E-Note

New book coming out from Arte Publico Press this fall:  Afro-Latino Poetry Anthology edited by Melissa Castillo-Garsow.

It will include six of my poems republished from previous collections.

THE BASEBALL PRAYER BOOK

"I would rather die for love, but I haven't."

         - Frank O'Hara

To believe in baseball one must have faith. We often say prayers because we believe in miracles.
Oh, and they do happen on the baseball field year after year. That's why I will always love the game.
There is something divine about the baseball diamond.

Still, I have always been curious about whether Jesus would have stopped trying to raise Lazarus after calling his name three times. How often have I waited after the All-Star game for the Nationals to put it all together?  It's late August and the Nats coffin is about to close. It would take a miracle for this team to make the playoffs. The Miracle Mets would have to collapse like Lana Turner in an O'Hara poem. No way, does a second place team in the NL East division get to the waltz.

So where are the Nationals right now?  They have joined those teams that gave away their best players a few weeks ago. The Nationals after this weekend might be a .500 ball club or below.What does this mean?  It means these teams will be playing fantasy baseball in October.

Let's look at .500 clubs ( or below) In the National League that would need a miracle to make it to the World Series. Here is the list:

Cincinnati Reds (.451)
Milwaukee Brewers (.414)
Arizona Diamondbacks (.496)
San Diego Padres (.470)
Colorado Rockies (.416)
Atlanta Braves (.447)
Miami Marlins (.404)
Philadelphia Phillies (.400)

Our Washington Nationals right now are at .509 and 4.5 games out of first place in the NL East.
Talk to me Jesus.

Dolores Kendrick, Poet Laureate of District of Columbia presents An Evening with Award Winning Author A. Van Jordan hosted by Ebenezers Coffeehouse and DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Thursday, August 27, 2015 from 6:30 - 7:30 pm Ebenezers Coffeehouse 201 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 A. Van Jordan is the author of four collections: Rise, M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A, (2005), which was listed as one the Best Books of 2005 by The London Times; Quantum Lyrics, (2007); and The Cineaste, (2013). Jordan has been awarded a Whiting Writers Award, an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and a Pushcart Prize. He is the Henry Rutgers Presidential Professor at Rutgers University-Newark. Complimentary with RSVP @ www.avanjordan.eventbrite.com. LIMITED SEATING. A reception will follow the reading.

BASEBALL DEVIL LOOKING ATTHE SCOREBOARD

I think it might be time not to lose any sleep over the Nationals. This is quickly becoming a .500 team. You might recall I mentioned how the playoff hopes for this team could end this week. Well tomorrow is Friday. By the time the Nationals return home they could be 5-6  games out of first place. Is it time to put this team out of its misery? Poor Storen is becoming a metaphor for 8th inning failure. Harper can't seem to hit that 30th homer. Maybe Denard Span doesn't want to come back and pull his back again - for what??? Would you?  But wait - maybe there is a September miracle out there. Maybe Mr. Met will hit his head and forget the Mets are in first place. Perhaps in September the goober dust will be working and we can all be believers again. Right now we are at the crossroads. Nats might have to sell their souls for a win.

CC...the Clinton Copy.

I had to chuckle when I read how this event is being handled. Geez...at the end of the day we are just writers. Either we interact with our readers and the public or we should stay home and watch the Nats on television. Did you know this book was coming out?  Are you going to stand on a long line to get your copy?  Is Chelsea's mom going to be there?  How about Papa Bill?  This seems more like book hype.

Thursday, September 24 at 7 p.m.

In a book that tackles the biggest challenges facing us today, Chelsea Clinton combines facts, charts, photographs and stories to give readers a deep understanding of the world around them—and how anyone can make a difference. With stories about children and teens who have made real changes big and small—in their families, their communities, in our country and across the world—It's Your World inspires readers of all ages to do their part to make our world a better place. In addition to informing and inspiring readers about topics including Poverty, Homelessness, Food Insecurity, Access to Education, Gender Equality, Epidemics, Non-Communicable Diseases, Climate Change, and Endangered Species, this book encourages everyone to get going! With suggestions and ideas for action, Chelsea Clinton shows readers that the world belongs to every single one of us, and every one of us counts. You can make a difference. You can make a change. It’s your world.

book and ticket book only

At least one copy of It's Your World must be purchased from Politics & Prose to enter the signing line. Each copy of It's Your World comes with a free ticket to the signing, good for four immediate family members. The signing line will begin to form at 6 p.m., rain or shine.  Everyone with a signing line ticket will join the queue as they arrive, first come, first served. Chelsea Clinton will only be signing copies of It's Your World. (Please no memorabilia or photos.) She will personalize with the reader’s first name. Photographs of Chelsea Clinton will be allowed from a designated area. There will be no posed photographs.

Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse (5015 Connecticut Ave. NW) P&P @ Busboys and Poets Brookland (625 Monroe St. NE) P&P @ Busboys and Poets Takoma (235 Carroll St. NW) P&P @ Busboys and Poets 14th & V (2021 14th St. NW) (202) 364-1919 www.politics-prose.com Click here for Hours and Directions books@politics-prose.com twitter: politics_prose facebook: politicsandprose tumblr: politicsprose

The blues of averages.
If you want to know which direction the Nats are heading just look at these numbers:

Werth - .192
Desmond- .224
Ramos - .237
Taylor- .240

This is the lower half of the Nats batting order.  If these numbers don't improve by September 1st start talking about next season and bring those darling kids up from the minors.

Will Werth, Desmond, Ramos or Taylor hit .270 this year?  The waiting game is over unless you're waiting for next year.

E- Thoughts

I've used this summer as one of transition and transformation.  A time to strengthen some relations and discard others. My twilight years are almost here. What annoys me more than anything are folks who are one year older then me trying to add nine more to the total. One also nears the finish line of one's life knowing what one believes in. One shouldn't measure one's worth or direction in life by the number of "Likes" on Facebook. I no longer feel  I have to agree with people in order to make them smile.. Silence is what one should practice for spiritual development but not when a political decision must be made. Speaking out is not the same as yelling. We tend to toss civility out of the window as if all social change is for the better. It isn't - it's simply change. It's amazing how we let the actions of a few determine the direction of the ark. Did Noah listen to the animals or simply protect them? Lessons in democracy can sometimes come with a failing grade. I am a dove in search of land. Who said I purchased a round trip ticket?

MARC STEINER (Host of the Marc Steiner Show) responds to an E-Note

Ethelbert, it's not corny. Che Guevara once said that "At the risk of sounding ridiculous, Let me say that a true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a true revolutionary lacking this quality."  While you're ideas about the necessity of love are intertwined, they are also it's opposite. It is all part of the möbius of existence the dialectic of change. 

You are right no one group or generation has all the answers. We need respect and politeness. Except that young revolutionaries, young activists have no time for that at times. They are angry. While BLM was created by three young Black women activists, it has taken a life of it's own. A national surge defined by local leadership. Much of that movement is made up of poor people of the inner cities who are fed up with the poverty, racism and police brutality. They live in the ugliness of despair daily, and have a hard time finding the beauty in the oppressive society around them. This capitalist racist system is sucking the beauty out of existence and they are just reflecting it back with their push for power and change.  So, they will be in the face of America with no regrets, as many of us were 40, 45 and 50 years ago. 

We have allowed a chasm to grow between the elders and younger spirits of the movement. I think we have a chance now to close that gap, to build something significant. 

I agree Ethelbert, we need to fuel the love and the beauty, and maybe in the Sanders/BLM moment we can build something.  

with love

marc

At the risk of sounding corny or out of touch let me say that I believe all movements to change our society must be motivated by love. I consider politeness evidence that we are capable and worthy of embracing one another and that there is trust to be found in our differences. I believe no one, no matter how young or old has all the answers. There is a deep silence that comes after the long days of despair. Each day it feels as if beauty fails and not even God understands our ugliness.

HARPERS FERRY IS A SPACE SHIP

I'm in the next room
listening to my wife
telling John Brown
she ain't fixing his
biscuits not this morning
or the next. I always
wanted to grow a long
beard and John has one.
Waiting for freedom
will turn your hair
Obama gray. That's
what an old woman
from the next plantation
calls it. Folks say
she can see the future
by looking across the
lake. I don't know
what to believe. A
colored up from
Georgia looking
for Canada said he
knew a slave named
Sun Ra who from
Saturn or Jupiter.
Crazy how folks who
can't read will believe
anything that falls
into their ears. Even
John Brown gets that
look in his eyes like
he spoke to God and
not my wife.


   E. Ethelbert Miller

STRAIGHT OUT OF SPRINGER

If there is one thing I dislike about baseball these days it's the instant replay. Yet, now and then one has to stop and go back and look at things. That's what I did after viewing the Seattle/Bernie incident.
I went back and looked at the video again. What I saw was something that reminded me of the old Jerry Springer Show. I guess I missed it the first time. It's amazing how we all want to be fans as well as umpires these days. We feel everyone has the right to express themselves which is why I guess we blog and use Facebook in the first place. Do we really want "pure"democracy or do we want a society that works? Playing the game by the book is not how the game is often played. I think even our Founding Fathers would agree on that. In many ways what we saw in Seattle was an additional trailer for Straight Out of Compton. Yes, N.W.A. has returned and yes- those are bullets flying in Ferguson again. It's a hot time in August. But we need to get every play right. Let's not destroy ourselves or be silent when we know something is wrong. Every protest does not make the 10 top historical plays. History moves forward sometimes because of earthquakes, floods, riots and assassinations. It doesn't mean we applaud it. When one struggles for social change, it is with the hope of making the world a better place. It is about the creation of new men and women. What I saw in the Seattle replay was a Springer moment; it's something we should refuse to accept as the norm. I refuse to accept chaos or another open mic moment. When the Pope arrives in September are we going to push him aside too? If that happens I will go in search for my own Vatican and close the door when I find it.

E- Thoughts: What Kind of Fuckery Is This? Me and Mr. Trump.

In a few months no one will be talking about Donald Trump. Do we closely listen to every word that Senator Cruz says anymore?  Is Sarah Palin playing Vegas these days? Americans love entertainment and when bored they change the channel seeking  more entertainment. We like to mix reality with anything that glitters. We consume rumors as much as we dislike the truth.Every head has become a flat screen. What kind of fuckery is this?

SLAVE NARRATIVES

I slip indoors after searching
for hours for the North Star.
Rumors have been spreading
about how a fabulous day
is a night with no moon.
The problem with plantations
is that the pizza driver never
comes.Just yesterday my copy
of Ebony was delivered to
the Big House. Massa had
a fit. Now I'll have to hide
my Coltrane and Miles
records under the big quilt.
I hear slavery is hard
on the eyes but a beautiful
woman can teach you to read
in the dark.


 - E. Ethelbert Miller

BERNIE AND THE BLACKNESS

A good friend in Seattle sent me the Bernie link below. He thought the actions of the demonstrators were rude.

This is a difficult one to assess and respond to. I remember back in the late sixties Howard students protesting the war and not letting the head of the draft board speak. Years later Howard students would storm the stage and prevent Bill Cosby from talking during a charter day celebration.

Code Pink does this type of protest all the time. However I think if this is going to be a tactic then all politicians matter. Why target one of the more progressive candidates running for president? Why not target the many Republicans candidates seeking the high office? This is also where interracial teams of protesters are needed. It's easy to turn a mostly liberal white audience into conservatives. You don't want the N word coming from a crowd - as in N- please!

But look at the many times Obama has been heckled. We live in an era when "manners" have been lost again. I say again because DuBois in his book Dusk of Dawn  (1940) was complaining about the same thing.

To protest is not simply to upset and be rude. A movement without dignity and respect will open a door to the abuse of freedom and the mugging of the human spirit. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-black-lives-matter_55c68f14e4b0923c12bd197e?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592&kvcommref=mostpopular

E-Thoughts

Decided after working at the Silver Spring Library yesterday that I will no longer work outside my home office. Too many distractions. I also needed to realize that my home library is better than the African American Resource Center at Howard University. All my resources are here. I just need to upgrade things for the next three years. New printer, computer, etc. That's when the word retirement might slip from my lips. Right now I'm working more than ever before. Things are moving ahead at a nice pace.

I also want to explore the city more. This will help my "E on DC" column. I learned this week that the publication date for my Collected Poems is March 30th. Time to get this E-Tour in order. I have a couple of people helping me which should make a difference.

ARE YOU RUNNING WITH ME DUBOIS?

Sometimes I'm invited
somewhere to talk
about race
as if I had won
something or was
rushing to get somewhere

(and didn't have a car)

I don't drive but I
know where I am.

Too many of us
are lost in our skin

Have you ever looked
into a mirror and asked
for directions?

It's like having a
conversation with
one's face (and
race)

Do you talk back
and black
or just listen?



  - E. Ethelbert Miller

FROM CUBA WITH LOVE

The poet Nancy Morejon recently translated 10 of my poems from my book FALTA DE AR. The poems will appear in the Cuban publication REVISTA UNION. So now the poems from FALTA DE AR published in Portugal by Manuel A. Domingos and his Medula Press have taken the journey from English to Portuguese to Spanish.

KATE, JUNE AND AUGUST

Kool Kate is back. Yesterday we met at Busboys and had one of our endless conversations about the arts and politics. Much laughter with friends dropping by the table now and then. I shared with Kate an old Juue Jordan interview I found in my archives. Kate (as well as myself) was knocked over by how June had defined her life. In the interview June said the following:

"I believe in love and the holiness of life. I have a purpose to serve which is greater than my own being."

Kate's B-Day is Saturday. She read June's words and said she had to use them as a guide and path.
Shouldn't we all?

Saturday, September 19, 7:30 p.m.

Truly a literary force of nature, Rushdie has published fiction long and short, edited anthologies, and written four books of nonfiction. He caught readers’ attention with his 1981 novel, Midnight’s Children, which won not only that year’s Booker Prize, but the Best of Bookers Prize in 2008. With Rushdie's signature blend of myth, history, wild imagination, and exuberance, Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights depicts a world both fantastic yet recognizably our own. After a storm, New Yorkers start to notice some strange things; people develop unusual powers, both mental and physical. Investigations point back many generations to a jinn who, once upon a time, fell in love with a mortal.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

 

REACHING FOR THE PAPER BAGS

In baseball sometimes the head can roll as much as the ball. Maybe a few heads need to roll in the Nats dugout. I have the season maybe coming to an end next week. If the Mets keep playing like a kid with a new video game, they will waltz into the playoffs. The Nats could fall maybe 5-6 games behind the Mets by next week. If you can't defeat Arizona in your own ballpark then forget about happy ball in San Francisco and Los Angeles.If I was in church right now I would have no faith in Barrett coming in from the bullpen. I can't see this guy on the team next year. How long does it take for Werth to find a bat?  I love Zimmerman (and always will) but the ball Barrett threw like a mistake yesterday was an easy pick for a gold glove first baseman. The Nats play like a young person who just had sex for the first time. Is it going to happen again? Can this team win 10 in a row? Can all the batters get hot at the same time? Meanwhile the ERA of the starting pitchers is rising like heat in August. The Nats will make you sweat tears.