Monday, November 30, 2015


Alzheimer's Association Advocacy Forum
Where you need to be in 2016.
Alzheimer's advocates like you have helped create meaningful change on Capitol Hill, including proposed historic increases in federal Alzheimer's disease research. But there's more work to be done.
The Alzheimer's Association Advocacy Forum is the nation's premier Alzheimer's advocacy event. Every year, we provide you the tools to continue making a difference in the fight against Alzheimer's.
The 2016 Advocacy Forum is where you need to be. Registration opens Dec. 8 at alz.org/forum.

Alzheimer's Association Advocacy Forum
April 4-6, 2016
Washington Marriott Wardman Park
Washington, D.C.
For more information, visit alz.org/forum.
 
 
Celebrate Sinatra's centennial with David Lehman at these upcoming events:

AUTHOR TALK: SINATRA'S CENTURY

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 03, 2015, 6:30PM - 8:00PM

Sinatra at the Liederkrantz Hall in New York, c.1947. Photo by William P. Gottlieb via the Library of Congress
Sinatra at the Liederkrantz Hall in New York, c.1947. Photo by William P. Gottlieb via the Library of Congress
In a free public event the poet and critic David Lehman discusses his new book, Sinatra's Century: One Hundred Notes on the Man and His World, a warmly celebratory collection of one hundred short reflections on the man, his music, and his larger-than-life story.
Lehman devotes each of these short pieces to one facet of the Sinatra story—from the singer’s origins on the streets of Hoboken, to his emergence as “The Voice” in the 1940s, to the wild ebb and flow of his career in the decades that followed. Sinatra’s Century includes Lehman’s personally inflected lists of unforgettable performances; accounts of how the competitive performer squared off against everyone from Bing Crosby to Marlon Brando; clear-eyed assessments of the faults and weaknesses that informed his life and work; and a full-throated appreciation of the singer’s art.
Please RSVP here.
Located in The Great Hall, in the Foundation Building, 7 East 7th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues

Sunday, December 13, 2015 • 4pm

Location: Hoboken Historical Museum, 1301 Hudson St., (201) 656-2240

Author Talk: David Lehman, "Sinatra's Century: One Hundred Notes on the Man and His World"

 

Acclaimed poet and critic David Lehman will visit the Museum on Sunday, Dec. 13 at 4 pm, to discuss his latest book: "Sinatra's Century: One Hundred Notes on the Man and His World," a series of short meditations on the man, his music and his larger-than-life story.

The author of the award-winning A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs, Lehman devotes each of these short pieces to one facet of the Sinatra story—from the singer’s origins on the streets of Hoboken, to his emergence as “The Voice” in the 1940s, to the wild ebb and flow of his career in the decades that followed.

With a wordsmith’s turn of phrase, and a lifelong affection for the singer and the man, Lehman offers a wide-ranging appreciation of Sinatra’s incomparable life and career.  FREE.
 
More information here

David Lehman's Essential Sinatra Playlist.

Listen to David Lehman talk about Sinatra's Century on Jefferson Public Radio.

David Lehman chats about Sinatra with Stay Thirsty

A roundup of reviews. 

This.

"Let this book cast its spell." 

 
I'm Not From Here or There

There is so much silence
in this room I must be married.

The wet leaves
in the yard are crying.

Down the street a new home
painted blue.

Jacob Lawrence is working on
his migration series.

The moving trucks once faced
Mecca.

I keep waiting for the Buddhist
monks to find me.

Outside the clouds are
returning home from heaven.


 - E. Ethelbert Miller

Saturday, November 28, 2015

E-Links from the Archives


Readers' Review: "Home" by Marilynne Robinson (Rebroadcast ...<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-11-25/readers-review-home-marilynne-robinson-rebroadcast>
Nov 25, 2011 ... E. Ethelbert Miller. poet; director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University, Board Chair of the Institute for Policy Studies.
thedianerehmshow.org/.../readers-review-home-marilynne-robinson- rebroadcast

Readers' Review: "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin | The Diane ...<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-04-18/readers-review-awakening-kate-chopin/transcript>
Apr 18, 2012 ... We're going to take a short break here and when we come back, more of your calls for Jane Holmes Dixon, Judith Warner, E. Ethelbert Miller, ...
thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-04-18/readers.../transcript

Readers' Review: "One Writer's Beginnings" by Eudora Welty | The ...<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2008-06-25/readers-review-one-writers-beginnings-eudora-welty>
Jun 25, 2008 ... E. Ethelbert Miller. poet; director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University, Board Chair of the Institute for Policy Study.
thedianerehmshow.org/.../readers-review-one-writers-beginnings-eudora- welty

Readers Review: "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett | The Diane Rehm ...<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-02-25/readers-review-help-kathryn-stockett>
Feb 25, 2010 ... E. Ethelbert Miller. poet; director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University, Board Chair of the Institute for Policy Study.
thedianerehmshow.org/shows/.../readers-review-help-kathryn-stockett

Readers' Review: Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" | The Diane ...<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/1999-05-21/readers-review-chinua-achebes-things-fall-apart>
May 21, 1999 ... E. Ethelbert Miller. poet; director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University, Board Chair of the Institute for Policy Study.
thedianerehmshow.org/.../readers-review-chinua-achebes-things-fall-apart

Readers' Review: J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's ...<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2001-12-21/readers-review-jk-rowlings-harry-potter-and-sorcerers-stone>
Dec 21, 2001 ... E. Ethelbert Miller. poet; director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University, Board Chair of the Institute for Policy Study.
thedianerehmshow.org/.../readers-review-jk-rowlings-harry-potter-and- sorcerers-stone


Readers' Review: Edna Ferber's "So Big" | The Diane Rehm Show ...<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2004-07-21/readers-review-edna-ferbers-so-big>
Jul 21, 2004 ... E. Ethelbert Miller. poet; director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University, Board Chair of the Institute for Policy Study.
thedianerehmshow.org/shows/.../readers-review-edna-ferbers-so-big

Readers Review: "Your Blues Ain't Like Mine" by Bebe Moore ...<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2007-02-21/readers-review-your-blues-aint-mine-bebe-moore-campbell>
Feb 21, 2007 ... E. Ethelbert Miller. poet; director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University, Board Chair of the Institute for Policy Study.
thedianerehmshow.org/.../readers-review-your-blues-aint-mine-bebe-moore- campbell

Readers' Review: James Baldwin's "Go Tell It on the Mountain" | The ...<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2003-02-19/readers-review-james-baldwins-go-tell-it-mountain>
Feb 19, 2003 ... E. Ethelbert Miller. poet; director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University, Board Chair of the Institute for Policy Study.
thedianerehmshow.org/.../readers-review-james-baldwins-go-tell-it-mountain

Readers' Review: "Middle Passage" by Charles Johnson | The ...<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2004-02-18/readers-review-middle-passage-charles-johnson>
Feb 18, 2004 ... E. Ethelbert Miller. poet; director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University, Board Chair of the Institute for Policy Study.
thedianerehmshow.org/.../readers-review-middle-passage-charles-johnson

2000 | The Diane Rehm Show from WAMU and NPR<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2000>
Tuesday Aug 8. Invasive Species · E. Ethelbert Miller: "Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer" (St. Martins) ...
thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2000

1
Just two months before I  disappear. If Houdini was an escape artist I can be one too.

Friday, November 27, 2015



  



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November 24, 2015

Greetings!

Today's the day! We're thrilled to tell you that registration is now open for Split This Rock Poetry Festival, April 14-17, 2016.

Split This Rock Poetry Festival: Poems of Provocation & Witness 2016 invites poets, writers, activists, and dreamers to Washington, DC for four days of poetry, community building, and creative transformation. 

Featuring readings, workshops, panel discussions, youth programming, open mics, and activism, the festival offers opportunities to speak out for justice, build connection and community, and celebrate the many ways poetry can act as an agent for social change.

The fifth biennial festival will take place April 14-17, 2016, in Washington, DC. Click here to register today. Only $100 if you register by Februrary 14. And only $50 for students. (Presenters' rate is $85 before February 14, $100 after.)

We know it's going to be an extraordinary four days. More information is below and on the website. We hope you'll consider helping to make it possible for others to attend by making a donation, too. You'll be prompted on theregistration page

Finally, please help us spread the word - scroll down for ways you can help.

Thank you! We can't wait to see you in April!

In peace & poetry, 
Split This Rock 
Top 10 Reasons 
to Join Us for 
Split This Rock Poetry Festival 2016:
   
  
  1. Passionate voices for justice & peace - Where else are you going to hear readings by 15 of the most artistically vibrant and important poets writing today, all on the same stage? See video from 2014 on Youtube.
  2. Need names? Here they are - Amal al-Jubouri, Jennifer Bartlett, Jan Beatty, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Regie Cabico, Dominique Christina, Martha Collins, Nikky Finney, Ross Gay, Aracelis Girmay, Rigoberto González, Linda Hogan, Dawn Lundy Martin, Craig Santos Perez, and Ocean Vuong. Read more about them on our website
  3. Plus the U.S. Poet Laureate! - The festival begins with a special kick-off event on Wednesday April 13 at the Library of Congress with Juan Felipe Herrera. Stay tuned for details.
  4. Compelling conversations - Join us for panel & roundtable discussions on craft, allyship, the Middle East, the role poetry plays in the Black Lives Matterand environmental justice movements, and many more essential topics.
  5. Workshops for your mind, body & spirit - Explore the intersections of poetry with hip hop, labor movements, liturgy, food justice, journalism, and more! Read about the workshops on our website.
  6. Group readings! - Themed group readings elevating marginalized voices focused on worker rights, eco-justice, disability, policing of brown and black bodies, the intersection of Queerness and race, and so much more.
  7. Voices of the future - Youth poets will read, lead writing workshops, teach participants how to nurture youth voices in their own communities, and generally school the grownups on kicking ass and taking names.
  8. Poetry in the streets - With our world crying out for equity and justice, poets will take to the streets with the imaginative and transformative power of poetry. Check out photos of the previous public action on our website.
  9. Only $100! - That's right, all this for the early-bird rate of only $100. Register today! On February 14 the rate goes up to $140. Click here to save today.
  10. Students are only $50 - And scholarships and group rates are available. We want everyone to be able to attend, regardless of ability to pay. Details are here! Contact info for requesting group rates listed below.
So many more reasons, too - Meet up with old friends, make new connections in poetry and activist circles, explore and celebrate the ways that poetry can be an agent for change, read and perform at open mics, get your groove on at the Saturday evening party hosted by Dark Noise Collective & Busboys and Poets... Four days of transformative events in our nation's capital!
SpreadTheWordHelp Spread the Word!
 
  • Forward this email to friends. Use the link at the bottom of the email.
  • Post the announcement to your Facebook, Twitter, blog, or other social media site.
  • Send post cards to your friends and colleagues and/or leave stacks at libraries, cafes, and bookstores. Contact poetryfest@splitthisrock.org to get a stack. 
  • Are you a teacher or student? Have your institution sponsor a group of students for a special group rate. Contact Tiana at tiana@splitthisrock.org or 202-787-5268.
  • Want to sponsor? It's a great way to support the festival and get lots of visibility with leaders in the literary and social justice worlds. Visit our websitefor details or contact us at 202-787-5210 or poetryfest@splitthisrock.org.
  • Other ideas? Contact poetryfest@gmail.com - we'd love your help!
Poetry Magazine 
Split This Rock Collaborate

Split This Rock and 
Poetry magazine announce a collaboration: A special portfolio in the April 2016 issue of 
Poetry, with new poems by poets to be featured at Split This Rock Poetry Festival 2016.

Timed to coincide with Split This Rock's fifth biennial nationalfestival, the portfolio will be co-edited by Poetry editor Don Share and Split This Rock Executive Director Sarah Browning, with an introduction by Browning. The portfolio will also be the focus of the magazine's monthly podcast.

Poetry, founded in 1912, is the oldest monthly devoted to verse in the English-speaking world. Subscribe to the magazine here.
Support Split This Rock 
Please support Split This Rock, the national network of activist poets. Donations are fully tax-deductible. 

Click here to donate a one time or monthly gift. Or send a check payable to "Split This Rock" to: Split This Rock, 1112 16th Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036. Many thanks!

Contact info@splitthisrock.org for more details or to become a sponsor.

Split This Rock
www.SplitThisRock.org
202-787-5210 info@splitthisrock.org

THE BLACK PANTHERS


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB-CNd1iDpc

A MICHON NOTE



To be honest -- history just repeats. Same monkey, different outfit. Is this the planet of the apes? One man's ideology is another man's religion. One man's greed is another man's necessity. 

We became cynical about King's dream. People say it was co-opted to suit another agenda and they may be missing the point all together, or abandoning possibilities. Why replace names on buildings that were not built for you in the first place. Build new buildings. Build new dreams. Just build. 

No body dreams anymore. We forget reality begins with a vision or a word. Langston said as much -- "I dream a world."

Looking at the footage of the 60s, I wonder how we got out of that one alive. My mom doesn't even remember the violence with the exception of the assassinations. Even then, her only thought was getting home to her kids.

Michon
 
 

November 23, 2015
 
Across the nation, students have risen up to demand an end to systemic and structural racism on campus. Here are their demands. Note: These demands were compiled from protesters across the country. These are living demands and will grow and change as the work grows and changes. If you have demands that are not listed, please send them tosam@thisisthemovement.org or @samswey. Last updated on 11/23/2015.
 
   
 
For information about upcoming actions and opportunities to get involved, visit BlackLiberationCollective.org.
List of Campuses Represented (last updated 11.23.15):
  1. Black Liberation Collective #StudentBlackOut Demands (Multiple Colleges) (Link to Demands)
  2. University of Missouri (Link to Demands)
  3. Amherst College (Link to Demands)
  4. Atlanta University Center Consortium (Spelman, Morehouse, Clark Atlanta, ITC) (Link to Demands)
  5. Beloit College (Link to Demands)
  6. Boston College (Link to Demands)
  7. Brandeis University (Link to Demands)
  8. Brown University (Link to Demands)
  9. Claremont McKenna College (Link to Demands)
  10. Clemson University (Link to Demands)
  11. Dartmouth College (Link to Demands)
  12. Duke University (Link to Demands)
  13. Eastern Michigan University (Link to Demands)
  14. Emory University (Link to Demands)
  15. Georgia Southern University (Link to Demands)
  16. Guilford College (Link to Demands)
  17. Harvard University (Link to Demands)
  18. Ithaca College (Link to Demands)
  19. Johns Hopkins University (Link to Demands)
  20. Kennesaw State University (Link to Demands)
  21. Lawrence University (Link to Demands)
  22. Lewis and Clark College (Link to Demands)
  23. Loyola University Maryland (Link to Demands)
  24. Michigan State University (Link to Demands)
  25. Middle Tennessee State University (Link to Demands)
  26. Missouri State University (Link to Demands)
  27. New York University (Link to Demands)
  28. Notre Dame of Maryland University (Link to Demands)
  29. Occidental College (Link to Demands)
  30. Portland State University (Link to Demands)
  31. Purdue University (Link to Demands)
  32. San Francisco State University (Link to Demands)
  33. Santa Clara University (Link to Demands)
  34. Sarah Lawrence College (Link to Demands)
  35. Simmons College (Link to Demands)
  36. Southern Methodist University (Link to Demands)
  37. St. Louis University (Link to Demands)
  38. Towson University (Link to Demands)
  39. Tufts University (Link to Demands)
  40. University of Alabama (Link to Demands)
  41. University of Baltimore (Link to Demands)
  42. University of California, Berkeley (Link to Demands)
  43. UCLA (Link to Demands)
  44. University of Cincinnati (Link to Demands)
  45. University of Kansas (Link to Demands)
  46. University of Michigan (Link to Demands)
  47. University of North Carolina at Greensboro (Link to Demands)
  48. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Link to Demands)
  49. University of Oregon (Link to Demands)
  50. University of Ottawa (Link to Demands)
  51. University of Puget Sound (Link to Demands)
  52. University of San Diego (Link to Demands)
  53. University of South Carolina (Link to Demands)
  54. University of Southern California (Link to Demands)
  55. University of Toronto (Link to Demands)
  56. University of Virginia (Link to Demands)
  57. University of Wyoming (Link to Demands)
  58. Vanderbilt University (Link to Demands)
  59. Virginia Commonwealth U. (Link to Demands)
  60. Washington University in St. Louis (Link to Demands)
  61. Webster University (Link to Demands)
  62. Wesleyan University Demands (Link to Demands)
  63. Yale University (Link to Demands)
Visit http://www.thedemands.org/ for the complete list of demands and amazing images of student protest from various campuses. 
 
 
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THE E IN WPA


GRACE A. ALI AND HER E-BOX


Too many people accept the ordinary life. I find it to be suffocating. The most restrictive things are family and marriage. Ordinary people need structure and order in their lives. It's time for me to draw outside the lines. Why do we think about the past so much?  Only bold thinking and action will make yesterday different from tomorrow. All problems exist in the present.

THE LAST MONTH

For my birthday my friend Grace gave me a Singing Bowl from Tibet. This morning I placed it on the altar in my office. It's good to remind myself now and then of the path I need to be on. Next year I hope to reach the bend in the road; the place where you can no longer see what is behind you. 2015 has been a time of transformation. The best thing to happen was my forced departure from Howard University. The separation has encouraged me to grow and think "open mind." How long could I remain in a place talking about DuBois for the rest of my life? I don't want my cell phone to change more than I do.

It's time to put my house in order. What this means is the separation from things I once held dear.
It's also a time for silence and contemplation. The last few months I've spent too much time in cafes. I need to be reading and letting go of clutter and those things responsible for personal chaos. My life is out of order on a number of levels. Time to fix things.

The last month will be here in a few days. I need to live it as if it was my last.
Time to say good-bye to many things. The first thing to go is what I see in the mirror.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

I got a nice note this week from Linton Kwesi Johnson.  So good to be back in touch with this brother.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGnJjQqtfYk
Strange Brew by John Deering

http://www.gocomics.com/strangebrew/2015/11/26

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

THE HESITATION BLUES

History is becoming memoir. This might be an outgrowth of our love for storytelling. When I discuss memoir writing I often mention the need to write about what one has been a witness to, as well as deciding what events one feels a need to reinterpret. I also ask the question - can one speak for the dead?

Lately there has been a desire to tell history "straight" as if it was a line in a poem. History too often contains lint which clings to one's new clothes. History like knowledge disappoints. If I'm told George Washington once owned slaves might I not believe he crossed the Delaware?  When I was a child I was taught he threw a coin across a river. Did he never tell a lie? What if I now compare George Washington to Bill Cosby?

If we name our computers after apples it's just a matter of time before we are all Syrians crossing a border out of Eden.

There is a danger of trying to correct the past especially if one has the ability to time travel. Is there a connection between the theory of racism and the theory of relativity?  Do we all have to be Einstein in order to live together or do we just have to get the numbers right?

Each generation writes its story but struggles with revision. It's easy to mistake someone like Pope Francis as a workshop leader. The man makes sense standing in front of the room. Should our desire to save the planet be linked to the challenge to walk on water?  Who will teach us? If we are to survive we will need miracles. Right now we've become Houdini holding his breath underneath another war. The problem with becoming an escape artist is believing one can always escape.

Everyday we seem to be standing at the edge of a cliff. The problem of the 21st century is religion.

Yes, one man's fast is another man's slow. Tell me a story I can believe. Tell me the story of the world before it was born. Let me know what it was like before earth, water or air?  Tell me a myth I can use as a mirror. There is too much darkness in the world. People keep bumping into one another like stars afraid of the night.

I want to believe in sun and moon before I close my eyes. My ears have long departed. I no longer hear the screaming or the moans - every neighbor is now a stranger. I am alone as naked as the first curse placed on man.  I suffer the heavy blues - the weight of generations and failed nations. How long has my soul been gone?  How long must I wait for its return?  Dear God, I thought it was the fire next time. Why do you hesitate?  The eyes of the living are now filled with a flood of tears. Drown us now or let us walk free. You've given us the hesitation blues.