The joy of doing the E-Notes has been the wonderful networking with folks. Today I received two books from Virag who lives in Budapest. Virag is a regular reader of the E-Notes; we spoke once on the telephone.
Virag sent me a copies of THE LOST RIDER, A bilingual anthology of Hungarian poetry and the novel EMBERS by Sandor Marai
Many thanks V.
E-NOTES: WHEN THE NEWS IS NOT ENOUGH. THE BLOG OF E. ETHELBERT MILLER
Monday, March 06, 2006
The Founding Fathers and Mothers of the Humanities Council of Washington will be together again. This historic occasion will take place on March 23, 2006, at the Arts Club of Washington, D.C. (2017 I Street, NW), 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM. This will be the 25th Anniversary Celebration and Award Reception. The Mayor of Washington DC will be present. The Founders of the Humanities Council are:
Sophy Burnham
Roderick French
E. Ethelbert Miller
Delano Lewis
Maria Otero
Cynthia Smith
Sam Smith
Sophy Burnham
Roderick French
E. Ethelbert Miller
Delano Lewis
Maria Otero
Cynthia Smith
Sam Smith
I was curious as to what Peter Harris was doing. I hadn't heard from the brother in a spell. But in my mailbox today was a copy of his new book, THE JOHNSON CHRONICLES: TRUTH & TALL TALES ABOUT MY PENIS. This book is published by Inspiration House. I take it Peter can no longer be called Little Peter.
Here is a website: www.inspirationcrib.com
Harris is calling this a body memoir. I'm curious as to what happened to the rest of him. Anyway, it must be a funny book with chapters like "Watch my Balls" and "When Johnson Gets Blue."
Sir Peter is having a DC Book Party on Saturday, March 18th, 5-7 PM, at the Gallery Place Condominiums, 777 Seventh ST, NW, Third Floor - The Club Lounge.
Peter will be introduced by Glenn Harris, his big brother. Don't ask how big.
Here is a website: www.inspirationcrib.com
Harris is calling this a body memoir. I'm curious as to what happened to the rest of him. Anyway, it must be a funny book with chapters like "Watch my Balls" and "When Johnson Gets Blue."
Sir Peter is having a DC Book Party on Saturday, March 18th, 5-7 PM, at the Gallery Place Condominiums, 777 Seventh ST, NW, Third Floor - The Club Lounge.
Peter will be introduced by Glenn Harris, his big brother. Don't ask how big.
I had a productive meeting with Ari and John (IPS) at the DC Jewish Community Center this morning. We discussed plans to sponsor a few events around Ariel Dorfman's play PICASSO'S CLOSET. The play will be at the DCJCC from June 21 - July 23, 2006. I met Dorfman many years ago as a result of my growing interest in the hemisphere, especially developments in Chile and Nicaragua. Dorfman's work had a tremendous influence on my own poetic voice. I'll always be greatful for the blurb he gave one of my early collections of poems.
Dorfman will be doing a NEXTBOOK session at DCJCC, "Why for Years I Did Not Seem To Care If I was a Jew and Whether I Was Wrong" on the evening of June 6th at 7:30 PM.For tickets and information, visit www.nextbook.org
Dorfman will be doing a NEXTBOOK session at DCJCC, "Why for Years I Did Not Seem To Care If I was a Jew and Whether I Was Wrong" on the evening of June 6th at 7:30 PM.For tickets and information, visit www.nextbook.org
One of my best literary friends Charles Johnson sent me an article about Oscar Night.
Here is what I wrote back to my Buddy C:
Hi C,
I thought Hustle & Flow was a very good movie. Yeah...It's hard out here being a POET too. I was surprised to see the Hustle & Flow song nominated by the Academy, but then the song from Crash is just mediocre. It's just another indication of the "love" affair that the middle and now upper class has with Hip Hop. We saw this happening with blues and jazz back in the 1920s. The difference however is the power of the metaphor within the blues and how it's also survival music. Jazz I felt was always classical and represented the true genius of our race. Hip Hop reaches down too often without reaching up 90% of the time. Are we still Ten Percenters? What has become of the Talented Tenth?
An indication of this can be seen in something as simple as dress. Look at Bessie Smith,Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington,The Modern Jazz Quartet or just Lester Young wearing his hat. Nothing but pure class and style. Now turn to Hip Hop which celebrates not elegance but walking graffiti. HipHop has a strong prison element in it and is much more confrontational. Gone is the protest of conditions found in the early work of Public Enemy and Grandmaster Flash. Now what we have is an acceptance of keeping things real or simply blues people with their blues now gone. At the same time the music of HipHop captures the same power we see in the Internet. What was once poverty-driven behavior is now acceptable. The failure of our intellectuals to defend our society's vertebrae has resulted in the deformation of our figure and now we reveal all our ugliness (on stage). But then the Oscars never wore clothes, and this is why Hollywood must be called Hollyweird.
Here is what I wrote back to my Buddy C:
Hi C,
I thought Hustle & Flow was a very good movie. Yeah...It's hard out here being a POET too. I was surprised to see the Hustle & Flow song nominated by the Academy, but then the song from Crash is just mediocre. It's just another indication of the "love" affair that the middle and now upper class has with Hip Hop. We saw this happening with blues and jazz back in the 1920s. The difference however is the power of the metaphor within the blues and how it's also survival music. Jazz I felt was always classical and represented the true genius of our race. Hip Hop reaches down too often without reaching up 90% of the time. Are we still Ten Percenters? What has become of the Talented Tenth?
An indication of this can be seen in something as simple as dress. Look at Bessie Smith,Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington,The Modern Jazz Quartet or just Lester Young wearing his hat. Nothing but pure class and style. Now turn to Hip Hop which celebrates not elegance but walking graffiti. HipHop has a strong prison element in it and is much more confrontational. Gone is the protest of conditions found in the early work of Public Enemy and Grandmaster Flash. Now what we have is an acceptance of keeping things real or simply blues people with their blues now gone. At the same time the music of HipHop captures the same power we see in the Internet. What was once poverty-driven behavior is now acceptable. The failure of our intellectuals to defend our society's vertebrae has resulted in the deformation of our figure and now we reveal all our ugliness (on stage). But then the Oscars never wore clothes, and this is why Hollywood must be called Hollyweird.
 Bessie Smith |  Lester Young |
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Big sound tonight. I'm listening to Ben Webster (At Work In Europe)
Jazz critic Leonard Feather wrote the following:
How do you explain Ben Webster to an adherent of the typical 1970s tenor saxophonists? One might as well ask, how does one describe claret or sparkling burgundy to someone whose life style is gin? There is no dictionary that can define precisly what Ben has brought to music- not even Webster's.
Jazz critic Leonard Feather wrote the following:
How do you explain Ben Webster to an adherent of the typical 1970s tenor saxophonists? One might as well ask, how does one describe claret or sparkling burgundy to someone whose life style is gin? There is no dictionary that can define precisly what Ben has brought to music- not even Webster's.
My daughter moved back home yesterday (in order to save money for law school in the fall). In our changing world, many young people are living at home longer. The rental situation is just terrible in DC. The cost of education in the US is ridiculous. So my home dynamics are different again. Just like a changing Supreme Court the vegetarians now control a 2-1 vote in my house. Gone are the days when meat ruled in the kitchen. Do I have a right to meat? Should I begin to separate knives from forks? Should I remain silent like Clarence Thomas and just eat what is placed in front of me? Please advise.
Black Arts Movement Conference at Howard University:
The key movers and shakers of the Black Arts Movement will gather at Howard University March 23-24, 2006, for a conference that is now the subject of academia, especially since the release of James Smithurst's The Black Arts Movement, University of North Carolina Press, 2005.
Invited participants include Amiri Baraka, Ed Bullins, Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhubuti, Askia Toure and Marvin X.
The Howard University English Department is sponsor, chair is Dr. Eleanor Traynor.
Contact the English department for more information.
Tanya Alexander Hardy
Administrative Secretary
Dept of English
202-806-6730
thardy@howard.edu
The key movers and shakers of the Black Arts Movement will gather at Howard University March 23-24, 2006, for a conference that is now the subject of academia, especially since the release of James Smithurst's The Black Arts Movement, University of North Carolina Press, 2005.
Invited participants include Amiri Baraka, Ed Bullins, Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhubuti, Askia Toure and Marvin X.
The Howard University English Department is sponsor, chair is Dr. Eleanor Traynor.
Contact the English department for more information.
Tanya Alexander Hardy
Administrative Secretary
Dept of English
202-806-6730
thardy@howard.edu
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Well my son will say his prayers tonight. Whew. With just a few seconds left on the clock he missed two critical free throws, but then was fortunate to get his own rebound. He was fouled again and missed two more shots. Whew. This was the same player who hit 8 in a row a few weeks ago. But York failed to score on their last possession...so:
Widener Men’s Basketball Advanced to Sweet 16 with 71-69 Upset of No. 9 York (PA) in Second Round of the NCAA Tournament
Widener clinched its first appearance in the Sweet 16 in 19 years with a 71-69 upset of No. 9 York (PA).
I'm happy my wife,daughter and I were there for my son after the game. I think it was the most pressure he has ever felt on a basketball court. Having to make the critical shots for your team to win (and advance in NCAA play). I told him to remember the important rebound he made after he missed the first two. Many players would not have followed their shot.I also reminded him about the big three point basket he made right before the end of the first half.
I think my son learned a lot this evening. Games like this will humble you and make you stronger. I love the Widener coaches, they joked with my son and reminded him about how important he is to the the team. More pressure next week...of course and there is going to be next year when the ball will be in his hands much more. Ah...the freshman year continues. March madness, and I'm a crazy dad and loving it. I'm saying my prayers tonight too. Win or lose, I'm very proud of my son.
Widener Men’s Basketball Advanced to Sweet 16 with 71-69 Upset of No. 9 York (PA) in Second Round of the NCAA Tournament
Widener clinched its first appearance in the Sweet 16 in 19 years with a 71-69 upset of No. 9 York (PA).
I'm happy my wife,daughter and I were there for my son after the game. I think it was the most pressure he has ever felt on a basketball court. Having to make the critical shots for your team to win (and advance in NCAA play). I told him to remember the important rebound he made after he missed the first two. Many players would not have followed their shot.I also reminded him about the big three point basket he made right before the end of the first half.
I think my son learned a lot this evening. Games like this will humble you and make you stronger. I love the Widener coaches, they joked with my son and reminded him about how important he is to the the team. More pressure next week...of course and there is going to be next year when the ball will be in his hands much more. Ah...the freshman year continues. March madness, and I'm a crazy dad and loving it. I'm saying my prayers tonight too. Win or lose, I'm very proud of my son.
I'm serving as board chair of IPS (Institute for Policy Studies) for a second year. As a progressive think tank, we have to do more than just move ideas into action. We have to also move ideas into objects. This means creating our own brand.
An IPS stamp on programs and products? Our failure to do this might prevent us from promoting our ideas in the future.
An IPS stamp on programs and products? Our failure to do this might prevent us from promoting our ideas in the future.
Show ME the money:
The U.S. Army will reimburse Halliburton Co for nearly all of its $1.5 billion in expenses for delivering fuel into Iraq in 2003. Now check this - military auditors flagged $263 million in billing for fuel deliveries that were questionable or unsuported by documents. The military however will pay $253 million of the amount.
The U.S. Army will reimburse Halliburton Co for nearly all of its $1.5 billion in expenses for delivering fuel into Iraq in 2003. Now check this - military auditors flagged $263 million in billing for fuel deliveries that were questionable or unsuported by documents. The military however will pay $253 million of the amount.
Two chapbooks I received in the mail:
TRANSFER by Alan King.
This book takes you around the DC neighborhoods. A poem about every block? Cafe?
Love stuff, reminding me of myself when I was a poet. On page 27, King steps into Tryst on 18th Street. If I was looking for a clue to explain how and why DC was changing so quickly, it would begin here. Tryst is where you might want to bring a lover, not meet one. I try to avoid the place as much as possible these days. If you see me in there, just call me Bigger and tell me to get my butt back to the Southside. Thanks. Anyway back to King. You can contact him at: NYCKenCole@hotmail.com
i want to be the heat's moist mouth
sliding down your body, ride a
streetcar winding through the avenues
of your sloping districts
- Alan King
You'll never hear Fenty or Cropp talk like this. So...VOTE for poetry.
BANGALORE BLUE by Terry Kennedy came in the mail too. Thanks Roger Taus for sending it this way. This is a Split Shift Book out of Berkeley. Serious love stuff here:
I will kill myself
and take your heart with me
while it still belongs to me only.
Whew. That reminds me of that old Intruders song " Give Her A Transplant."
You remember those lines:
"Take my heart and put it in her body/If she had my heart she would understand."
Yeah, where are those Intruders? I'm in the basement of the Cook Hall dorm (68?), washing clothes and singing "Cowboys to Girls." Bang. Bang.
Boy did the Delfonics save me. I'm not certain about the Bangalore Blues...let me take a second look.
TRANSFER by Alan King.
This book takes you around the DC neighborhoods. A poem about every block? Cafe?
Love stuff, reminding me of myself when I was a poet. On page 27, King steps into Tryst on 18th Street. If I was looking for a clue to explain how and why DC was changing so quickly, it would begin here. Tryst is where you might want to bring a lover, not meet one. I try to avoid the place as much as possible these days. If you see me in there, just call me Bigger and tell me to get my butt back to the Southside. Thanks. Anyway back to King. You can contact him at: NYCKenCole@hotmail.com
i want to be the heat's moist mouth
sliding down your body, ride a
streetcar winding through the avenues
of your sloping districts
- Alan King
You'll never hear Fenty or Cropp talk like this. So...VOTE for poetry.
BANGALORE BLUE by Terry Kennedy came in the mail too. Thanks Roger Taus for sending it this way. This is a Split Shift Book out of Berkeley. Serious love stuff here:
I will kill myself
and take your heart with me
while it still belongs to me only.
Whew. That reminds me of that old Intruders song " Give Her A Transplant."
You remember those lines:
"Take my heart and put it in her body/If she had my heart she would understand."
Yeah, where are those Intruders? I'm in the basement of the Cook Hall dorm (68?), washing clothes and singing "Cowboys to Girls." Bang. Bang.
Boy did the Delfonics save me. I'm not certain about the Bangalore Blues...let me take a second look.