Thank you, Courtney Gillette....

I did a search with the names
Grace Paley
Adrienne Rich
and this was not the first in the list,
but oh so worth reading & sharing.

I heard Adrienne Rich read once at RISD many years ago.
Mostly, I remember the collective joyful anticipation & some disagreement on how to pronounce, *Adrienne*.
Long A vs. short A...

My condolences to her family & all who knew and loved her...

"A wild patience has taken me this far..."

Happy Birthday, Alice Walker !

It's thanks to a Howard Zinn page on facebook, the Zinn Education Project, that I realized this birthday.

I will post that link later today.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
This is the page that Howard Zinn page offered, an interview of Alice Walker by Amy Goodman from Democracy Now....

Ok, I am going to try to post the interview on its own....--

I was either in high school or college when I first read Ms. Walker's fiction & poetry.

Her poem, *Expect Nothing*, was introduced to me by a colleague when I was a counselor at Indian Brook, one of the Farm & Wilderness Camps in Vermont. I was 18 or 19. Those lines have helpfully danced in my head for 30 years!

* Live frugally on surprise. *

Listen to Mamie "Peanut" Johnson...

Everyone has stories to tell, but not everyone can tell them with the detail and joy that these videos offer.

And, I credit the interviewer with making this look easy....

Rites & Reason offered a one woman show performed by Melodie Thompson, directed by Marsha Z. West about Mamie Johnson. How did I miss it?

And, if there's family in Connecticut, then she fits my definition of neighbor....

Sending Love to the Family of Juliet Steer

I have only just today learned of the cruel effort made by one woman to have Juliet Steer removed from her resting place.

From what I have read about Ms. Steer, she sounds like a very thoughtful caring woman. Firstly, I offer my condolences to her sons & loved ones for the loss of her presence....

I cannot imagine what it is like to have to hear this woman's complaints and have to deal with lawyers & more...

It is good the Congregation of Ahavath Achim is defending your family's rights.

Racism must be confronted.

The particular irony, which I have not seen in any of the articles I read, is that:

Ahavath Achim means: The Love of Brothers.

!

I am in Rhode Island, not that far from Connecticut, and I share in your grief.

Thank you, Steer family, for your Grace and Faith, and please, know that I am honored to imagine being near you. I will hope to learn more about my Sister Juliet Steer to keep her memory alive.

The Ninjanurse posts about the Langston Hughes Reading at RISD

This is an annual event, and I find a way to miss it every year.

Of course, there is a basketball game for my son on Sunday, and of course, it is in the middle of the afternoon, and of course, it is possibly the last one of this season.
(This is not the Rec league -- this is his other team...)

I love Langston Hughes and his writing and am very happy that this happens ....

Thank you, dear Ninjanurse and Kmareka for keeping this up front.

Philliss remastered has a Happy Birthday, Langston Hughes ! post.

Happy Birthday, Langston Hughes, one day late !!

Happy Birthday, MarShon Brooks !

I am not worried about comparisons with Kobe or anyone. MarShon is bringing joy to many fans, in and out of Rhode Island.

Wishing MarShon many healthy wonderful Birthdays ~ ! ~ and love to your Family (the non-athletes...), too .

And ! I just realized that today is Angela Davis' Birthday -- thank you, Mark Anthony Neal -- !

the "Happy face"

This is the first Face, in a series of four, offered by my neighbor in a patient response to my request.

He is very close to 18 months old and has no lack of expressions.

Rhode Island Council of Churches leader supports removal of prayer banner - Warwick Beacon

Council of Churches leader supports removal of prayer banner - Warwick Beacon

Thank you, Reverend Anderson !

There was a time when I worked closely with members of the Rhode Island Council of Churches in the interest of protecting our immigrant / refugee communities from harm. Also, the Roman Catholic Diocese & the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) were active in pure humanitarian work.

No one evangelized me. We were united by practical tasks.

Ironically, I learned this good news, thanks to someone in (from?) New Zealand (!! ) sharing the link on a facebook page...

a Song for Jessica Ahlquist!

Jessica Ahlquist, teen advocate of Separation of Church & State, has received some disturbing threats, far beyond the realm of disagreement or criticism.

She has also brought many freethinking, Constitution respecting, eclectic people together.

One grateful person shared this Song...

Hoping the link works...

This Atheist Sympathizer is honored by Jessica's courage and good humor....

Jessica Ahlquist Has Won Her Lawsuit!

Jessica Ahlquist Has Won Her Lawsuit!

This makes me happy !
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
The Rhode Island news reaching national attention does not always give me joy, but this certainly does.

It's a small state, I have faith (oops, yes, I do!) that I will meet this young woman some day, and let her know I'm grateful for her courage and clarity.

Here's a link with a few details....

Sweet Marsha Z. West ! Look What I Found !

Thinking about Marsha Z. West, and imagining listening to her thoughts on The Help and on the greater world of Theater and Love and Many things,

I found this amazing site, African Amerhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifican Playwrights Exchange

I don't have the time now to check out all the links on the side, but I see Rites and Reason, of course, and I recognize some of the names.

And it is a treat and a joy to see many names that are new to me....

I don't doubt for a second that if I searched, I would find Marsha's name in an earlier post, and that she probably knew artists involved with almost all of those theaters and websites. She was "Mama" to many !

I am so grateful to have witnessed her on the stage and to have been directed by her.

As Marsha, wrote in her notes: "Smooches" . . .

How Grace Paley influenced one writer

I have just found this today, and greatly appreciate it.

Near the end, Summer Wood writes,

". . . the one time I met her in person I was overwhelmed with her warmth and kindness toward me."

That was precisely my experience & I have written those words almost verbatim. ! !

The internet has its failings & flimsiness, but I am grateful for the connections & awareness it offers....

Alice Walker: *Democratic Womanism*

I was thrilled yesterday to find these poems on Alice Walker's blog.

Her writing teaches me so much.

Thank you, Alice Walker, for Everything !

MarShon Brooks ! Way to Represent Providence College

MarShon Brooks is bringing Joy to Providence College 'Friars' Fans !

Thank you !

I grew up listening to the Nets on the radio. Now, I mostly root for the Celtics, but I will be cheering for Marshon wherever he plays.

Happy New Year, Everyone !

From Facundo Cabral

The morning Facundo Cabral was murdered, I barely knew who he was. I was moved by the grief a friend of mine in Guatemala conveyed, and her shame at the violence so endemic.

In facebook and online, I found many others grieving the loss of this man, who had so much love for so many, and such wisdom and humor, and, of course, his music....

Here is one saying attributed to him:

Se gana y se pierde, se sube y se baja, se nace y se muere. Y si la historia es tan simple, ¿por qué te preocupas tanto?

Here is my very quick unedited translation:

One wins and loses, one is up and down, one is born and dies. And if the history is so simple, why do you worry so much ?

I am a gifted worrier, a talent both inherited and learned, and sometimes I 'worry' about this blog, not doing justice to my beloveds above: to Rhett S. Jones and Marsha Z. West, to Harold Rogovin and to Grace Paley....

Then I find a comment or a link, find someone who responds to one article or one quote, and the worry evaporates.

How Grateful I am for this community of commenters, bloggers, readers and writer.

Thank you, each and every one.

I celebrate the lives of many who have died, and bring their names and stories to the babies and children and teenagers....

Thank you, each and every one.

Jacob's blog ~ Or I ♥ my cousins

The blogroll here is undergoing very deliberate revision.

Jacob's Scraps

is the newest addition.

Jacob Hodes is my cousin. Ok, perhaps once removed; our moms are First Cousins.

The Rhode Island connections are these: J. grew up in Massachusetts or the vast RI Metropolitan Area.

J.'s mom went to RISD, and was among the first to discern the Henry and Carol Reagan Shelton romance..

John Medeiros is from Rhode Island !

If you visit the internets, which, of course, you do or you would not be here, then you may well have seen this Apology published first in a Minnesota paper.

Yes, John Medeiros lives in Minnesota and directs his apology to one local politician (or ex-politician? ).

John is from Rhode Island!

I can say that through his work at the International Institute of RI & mine at John Hope Settlement House, we became friends.

He is a wonderful person & I am happy this letter is receiving acclaim.

John is truly a mensch & his brother is a gentleman, too.

Richard L. Grossman on the train to New York

Years ago, I traveled from Providence to New York fairly often, and always by train.

One day, at least 20 years ago, there was a man sitting near me, who, I think had been on the train since Boston, and his comment about the litter we observed prompted a lengthy conversation about the state of the world.

That man was Richard L. Grossman, and as I type this, I recall, his daughter might have been a college student in RI, and he might have been leaving Providence for NY, as well. Or possibly, he was on his way to visit her....

We talked for an hour about economics and this country, and he mentioned very casually his writing and leadership.

Weeks or months later, I developed an inkling over who he was. This was before the internet was in my daily use. He had, I think, given me a phone number or an address on a scrap of paper....

I called him or sent him a note, and he sent me a package with about 5 copies of one of his publications . It was a generous gift, and I treasured it.

Yesterday, I learned of his recent death.

Here is The Nation's piece about Richard L. Grossman.


I am really glad that I met him and send my condolences to his loved ones....

" Empathy is a Wave..." -- Alice Walker

I have never met Alice Walker, but I was influenced by her poetry and fiction way back in high school, and I love her non-fiction and activism, too.

Here is a brief essay that she wrote for the Middle East Children's Alliance:

Empathy is a Wave: The Banning of Palestinian Children's Art (From the Museum of Children's Art in Oakland)



The Good News is that the Exhibit will take place tomorrow!

" Empathy is a wave that need never be stopped." ~ Alice Walker, 2011

Blueberries On T (mi vecinito)