BE BOLD

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

SEASON'S GREETINGS

 

WINTER MUSINGS

 

I don't remember writing many stories or poems about winter, but I may start. Winter is my second favorite season (autumn is my first).

HERE! HERE! WINTER HAS ARRIVED

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

When writing a story or poem I reveal a part of me that previously I may not have shared. Looking back, I'm happy that I did. 

Not saying the things I really want to say is a disservice to my readers and myself. I have traveled some dark roads in my writing life. I believe that some of my best writing came during those dark days. 

I say write those things that scare you, that haunt you. It's a divide I believe writers must cross. The river doesn't stay the same all the time, neither does my writing.

CRATES OF NOTEBOOKS

Every now and then I read stories and poems I wrote years ago. I have a crate of notebooks full of my thoughts and musing. I don't throw away any of my of my writing. It may be useful for future stories and poems. 

My moods were many. Joy. Happiness. Despair. Hope. Sadness. Anger. Gratefulness. There wee times four and five hours straight.  And I still had more to write! The deeper I went into the oceans of my mind the more I had to say. Such is my lot. It's better than running out of anything meaningful to say. 

A DECADE EARLIER?

 I wonder what if I was born a decade earlier. I probably would be acquainted with Jack Kerouac's classic, On The Road. I would been immersed with the jazz and folk scene. Possibly frequent all the coffee shops 👂 listening to and reciting poetry.

Alas, I entered the world a decade later. In my youth, folk had given way to rock. Kerouac was near the end of the road. Protest as against the Vietnam War were at a climax. 

I can only write about my time period that am living in. I love listening to stories of folks who came before me. There's an interconnectedness between writing periods. ✍  I try to make them my own to see where it may lead. I've written a number of poems and stories doing this.

I am in the era that I'm suppose to be.

WORDS OF WISDOM

A lot of the time when I write about the person that I love, I feel like I'm writing ✍ about New York.

~Lana Del Ray

WRITE THEM DOWN!

Each of us has his/her reasons why we write. Te point is to write. It doesn't matter where as long as I put thoughts on paper. 

I get many thoughts and ideas when I wake up. I make sure to write those thoughts down lest I forget them. Hate it when I don't. They are lost forever.

UNCHARTERED TERRITORY

I have been in unchartered territories as an author. I don't choose to go there; it's just that I somehow ended up there. Writing is like life; never the same all the time. Being a curious soul, I trek on. 

I view it as a fringe benefit. I can go without anything to stop me. Is it fearful? Maybe. Will it help me to write a better story or poem? Possibly. Is it worth taking the chance? Yes.  

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

A GREAT IDEA

 

WRITERS/POETS BORN IN DECEMBER

Sandra Cisneros

Stanley Crouch

Joan Didion

Emily Dickinson

Horace

Shirley Jackson

Jay-Z

Joyce Kilmer

Margaret Mead

John Milton

Ann Patchett

Rainier Maria Rilke

Christina Rossetti

Muriel Rukeyser

David Sedaris

SAME SOUND, DIFFERENT MEANING

Bread, bred

Heard, herd

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

TIME FOR REFLECTION

This time of year (Thanksgiving thru New Year's Day) is my time of reflection. I have written a few poems in recent days about reflection. Looking at what going on in the world, I am seeing what is really important. Love, respect, a sense that we matter. These are some things, I believe, many people desire.

I post positive things on my Facebook account because folks need encouragement and something to begin their day on a positive note. My poems are a mix of joy, reflection, gratefulness, and hope. I look back on the vents that have happened this. I also am anticipating more things in the future.

I am a septuagenarian with a child's curiosity. As I continue on life's journey, I will visualize what I want to accomplish and go after them. There are areas that I know can be improved on. Reflection is not only reminiscing but a call to move ahead.

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT COUNTRY

                                               US                                    FOREIGN

Cairo                           Georgia, Illinois                  Egypt

Harlem*                       New York                           Netherlands (spelled with 2 As}

Melbourne                   Florida                               Australia

Moscow                       Idaho                                 Russia

St. Petersburg             Florida                               Russia

OBSCURE POET-ROBERT HAYDEN

 

Robert Hayden (1913-1980)

First black U S Poet Laureate

First black professor in the English department at the University of Michigan

He never embraced black separation, because of his Baha'i faith, and believed in the unity of humanity.

W.H. Auden, Langston Hughes, Elinor Wylie, and Paul Laurence Dunbar were some of his influences

NOTABLE WORKS

Selected Poems

Words In The Mourning Time

The Lion and The Archer

Angle of Ascent

Robert Hayden is more known now than he was during his lifetime. He was a victim of the discrimination, prejudice, and conventions of the writing of times that were popular. Like Paul Laurence Dunbar and Jack Kerouac, I embraced Hayden because he defied convention. 

Hayden was dismissed by militant black authors because he didn't embrace their philosophy. He wanted to be known as a poet, not just a black poet. I can understand his feelings because I believe the same way.