My chapbook collection Generative Noise was a semifinalist in Cutbank Literary Journal's annual chapbook contest

My chapbook collection, Generative Noise, was a semifinalist in Cutbank Literary Journal's annual chapbook contest, but unfortunately did not advance further. 

Review: Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars 

If you believe in justice for all, equal justice for all, not as a myth or a slogan but as an ideal to be fought for, read this book. If you think it already exists, read this book. 

View all my reviews

Congressman John Lewis’s Favorite Lines of Poetry | poets.org

Congressman John Lewis’s Favorite Lines of Poetry - In 2015 during National Poetry Month in April, the Academy of American Poets reached out to...
— Read on poets.org/text/congressman-john-lewiss-favorite-lines-poetry

“Anchor the eternity of love in your own soul and embed this planet with goodness.” John Lewis

“Anchor the eternity of love in your own soul and embed this planet with goodness. Lean toward the whispers of your own heart, discover the universal truth, and follow its dictates. Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge. Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won. Choose confrontation wisely, but when it is your time don’t be afraid to stand up, speak up, and speak out against injustice. And if you follow your truth down the road to peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see, then the poetry of all the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in a nation, a world community, and a Beloved Community that is finally at peace with itself.” John Lewis

Two of my poems are now available for you to read in the July 2020 issue of the Red Earth Review

Two of my poems are now available for you to read in the July 2020 issue of the Red Earth Review HERE.

Am I a racist? A Questionnaire

Do you agree with the following statements?

1. Asian people are naturally smarter in school.

2. Black people are better at sports because their race gives them physical advantages.

3. Mexicans are inherently less ambitious and that’s why they don’t work as hard.

4. The reason that police use more violence in minority communities is because the people there are more violent.

5. The reason certain minorities are poorer is because they don’t try.

6. People should live in neighborhoods with their own kind. It’s the natural thing to do.

7. White people deserve to be where they are because they earned it.

8. Italians are more emotional than other peoples.

9. Most Asian people become professionals like doctors and scientists.

10. White people are not great dancers because they lack natural rhythm.

11. The real racists are those who keep talking about racism.

12. All lives matter. Stop singling out black lives.

13. Blacks and liberal white people have a vested interest in racism.

14. The reason police pull more black people over is because they are more likely to commit crimes.

15. Black people talk the way they do because of their biologic makeup.

16. Most shoplifters are black.

17. I a more afraid when approached by a young black man than a young white man.

18. People should have a mixed child. It’s just not fair to the child.

19. People should marry their own kind.

20. Scientists have proven that there are inherent racial characteristics that are foolish to ignore.

21. I a not racist because I work with a black person and we get along fine.

22. My ancestors came to this country long after slavery so I have no responsivity for it.

23. People should stop taking about slavery and back people should get over it. It happened 150 years ago.

24. The Confederate (battle) flag is a symbol of America and should be honored for the brave me who fought under it.

25. Blacks and Hispanics should be content with what they have been given in this great country.

26. Black people have enough rights. What more do they want?

27. Black kids are more likely to use marijuana–that’s why more of them are in jail.

28. I’m not prejudiced. I learned Spanish.

29. Most Hispanics are illegal.

30. Native Americans love to gamble. That’s why they own so many casinos.

31. Black men have trouble controlling their sex drive.

32. Most Arab-Americans hate our country.

33. All white people are racists.

34. People should not be offended by racial jokes. We have to have a sense of humor about things.

35. Black people use the N-word so why can’t I?

36. I don’t see color.

37. If racism is still a problem, how come we had a black president?

38. White people are likely to be the victims of reverse racism.

39. Minority groups are too sensitive.

40. I’m not racist–but…

The more statements you agreed with, the more likely you hold racist views. You may want to consider where those views came from and why you hold them.

If you disagreed with all of the statements, good for you. Now what are you doing to change the system?

No need to tell us your results. This is not about shame or celebration. We each need to keep working on ourselves and our society.

Monuments and Memorials - Some brief reflections

Monuments and Memorials

Some brief reflections

 

1.      Monuments and memorials are created in the present of their erection as an interpretation of the past.

2.      Damaging or destroying them is vandalism and is a crime, though a much less serious crime that assault or murder whether by a civilian or an officer of the law under cover of authority.

3.      Those memorials and monuments are reinterpreted by each generation as they rethink the meaning of our history. They may try to fix that interpretation but our judgement of the past evolves.

4.      The motivations of those who erected those monuments and memorials probably varied among the individuals who supported doing so. But it is a fact that they were erected during the imposition of Jim Crow, the revival of the KKK after WWI, and in response to the Civil Rights movement, especially after Brown v. Board.

5.      And the espoused motivation as expressed in speeches at the time of the dedication of those memorials often clearly stated they were monument to preservation of the “Anglo-Saxon race” against those of inferior breed. For instance, https://www.dennyburk.com/a-speech-delivered-at-the-dedication-of-the-silent-sam-monument/

6.      The motivations of those currently damaging, destroying or adding graffiti to historical monuments probably varies much among the individuals doing it–ranging from idealism through anger to ignorance of history and perhaps for some the joy of destruction.

7.      But the espoused motivation of those who speak for the removal of the memorials doesn’t describe vandalism as the goal. For instance, https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-07-06/mississippi-students-voted-move-civil-war-statue-now-fear-confederate-shrine

8.      Those who advocate for keeping the memorials where they are located in city squares and public places often say “preserving our heritage” is the goal. However, never in that “heritage” is there a place for abolitionists like John and John Quincy Adams, Thaddeus Stevens, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, etc. Nor in those squares or public places are there monuments to the heritage of those who fought for the union and against slavery such a U. S. Grant of Lincoln.

9.      Instead, the story of Union Generals and politicians is often that they attacked and destroyed the innocent South like barbarians. What is left out is the story of how, for instance, Lee and his army invaded Pennsylvania and Maryland, captured free blacks even if they had never been slaves and enslaved them. Or the story of how many of those Confederate generals executed all black Union captives as at Fort Pillow. Or the story that some sought to reestablish white supremacy after the war through the creation of the KKK or other means.

10.  So I conclude that it is long past time that we remove those monuments and memorials, not merely because of “sensitivity” to some who are offended but as a statement that we as a nation do recognize and remember our history, our entire history, and that we want to celebrate our ideals not our failings while acknowledging both with brutal honesty. That we will keep their names in the history book but not place them on tall monuments. That their statues may belong on the Confederate side of Gettysburg and other battlefields, but they no longer belong in the pantheon of those men and women who are the best of what it means to be and American. Their removal is not a “forgetting” of history. It is rather a correcting of it.

Review: Rattle Young Poets Anthology 2020

Rattle Young Poets Anthology 2020 by Timothy Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars 

A delightful collection of poetry by young people, ages 5 to 15. Many of these poems are superior to those written by older, published poets (perhaps after the latter have been groomed by MFA programs?). 

View all my reviews

My Creative Writing Class this fall at Germanna Community College will be fully Online