rootwork the rootsblog: a cyberhoodoo webspace

on the nature of the longgame

FRIDAY: 3:31 AM: 105:100 of 115: moving forward again, slow but sho, at this rate id say ima need another week, good lord willing

THURSDAY: 3:10 AM: 100:97 of 115: endgame is killing me, its like this is where the novel goes to die, focus rick, focus

WEDNESDAY: 3:52 PM: 95:97 of 115: rough day of narrative mud & endgame reassessments, lost my cushion, still trying

TUESDAY 5:50: PM: 90:96 of 115: ive gotten very flexible, slogging thru endgame & narrative mud now, a days cushion

TUESDAY 6:35 AM:  90:84 of 115  at 84 only one page behind but starting day 5 pgs in hole, need 90 by days end

so actually 6 in the hole, so be it, step by step, word by word, its trench warfare seperate the writers from the dilletantes

gingrich is frightening aint he, he plays those base resentment codes much too well but i
still think he best foil for obama, i cant imagine him winning, romney i can - problem

of course is that you can never underestimate the american publics capacity for self destruction

i got to go, i got 6 pages need doing, only reason i stopped rolling at 84 was i hit a wall - thats still waiting
sometime when you get up in the morming and look at a wall fresh its not as bad as you feared, or you

lower your standards - my standards are getting a little more flexible everyday, im not going to miss my deadline

i man do not play that, a week or two behind i still count that as deadline, often thats when i get serious/ie
desperate -  a week or two i will accept, no mas - i do not miss deadlines, ima professional thru & thru

SUNDAY:  85:71 OF 115

ok, back in the saddle, clocked 11 pages yesterday, actually one day does not back in the saddle make
but im thinking positive, also coming into play is my system, thats partly why i have those 2 days a week off

for catch up purposes, falling behind ocassionally is unfortunately part of the deal when you daily deadlining
3 sentences, (or is that 4) ohwell, bes like that sometime -

also something i came up w/yesterday i have to play with, clarify and gain mastery over it , so i can
use it systematically in my texts, because i like to do it adhoc & making adhoc explicit is always good:

cascading trickeration - incongruent narrative conjunctions that make for intuitive revelation, back to back & breathless, every phrase, every word blowing the readers mind, expanding it relentless w/layers of speculative meaning, & understanding, o wow

found these two musicians when nyt had review of olatuja, and on one cut he was singing w/eska, so i hunted her down too, they both been added to rickydocs cosmic playlist, give you olatuja tomorrow - its all about pacing

you know one of the things i love about obama, he go against the blackfolk as loud and huffy puffy w/no followtru trope
as you know dear regulators de old spiritdoctor been trying to work the black soul/psyche - culture for the more pedestrian inclined - transform its weaknesses into strength

obama is a good example of the new blackfolk that im trying to forge:  he quiet, he deadly,
serious about his longgame, serious about taking care of business, a new model of blackness

for our youngsters, thats what im talking about 

 

 

 

SATURDAY  85:62 of 115

 hello world, as you may have noticed ive been in an unproductive funk last week or so, so it may
have been the best time, depending on how i respond to it, to receive the following 'fan' email:

========================

uh, mr hoodoo man,

it's been a very long time since i've visited your rootsblog website. to be honest, i really got tired of waiting for you to finish your book. pardon me if a little bit of my frustration, really anger, are reflected in my words. but, Mojo Rising: Confessions of a 21st Century Conjureman, 1 used on amazon.com for $150? WTF! W...T...F?

i really want to give u the benefit of the doubt, because i can't conjure up a reasonable explanation for the above situation. do u have a book publishing or book distribution problem? really, in the digital age of 2012? uh, ebook, Kindle book, or even old school paperback in your longgame?

how are you going to influence a generation of black folks with 1 used on amazon.com for $150? any other hidden back alleys where i may purchase your priceless tome?

and i won't even get started on De Mojo Blues. one of the best books i ever read. let's see, hmm, that was back around 1986. a story left unfinished, no muthaf..k..g sequel yet? 2012? shit, you could have made a harry potter-like series out of that. yea, u really hurt my spirit on that one mr hoodoo man. i still haven't recovered.

again, pardon my words, i must be a vessel dem bones are speaking through. cuz, what they're telling me is that your longgame is now a shortgame,

shake, shake...

=========================
  

ok, where do i start - one, aint nobody more frustrated than me that this novel not done - so thats that

two, i try to keep production commentary down to 1st two sentences per post, then move on to commentary

so hopefully there is a little more substance to the ride than me me me, but in the final analysis
im all about constructing an artistic online avatar/traveling spirit & deep me is all about production

a struggle every wouldbe writer must engage and win

im just trying to make the ride interesting, the old enjoy the journey bit -  trying to shape the
production commentary so it will be useful guidance for any youngster struggling w/production

but ima have to tell you, like wolfie in amadeus, ultimately this is not for you, its for future generations
who hopefully will want to study and understand my process, the struggle of I man working out my legacy

as for distribution issues, just dont have time to fuck with it, every discretionary moment goes into novel

when i finish (and sell) this manuscript, hopefully this woodshed, then i will have time/focus to do a lot of

backed up stuff, including digitizing (as in cuttingedge hypertext) RFTW, but i just got to be patient,

fact that all my books out of print fuck w/my head a lot more than it fuck with his

got to stick to my longgame not matter what it look like to the public,
folk got to trust me, and if you dont trust me, fuck you too

i have to say this missive hurt a little - its value depends on how i use it, do i use it to get back in the saddle or do

i let it depress me further  -  its got to be the saddle, full of righteous i will show you fury - start slow rick, 3 hours a day

ok, is that it - o no, 1 copy of mojo rising: $150 dollars, i think thats kinda cute actually, 1 because that book is
dated and i actually rather folk not read it, it embarrasses me, i plan to update it this break - patience puppy

then publish it myself, that one ima keep as mine, full control - im not giving that one to the industry

two i like having a book thats so rare and valued its an investment opportunity, i kinda like that, since its
not apparently ever going to be a best seller (or even in print?) might as well go with the red door

and as for speaking to future generations who cant afford $150, or even $5, what the hell do you think im doing here

wasting time i could be working on RFTW is what, of which this post has used more than 2 sentences

hopefully i will be able to add some commentary later, for right now i got to get back to work - frustration?
man you dont know the meaning of the word frustration, had to work on my cv today, thought about how

ive given the last decade of my life to this novel, (really two but we not going there) had to take c.v. into the
office today and a colleage said hey arthur, i hear you having trouble letting that novel go, whats wrong

insert big sigh here 

(i also experiment w/narrative licks here that end up in novel basically, like that little lick just then, ima use that one - insert big sigh here - o that was smooth rick, god i do so love to play - whoa, i believe that was another lick, rick, a boom shaka laka of cascading trickeration - how deep can you go, rick, how many layers can you put in a text, a word, thats what i want to know, just how good are you, i mean really . . .)

i been working on this novel fullcourt for a decade now, folk starting to look at me like my name is ellison
i remember my 1st novel, 13 years, folk took to calling it, the phantom - hey art, how is the phantom coming

ha ha

fuck it, i got to get back to work, just put the world out of your mind rick, remember what babajohn said:
future generations will not care about the pressures on you, they will not care about bills, tenure, or your ego

all they will have is the work, make it count, do your best

as for the fan i will tell him thanks for the kick in the ass, tell him to send me a mailing address
and i will send him a copy of mojo rising, they are all up in my attic, boxes and boxes of them,

the publisher was going to trash them, they werent selling, they were just taking up her space,
i trekked down to the city, packed them in the car, put them up into the attic, all i can do

i got to go, got to work that cascading trickeration riff into the novel some where

big sigh here, really big sigh

all my love

FRIDAY 85:62 of 115

hello world, im in a very complicated space
o well, let me maintain

my girl etta james, queenmother of the blues, graduated today, may your work serve many generations

also momentus, treboy setag came out of his cave to bring this newsweek article to my
attention on fb, he must have thought it was important, so do i, andrew sullivan showing

appreciation for obamas longgame - a must read for all the hardleft purist whining about obama
doing this, obama aint done that, so you get a feel for how the longgame is played

and even sullivan dont see the full length of the game, some guy on huffpost was saying do we cripple the most progressive president weve had in a generation, just cause we not totally satisfied w/the way hes wove his game, and will we get a more progressive or less progressive (read romney or gingrich here) one to replace him,

and i might add have you really thought thru what a republican victory will entail, they have to be thoroughly
repudiated at the polls or this political cancer of their irresponsible worldview represents will just grow stronger

i been sending obma money regular (which is very new for me) & when i went home i found
sheree thomas doing precinct work, i was very impressed, i got to step up my game

obama strike me as a rightuous (as in want to do right) brother in a complicated spot

aint letting that brother go down without a fight

a writer got to do what a writer got to do

THURSDAY

im tempted to say one more day of sloth and im back in the saddle, but thats just a recipe for
never getting work done  - its got to be today, tomorrow never comes

progressive friends keep trying to get me to put obama down, not going to happen, just look
at the alternatives, i mean really, i agree with casca in a huffpost article this morning:

my progressive friends keep trying to get me to put obama down, he didnt do this, he did that -
well, thats not going to happen - i agree w/casca in huffpost this morning:

"Should we undermine the most progressive-minded president in at least a generation and will his failure help or hurt the progressive cause? Will his failure pave the way for a more progressive president or a less progressive president? This is the debate on the left."

WEDNESDAY 75:62 of 115

i been out the loop and off the grid, and have not been productive, bes like that sometime, now
i got to do catchup, everyonce in awhile my discipline goes out on me and i dissipate myself

god help me i am 15 pages behind, ok, if i get back to work and make the weekend i can make
up the 15 then, maybe get a couple pages ahead during the week, focus rick, you can do this

i believe in you

SATURDAY  60:62 OF 115

hello world - as you can see i took the weekend off, as scheduled, supposed to have 65 by monday so i will
be back in the saddle then, all i need is 3, it will be a cold day in hell when i cant get 3 pages - its all good

so, what do you think about colberts ad, i dont know what hes doing exactly with that super pac of his but
it sure is interesting, boy taking farce into uncharted territory, no longer satisfied w/being an observer

he is positioning himself as a player, he keep playing this hard and he will be influential,
just what that influence will be i hesitate to say, boy got a twisty mind - im impressed

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

 

 

 

FRIDAY: 60:62 OF 115

3 pages, not my best day but im still ahead of the game, should be on pg 60 now according to schedule:
ran up on a major hole thats going to require rewriting a couple of scenes to fix, bes like that sometime

ran across this photo online, every once in awhile i google arthur flowers just to see what comes up, this
photo did, i look kinda impressive dont i, hunted down the provenance, the spitting image bookstore in ithaca,

so, have you seen newts romney/bain video yet, its worth watching - its obvious now why the repubs up in
arms against him, if he doesn't backdown this dialogue will expose and clarify corporate raidship far more

effectively than the OWS movement could dream of, it will expose repub rhetoric for what it is and even more so
because it comes from one of their own - when newt complained about how hard mitt came at him in iowa,

mitt told him to suck it up - now that they have to deal w/their one of their best kamikazes coming at them
its going to be interesting to see how this plays out - it behooves those of us who actually care about

america to stir the pot, do it newt  -  okay, one more note and im gone,

this nation article, well written i thought, (ima keep an eye on this young brother) says that repub candidates
no longer feel compelled to speak in racial codes, they very comfortable 'calling a spade a spade' he say

mostly because their base is cool with that and there is no electoral penalty for it these days, santorum w/his
blah people, newts foodstamps (thats alright newt i forgive you, just keep tearing down romney & we cool)

they all pushing that blackfolk living off other peoples money bit (reparations anyone?)
according to this article its the election of obama that has totally freaked the repub base out

all the more reason for me to get back to work - 3 page days will not get me to the promised land

well actually it will but not in a suitable timeframe

pray for me

 

 

THURSDAY: 55:62 of 115

hello world, im feeling really groovy, my minimum pageage yesterday was 50, i got 59
damn if that aint a groove, had a little time for nuance work, thats refreshing

moving well because its mostly mature manuscript w/rough patches, but im moving into 2nd
half of novel now and its going to be tougher going because threads have to be wove

closure have to be satisfying

so far its been a great woodshed, my plan at this point is to:

- spend jan on a moneydraft (turn in to agent) of rest
- feb on rewrite of mojo rising
- mar: dig into hoodoo book of flowers: this 1 will take some months, lets say mar/apr/may
- june - new lowresidency gig univ of tampa w/jeff parker - 10 days, 4 months online crits
- jun, july, last draft RFTW - (if novel sold before then & editor asking for changes have to rescramble plan)
- aug: annual study of the shortstory, start the hoodoo tales, my book of shorts

by mid aug got to start thinking schoolhouse again, shortstory study will seque into that nicely
and somewhere in there will need a couple of weeks of zonked out postwoodshed rest

what i really want out of this is a clean RFTW and a viable draft of the hoodoo book of flowers: the great
black book of generations, thats my real prority (viable meaning if i die before i get to next draft its ok)

HBOF: my hoodoo holybook, my sacred text, my african american way - not too many writers have pulled off viable holybooks
i pull that off and it will shape many generations - for all practical purposes RFTW is a holybook too, a diff kind of sacred text

and you know something dear regulators, this time off make me realize, ima retire soon as i can
been thinking i would keep teaching until about 70 because essentially i like teaching, it keeps me on

my toes, trying to keep up with my fledglings, trying to stay one step ahead of them
but i think when i hit 66 im out, hopefully i still got a little energy left, some chops

ok, time to get back to work, the thing about the woodshed push is it doesnt matter how good you were yesterday
next morning you got to gird your loins and do it again, the same battle against procrastination and diversion

being ahead of the curve takes out some of the anxiety, if i miss my goal today im still ahead of schedule
but i know that weak days do not get you to the promiseland, weak days increase my anxieties about

about not having lived up to my literary potential before i die

not being after all the legacy i so hope to be

when im being productive thats when i feel like im being who im supposed to be
i cant do anything (well much) about the way the world receives it, all i can do is

conduct myself as if i were in truth the force i aspire to be

write the books i know im supposed to write

i got to go, i got to meet the beast

all my love

rdoc

WEDNESDAY: 50:59 of 115

at 10 points single space (easier to carry around) novel is 115 pages, im doing 5 a day (10 in a doublespace count)
starting today at 45, yesterdays count, todays count is 50 - did yesterdays 5, thats good, the big mo - tried to get a

little cushion but such is life, todays 5 will be hard, some scenes im still too
close to, they dredge up emotional unease sometime pain, it take a certain

kind of will to ignore that & plow thru - some scenes/poems/chapters/stories they hard to rewrite, still
too much emotional baggage tied to them, they the ones you have to step back & settle yourself, grit your

literary teeth & slog thru the pain, a professional thru & thru: writer got to do what a writer got to do &

a work dont cost you aint worth writing - ok i need to quit stalling, im going in - all my love

 

 

TUESDAY: 45:45 of 115

been awhile, been in the delta & on the road - low production, back in the cuse now & lookng forward to woodshed routine
according to my schedule 5 pages a day (10 doublespace) will get me to promeland end of january, a draft to send to agent

just finished todays 5, 11:08 am, i think now i will try to get 5 pages ahead of game, a little cushion

ok - some commentary, a break, and back to work:

this my read for 2012: romney, crippled by bain attacks, wins nomination - ronpaul naders him w/3rd party run that sucks away repub voters unhappy w/romney/bain - meanwhile back at the ranch obama gives biden state and takes on hilllary as vice, landslide - or maybe just another fantasy, im good at those too

doing performance for africanstudentassoc univofmemphis april 6, im billed as deltagriot done good -

o im going to enjoy this, the downhome special, full regalia: bells on my ankles, medicine coat & adorned in 101 talismans, rattle in my hand & working the prophetic - & when i step on stage so adorned their initial response will be who is this afroam pretender, then ima show them how we do it in the delta, show them afroams havent lost their chops, ima let myself go, unleash the full monty

this the kind of venue i live for, representing, ima rock the house and elevate they spirits - oldschool

& i believe its the anniversary of mlks death, a day of service
got to keep that in mind, while im rocking the house

im out, takes me days to recover from the road nowdays,
old boy aint the roadwarrior he used to be - dont mean i aint

gon kick it, just take me a minute to recover - all my love

 

production: everyday the good lord see fit to give me

FRIDAY MORNING

on the road, sitting in a roadside motel, trying to do a little catchup
my count before i left was 42, didnt do anything yesterday, all road

so now im about 3 pages behind and need a 50 before today is done
and i did some thoughts while i was on the road that i need to work into

the text while they hot - best i get busy - sure am sorry the repubs stood down
on the tax rebate - i was hoping to milk that one out a little, i had visions of folk

getting those short paychecks every 2 weeks & cursing out the house, ohwell

i cant imagine that any colored person would fall for ron pauls bullshit (nor the rightwing
in general for that matter, but sense they often do, perhaps they should read the 2008 tnr

article about his newletters, talk about oldschool, no if no and no but, problem is that a lot of
folk feel the way he does, theyve just learned to hide it better, the repub debates being a case

in point

im out, i got to clock 8 pages today, still got sat & sun for backup but i would
prefer to use the weekend to get some cushion for next week, the holiday

was reading where palin is accusing the whitehouse of blasphemy or something
because their christmas card doesnt mention jesus - it cross my mind that the word holiday

is probably a riff on holyday, wonder if i can use that somewhere

all my love

 

WEDNESDAY

okay, im in, rickydoc is in the groove, should be on the road but i had to dig in 1st
so now the road will be a day long meditation on the work, okay, this the way i woodshed:

(at least on mature manuscript) x pages a day will get me to a certain day w/a manuscript
at 10 pt singlespace (easier to carry around) my manuscript is 114 pgs,

at 5 pgs a day i will hit 114 on wed, jan 11

thats taking sats & suns off, if i dont schedule 2 days off i will take them anyway and feel bad so i do
5 pgs is nothing, a struggle but a doable struggle - the key is dont think about all you have to do, just do

your 5 pgs  - so i got 36 now, ima try to do 45 before i get on the road, bec thur will be on road and rough
the struggle will be doing my 5 while in memphis, living at my sisters, family and friends demanding

their pound of flesh, if i was sitting at the sacred desk this would be a done deal, the odds are actually
against me trying to do it in memphis, but it would be nice to do this draft in memphis, surrounded by

memphis ambiance and doing whatever research i can do in the memphis room of the city library
and if it is just too hard i will come back to sryacuse and schedule rest of january doing it

either way ima have a draft by end of january, 5 pgs a day will keep the blues away

that 5 is based on current pace  -  i started w/10 a day, 10 was too hard, cut back to 5, 5 im clocking, but its early, 1st half of manuscript always easiest, 2nd half got to tie up loose ends, its gets harder, 5 might be a problem then

i will cross that bridge when i get to it, will clock 5s as long as i can, it is a superhuman expectation but
superhuman expectation is the only thing that get a novel wrote

im actually betting that i can keep my focus while in memphis, and if i dont i wont hammer myself about it
but thats why im sitting here trying to clock a 9 before i get on the road, i know it will be diff 24 hour shift

so im trying to get one day ahead of the game, a 5 today would be 40, tomorrow would be 45, if i get it done
before i get on the road, im good until fri

(then you got your off days, if you dont stay on game during week, you can use sat and sun for catchup - or to get ahead of next week, so if im stumbling by friday will catch up this weekend, but the win is staying a day or two ahead, to account for the exigencies of the road, it keeps my anxieties at bay if im ahead of the game instead of behind)

i assume this dont interest you dear regulators, but production issues will obsess me during woodshed

everyday gon be a struggle to get my work done, to work productively and efficiently, to make use of everyday the good lord see fit to give me

all my love

rickydocs call: divinations 2012

MONDAY

having trouble getting my groove on, focus rick, 3 hours is not a lot to ask
(but of course if i focus enuf to get 3 that means i will be able to stick it for 6 - theoretically)

okay, 5:20, at 5:30 im going in, and im not coming out till 8:30, I will let you know how it went
1 of my stalls is wanting to do other projects, less daunting projects, like mojo rising redux

my plan is to do a revision of mojo rising every 10 years or so, feel like my memoir should evolve
as i do, see what im saying, would like to spend maybe last 2 weeks of 2011 working that

feel like i could get it off my plate, but no, best to stay focued
rest for the weary, rick, do or die, hopefully after draft do revision

of mojo rising before i get to work on holybook, the hoodoo book of flowers, the great black book
of generations, thats the one i really want to do, thats what was scheduled for this woodshed

ohwell, i actually feel blessed to have a chance to really work rest
a sabbatical & a manuscript in need, if that aint godhood let me know

SATURDAY

im in, 3 days now, that count as in, 1 day does not count, neither does 2 but
3 is good, im in, wouldnt say im rolling, but im in, 1 day into woodshed, im in



MONDAY

still digging in, still trying to get the groove, had to put rdocs
call down, dont nothing happen till i get the groove

SUNDAY MORNING

okay, let me start working on this year divination thing
ive decided to work it out here on rootsblog, so this will

be a process of working a piece thru in public, basically you
can ignore these early draftings, but i might as well get my blog wordage in:

okay, lets say 9 throws (i always break works in progress into 9 movements, a hoodoo thing)

personal
relationships
national
the election
globalization
panafrica
longgame
destinywork

ok rick, thats only 8, maybe use hoodoism for the 9th, of interest to me as wouldbe high hoodoo,
leave it open for minute, a little space for evolution of concept

so basically goal here is to give prophetic advice to my constituents for 2012

i got to stay focused on significance, something that matters, basically my constituents have to be
better prepared to finesse life, stronger, wiser, more successful - which is what makes my vision of worth,

okay, rick, so what are the issues under each of those categories
1st what do i think is most likely significant options/developments in these categories

what would be my generic reading/advice on these issues

1  personal

foundations, strengthen your foundations, rocky roads ahead, not the time for flying high, time for good solid foundationwork, prepare yourself to take advantage of shifting sands   (1st thing im noting, cant be too individualized when you throwing for society - 2nd thing im noting is that the corn factor is kinda high, what can i say, its a draft)

2  relationships

consider healthy relationships a foundational matter, negative relationships a drain on the soul, positize as many as you can, at least 9

3  national

(still feeling foundational, wondering if this a true reading, or is this just because this is the 1st call, a foundational event, didnt throw, just thought, hoodoo is traditionally headwork over handwork (as in divination intruments) - i would like to use instruments for theatrical purposes and maybe to see how the random factors play into process - but for the moment might as well go with the foundational thread, thats what came up when i reached inside for significance????  so, what would a foundational approach to national concerns 2012

i keep coming back to the election as foundational, its importance in shaping the american soul, a crossroads election perhaps, which nullifies #4, which leaves room for another throw, okay im burnt out, ima have to pick this up later

feeling the need to get back to work on my novel, still got schoolhouse paperwork, but i started my woodshed push on novel yesterday, feeling pretty good, which is why i got time to start doing these discretionary projects,

at this point still figuring out what this rewrite will do -

increased character complexity of my primary characters is a given

these are my other issues this draft and how i plan to try to handle them, or are handling them, am trying to figure out now
how to step up the game on these sequences, this 1st stage is humbling, all thinking, all questions w/no answers:

HOW MUCH HE WANTS HIS STORIES/HOLYBOOK TO SHAPE GENERATIONS – BE RFTW
sequ of 1^st person what I want this work to do passages, just generate them raw, then figure out how to use/refine them

HOLE IN THE WALL AS MEETING GROUND
Seq of scenes w/diff historical literary personalities & their legacies interacting at HITW

PLAYING HOODOO BOARD OF DESTINY,
Sitting in tree playing destiny board, making soothsayer choices on board & in life

ANGEL AS FA DRIVEN
seq of angel searching for her fa (fate) -  just what is her fa - significance

HIGHJOHNS QUEST FOR REDEMPTION
why does he need redemption, do we ever learn, or do i stonewall readers: "somethings ima keep to myself"

HIGHJOHN AS THE HIGH HOODOO
1^st imagining himself as highhoodoo, then scenes/stories that become evermore real

MOVING FROM TRIBAL TO THE UNIVERSAL
Moving from exclusive concern w/saving blackfolk to saving all humanity - how do I play this

MOVING INTO THE PROPHETIC
Use HITW as meeting ground; prophetic sequence: reluctance to manifest, angelprod; manifests; rejected

HORSE OF THE CONQUEROR
His prophetic tension w/being unwilling tool of the gods, his/humanitys relationship w/the divine

FUTURE SCENARIOS
Need infinitely more complexity & visionary nuance

sorry about this info dump, but im going into the woodshed and basically rootsblog reflects whats on my mind at any given time and this what its gon be, projects

this little idea is probably not going to last, i come up with ideas that i think work well with the contemporary social media component of building an online literary persona then get embarrassed at the access and draw down the veil, thats what i did with that last post about my student, initially i put up an emotional info dump, but then i refined it back

still have not quite got the nuances right on this brave new world of online literary personas, and

you, dear regulators, will probably recognize some of these issues as my own demons - what can i say

im out, i got to get back to my novel, i live for woodshed days, ima use every one best i can

all my love

new years resolutions

SATURDAY

a student of mine killed herself, i been tripping
wish i had been a little more attentive, i wish her

the best

 

 

 

 

 

 

woodshed: 2012: preparation

TUESDAY

i believe this is a week later tuesday, ive been underwater closing down the semester

but this i couldnt let pass:  so, in order to prove his dickensonian theories about child labor,
gingrich asks his buddy trump to mentor poor students from the ghetto -

"I thought it was a great idea," says trump, "We're going to be picking 10 young wonderful children and make them 'apprenti.' We're going to have a little fun with it."

thats all we need, donald trump having a little fun w/our children - i call that child abuse

 

MONDAY



times is hard, times is very very hard, im fortunate to have my academic gig

got about as much job security as you can have these days

its everybody esle im worried about

 

 

SATURDAY

so. recent article on chris albani going around, say he has embellished his resume
folk taking sides in african/afroam literary circles, i suspect the article has some truth to it

but i have to say i like albani and consider him a literary comrade
as you know dear regulators, we hung out some in bali

he came to me w/respect, which always counts with me
and he handled himself on the panels w/grace & dignity

i was in fact somewhat put out he outmacked me, im used to being the man
of the hour at these things, so ima cover his back on this one

its not like its a felony, embellishing your resume, ive done it myself, as did zora et al
though perhaps not so vigorously - it if was a felony transgression, say for instance, saffire

i might join the bandwagon, talking about where the line, but albanis trangression
if such it is, i consider minor, and i consider him a friend so ima back his play on this one

call it a personal

what i hope is that he will evolve, come clean, finessee it w/some grace & dignity
& land on his literary feet, reputation ehnaced, power intact - thats what i hope

do your thing my brother, grace under pressure, thats the call

all my love

rdoc

FRIDAY

im feeling it, feeling a woodshed coming down on me

i suspect there those that will say o no arthur, not another draft - what can i say, the industry has humbled me
told me no - i do not accept no on my work, i do not understand no, had arranged sabbatical for new work but

apparently there is no rest for the weary, its me & that novel, 1 more time, gon do a coltrane on them, going off
the grid, going into the woodshed, & when i come back ima be packing power, fullcourt hardcore, there it is

 got about another month of schoolhouse obligations, but im already operating traveling spirit
im functioning, im taking care of my business, but my heart is back at home at the sacred desk

thats just my traveling spirit folk dealing with now

got those woodshed anxities trying to knot me up, that fear that you will fail, not have it in you
just got to ignore that, got to stay schoolhouse focused for about 3 more weeks, put about 3 projects

to bed and i will be a free man

tarabooks asked for a brer rabbit story, i can do that, been intending to rewrite those for awhile now

been asked to do a piece on black manhood, ima reflect on the heroship to which i aspire

and i think ima reprise my annual prophecies, rickydocs call, maybe sustain it this time

got to got to got to  -

also got to apologize to a student i jacked her up for conducting herself in an unprofessional manner
got potential and was turning in raw material, i called her unprofessional and i suspect she was confused

thinking im just an undergrad, but by profesional i mean there is certain behavior conducive to winning this
gamble she has chosen to devote her life to, one in which the odds are totally against her winning

and if you want to win you have to conduct yourself seriously, professionally, i had to explain to her never turn in
raw material to a workshop, take it as far as she can take it, then workshop it. treat your work w/some respect

and i guess this goes for every kind of artist there is out there, i got intense on her, will apologize
i do that sometime, sometimes i get intense on the whole class and start snarling at them

and have to apologize, because im such a jolly good fellow professor sometimes they try me

but after ive snarled at them a couple of times they dont try me no more

all my love

rdoc

 

its all good, just keep struggling

TUESDAY

going to city to meet up w/tara books folk (promiseland), will run some errands while im there, including my customary pilgrimage to my mentors grave - babajohns killens, the great griot master of brooklyn -

going to be on sabbatical next semester and looking forward to some seriously productive woodshed,
reaching for the next level on rest for the weary - need to get babajohns blessings on that

be nice to lunch w/marie brown while im there, the queen mother, not in age perhaps but she serves the function
believe she told me she was going to be out of town w/cave canen, i guess one blessing will be enuf

all my love

 

 

FRIDAY

some of my grad students going down to OWS over the holiday
this cause me to reflect on its value, perhaps reconsider, if my

students down im down, i feel otherwise like the old fogeys used to say of us during the
civilrights movement - what are you kids doing now, yall just riling up the whitefolk

i have to acknowledge that the OWS movement has brought the question
of growing social stratification to the fore in a society that has not engaged

it as an issue and thats got to be good, i will accept the peculiarities and
apparent lack of strategic as part of the cost of doing business, so to speak

me, ima sit here and get some novelwork done, a little miniwoodshed

ever since i can remember as a politically engaged artist, the temptation been to man the barricades
i was susceptible to the ivorytower position in a manner as a youthful artist that i am not now

my most salient contribution to the possible enhancement of the human condition is getting my Work done
making books -  books that i hope will shape genereation upon generation of humanitys destiny

forgive the hubris but i have to believe that in order to possibly achieve it, wont know for generations after im gone
if ive been successful so my primary goal at this point in my life is get Rest and The Hoodoo Book of Flowers done

before i die or am otherwise incapicitated - past 60 you aware that can happen in the blink of an eye

marches, protest, battles with police, been there done that, looking back over my life i
regret though all the energy i gave to the barricades over the years, not in the sense i

wish i hadnt done them, i also regret the sex, drugs, & the rock & roll that have kept my production down
but i surely did enjoy them, the sex, the drugs, the rock & roll & the politics, being out there, its all good

and im cool w/every phase of life ive gone thru to get me to where i am now
w/the life material/training & disposition to make books that i think will be historically significant

who knows if they actually will be but this a gamble im willing to bet my life on
so ima sit here at the Sacred Desk and use the holiday to throwdown

a little mini woodshed, get up to speed for my sabbatical, doing my part -
the one that nobody else in the world can do, making my vision manifest

through my Works

this one primarily for my students going OWS over the holiday, im very proud of you, im with you in spirit

but ima sit here and get my work one - as you mature & slow down i want you to remember that

a luta continua OWS

 

 

WEDNESDAY

last reading of the semester yesterday, univ of wisc, madison, good reading but its been a rough semester, ive had a reading almost every week, which is a good thing - financially its gotten me out the hole, raised my profile, etc - but apparently the old road warrior aint what he used to be, classes been disrupted, old boy worn out & doing catch up, im glad its done

man, this whole campus is up in arms against gov. walker, everybody is wired about the recall that starts today
god i hope they win it, right now i feel like they will get more out of that than an occupy madison thing

right now the occupy folk appear to be mostly fighting for the right to camp out, i still cant get over the feeling this a diversion

feel like thats struggle energy that could be put to more productive use, i think about the OWISC
movement when walker pushed thru the antiunion bill, when they overrun the capitol, now theyve

channelled that energy into the walker recall, thats what im talking about, evolution of struggle

a luta continua OWS

SUNDAY

israels implacable resistance to 2 state solution leads me to believe one state, one people, one democracy
is only viable option, i know israel dont want to hear that & apparently neither do the palestinians, both

would have to compromise their identities -

but the only other option is pushing israel into the sea - thats problematic on a lot of levels

buddy of mine, mildred barya, has the best blog, and shes agreed to show me how to primetime mine
but then i look at mildreds and i think of the work that it must entail to keep it going,

my little anarchronism i just sit here and think on the keyboard for about 15 minutes average and im
done  - who got time for more than that - imogunla used to call it minimum maintenance

ima take her up on the offer to show me how its done maybe, very 21st century literary skill,
at this point in my life, its my students that keep me primetime

im out

 

SATURDAY

hello world, im in a strange space, im going to be on sabbatical next semester
when i scheduled it i thought i would be working on my next book, but it appears

i am still working on rest for the weary, which is cool, its a much stronger draft and thats
always cool, the industry held onto it so long i came up w/ideas to make it stronger

so im going for a endofyear deadline, but thats because i want to get it back to my agent so she
can send it out for the 2nd wave, then i figure i will spend the next 4-5 months on a real rewrite

hopefully w/editorial input - then maybe spend the summer on the hoodoo book of flowers
my hoodoo holybook, thats what i really want to work on - the great black book of generations

so anyway, what i was going to say is that my head is already into the woodshed mode
i got a lot of schoolhouse commitments that i got to squeeze into this last month

but my heart and my soul and my spirit, they in the woodshed already -  i told you i
think dear regulators, about how i been capping my promiseland presentations

(just realized) presentation next week on being vietnam vet at univ of wisc, its going to be capped w/vote
call too, i guess every presentation i do on college circuit these days will lead to exhortations to vote

doing my little neglible part, such as it is, to counter rightwing voter repression strats, they
shameless about it, for instance working minorities often use early and sunday voting to vote

so the repubs are cutting those back en mass, voters id laws, etc etc,
might as well just charge them a polltax

the obama administration has implemented a 'voters protection' program

but what we got to do is faciitate those targeted blocs voting, poorfolk, workingfolk, the students, minorities, the 99%s and whoever else might vote progressive, i dont tell the students who they should vote for

i just tell them to vote, i tell them we are in a war for the soul of america and their voice should be counted
your world, your vote, i tell them i envy them, they just starting to shape their world, mine is pretty much a done deal

i got to go, be nice to get a little work done today

all my love

rdoc

 

 

THURSDAY

guess if the old buffalo soldier gon show up i need to show up too
it unfortunate that breh cain getting jacked now, would have been

better for him to win the primary, then get jacked, even obama could
have beat cain, even before the allegations, romney will be a tougher

nut to crack, if he wins the primary he will go right w/the quickness, betting the
right will be in the same position we in w/obama - got to love the one you with

even more problematic if we must lose, better it be to romney, hes actually one
america could live with, better one of their ideologues win, a fool like cain

ohwell, its all in the timing, and best you maintain the long view, keep some perspective

when you been thru as many phases of struggle as i have, you come to realize

its all good, just keep struggling

did a reading at duke for promiseland, the asian studies dept brought me down

they discuss it in an undergrad class but it did my heart good to see it being taken so seriously
even when they jacked me up about certain parts it was good to be jacked seriously

then i was supposed to do a performance, from it, wanted to do my basic thing because it comes easy
but ive enjoyed the challenge of trying to do it like the patua do it, which is basically sing the book

which means that i will be singing a text of african american struggle, im really hyped about this
but its been touch and go, but it came to me while preparing for this to use chants from the movement

aint gon let nobody turn me around

we shall overcome

and the like, including one of my favs:

no more whitefolk, no more whitefolk, over me, and before i be a slave, i will be buried in my grave
and there will be no more whitefolk, over me

i changed that one to no more slavemasters, no more bosses over me - universalizing the struggle, what can i say - shouldve said no more 1% over me

then i start throwing in spirituals and broadway play stuff, struggle songs like the one from your arm too short to box with god:

we got to keep moving, we got to keep moving on, weve come a long way from where we been, but we got to keep on moving, till we move on it  -  weve come thru some mighty low valleys, we have climbed mountains too high to climb, but when i look back, over my track, it feel like we been marking time  -  we got to keep moving

then i sang mlks mountaintop closure and when i had them good and caught i told them what it meant to me to be part of shaping martins legacy and i talked about all the folk who have died for the right to vote and told the kids its on you, o i had a ball

and now i see how im going to play readings from that book, it came together this time, a song of african american struggle, after ive done it about 4 or 5 more times, ima know it by heart, thats when its really going

to start to sing, and be different everytime i do it, but the essence will be moving the congregation, i cant wait

its all good, just keep struggling

rdoc