellent interview Sarah Kanning did with Liam Rector. Liam gave me a copy to read. This interview will appear in a forthcoming issue of the American Poetry Review.
There are a number of memorable comments:

"There is seldom balance; there are always choices."
"When you work with writers you always work with and for the individual, not the group."
"The world is always falling apart and those who build are merry"
"Poetry is deep gossip."

In the Kanning interview one will find a good discussion of Liam's poetry as well as his views on creative writing program. In this interview Liam explains why at Bennington orientations we view Alec Baldwin's monologue in the movie GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS. It's all about ABC: Always Be Closing.
In other words accepting personal responsibility and making things happen.

Last night we had a good faculty reading with Virgil Suarez and Ed Ochester. Suarez has a new book of poetry out - 90 MILES.

Pistons? I guess so.

So this residency I'm staying in the Noyes dorm on the Bennington campus. I've stayed here before. Not bad but I can always use more light in my room. You have to try and sweep depression into the corner for a few days. I've developed a different schedule for myself this time. I'll see how it works.

I went to the Bennington bookstore and said hello to JC and Richard. It's always the first stop I make when I arrive at the school. I love JC and R. While in the store I made arrangements to receive my daily New York Times. That's critical. I purchased a copy of Susan Cheever's HOME BEFORE DARK and Frank Bidart's STARDUST. I think Cheever is also staying in Noyes, so I'll get her to autograph my book.

I wrote a new poem yesterday afternoon. It's about how I've been feeling the last few days? No, let's make that years. How to balance the light and darkness that embraces your feet, ankles, legs...and then knocks you in the head. Pow!

I slept most of yesterday. I didn't realize how much I needed a break from things.
What would Harriet Tubman say if she saw me resting like this?
OK, time to continue running from the hounds.

Faculty meeting this afteroon.
Folks arriving on campus for their June residency. I plan to stay in my room and do as much reading as possible. On my flight to Albany I started reading Kevin Young's BLACK MARIA. I like the flow and sound of this book. A film noir book of poems. Very cool and original.

The other day I received an email from Thulani Davis. So nice to be back in touch with her. She is so very, very talented. Here is her website: www.thulanidavis.com

I'm Bennington Bound.

Poet, Richard Eberhart dead at 101.

How long must we listen to Leno tell Michael Jackson jokes?

Yesterday's Washington Post had an interesting review of TO THE FLAG: THE UNLIKELY HISTORY OF THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE by Richard J.Ellis. The book is published by the University of Kansas. $29.95.

I spent the afternoon in my Center talking with Natalie Moore and Natalie Hopkinson. A real dynamic duo. They have been working on a book about black men. It should be out next year. We spent the afternoon talking about book promotion. Photographer Roland Freeman stopped by to pick-up a book by Cesaire. I love Roland.
His energy just makes you shout. He had fun talking with the 2 Nats.

So the Jackson trail is over. What will his next musical release sound like? Some folks need to just take a vacation from the public for a few years. I'm heading to Bennington this week. I know how to listen to my E-Notes.

Oh, that June 30th reading at the Harvard-Epworth Church in Cambridge (6:30 PM) will be with Carolyn Forche and Bruce Weigl. If you're in the area, please attend.
The address of the church is 1555 Massachusetts Avenue.

Country to watch: Bolivia...

On Saturday my daughter ran a 10K in Georgetown - Lawyers' Have Heart. The race was a fundraiser sponsored by area law firms to raise money for heart disease research.
A total of 3,760 men and women raced. Out of 910 women, my daughter was 105th with a time of 50 minutes. She ran an 8:03 min/mile race. The women's winner ran a 5:44min/mile pace and finished in 35 minutes.
Congrats - Jasmine-Simone.

African writers I need to read:
Tiero Monenembo
Abdourahman A. Waberi
Fatou Diome
Henri Lopes

My DimaBean has her new website up. Here's the link:
http://dimahilal.com
Congrats to a special friend.

Ichiro hitting under.300. Slumping...
Now, will come the test of how great a hitter he is. I still think he can win the batting title. Look for him to make an adjustment to his hitting style in the next two games. Watch for a three/four hit game. Then he will be on a roll and will raise his batting average quicker than Tyson can rise in a ring.
Talking about Tyson, he looked as bad as Richard Wright playing Bigger in that Native Son movie. Was that shot in Argentina?

Yesterday I went to Provision Library and discovered with membership one can borrow books and films. I borrowed The Business of FancyDancing.

I'm doing Bennington work and trying to rest and not push myself silly. I relaxed this afternoon with my friend Melissa. We talked about the writing world and the changing DC community.

I almost completed packing for Bennington. A large pile of stuff to sort on the floor in my upstairs office.



Exhibit:
Women & Blues
Amalia Amaki: Boxes, Buttons and the Blues & Women in Blues and Jazz
On view June 10 - September 25, 2005
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Avenue, NW
Admission: $8.00
www.nmwa.org


A key article that might explain recent US interest in Africa was in Friday's New York Times. Checkout, "As Africans Join Iraqi Insurgency, U.S. Counters With Military Training in Their Lands."
According to this article written by Eric Schmitt, about 25% of the nearly 400 foreign fighters captured in Iraq come from Africa.


New book by Saskia Hamilton. Saskia once was the poetry coordinator at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
THE LETTERS OF ROBERT LOWELL edited by Saskia Hamilton
852 pages. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $40.
Congrats Saskia.

The Nationals might be the big sports story of the year. These guys are playing with so much confidence. I went to my first game last night. It was fun to leave work, walk over to U Street, have dinner and then take the Metro to RFK. Is this the American dream? I had a good seat in right field for $10. I was surrounded by many Japanese fans who came to see Ichiro. That's why I was there too. I wanted to see the guy play, watch him when the ball is being hit his way. Ichiro is grace in the field. He missed having an error during the game and it just shocked the ballpark.
He got one hit last night but it's obvious the guy is in a slump. I'm waiting for him to turn it around. Turning around are the Expo/Nats. Whew. This team can give an opponent 10 runs and still bounce back and beat them. You can feel it in the park.
You just wait for the club to get maybe 5 or 6 runs in the late innings. That's what happened against Seattle last night.

More African Americans and Latinos need to support the Nationals. I felt I was in Boston when the game was over.