pray for me

SUNDAY

so i been working with the son of an old family friend, i was there the night he was born, the boy is family to me, so he approached me as so many sons and daughters of my comrades have, i would like to be a writer,

but unlike many of them he actually followed my advice and wrote a novel, i tell them all, look, just write it, that 1st draft, dont judge it, dont spend months perfecting one sentence or a chapter, just write the whole

damn thing, then we got something to work with, till you get it out of your head and on paper we got nothing to work with & he did it, actually hes written two, 1st one was a little too personal, you know how 1st novels can be

so he wrote another one now what you got to understand is that boy got a real job saving the planet

still making time to write manuscripts, im just as proud of him as i can be, but when i gave him my response to that last one i was very demanding, i always am, folk trying to write and i agree to give them feedback its

like a holy commitment to me, this my religion, the craft and passing it on, i got to give them my best and call them to their best, so i was hard on him, i got to be, i care for him, i dont want him to waste his time/life

floundering around in the wilderness because i didnt give him good guidance, this go for all my students
and folk im training on the blackhandside doubly so, but then i dont hear from him for some months and

im thinking i blew it, im thinking i scared him off,  then i get a terse little email - the rewrite is tough tough going -
and im tickled now, because that mean he on it, this what i wrote him:

im just glad to hear you hitting it, you always scare me when i dont hear from you after a response, im always afraid i have scared you off, you know i got to come hard on you because i want you to be primetime, i want you to be the real thing, like sekou say in mandela, you our legacy, we dreamed you, i got faith in you and because you got a real job and dont have time to do the mfa thing we got to give you mfa training on the black hand side, same way we used to do it in the oldschool, if you ever can squeeze out 3 years we need to get you in a mfa program somewhere, get you some real training, if not then we will have to do it oldschool and its my intent that you be competitive with anybody out there, you been trained by flowers and it dont come no stronger than that, you see what im saying - and there is a literary sensibility that we been working with too, i got to make sure you thinking on the highplane, that you going deep, see - we gon do this my brother, the only thing that will keep us from winning this game is if you quit - you got the talent, you got the heart and you obviously got the drive, we gon do this - and rewrite is always hard if you going for higherground, whole damn thing is hard (writing) - buddy of mine once said if it was easy everybody would go down the street and get some, but youve alraedy shown you got the heart, youve done two manuscripts and even mfas a lot of them dont get that far, i been helping folk make books now for 40 years or so, i know when i got a winner on my hands, and that you family makes it even more special, we gon do this

 

 

THURSDAY

in case anybody is confused about what this debt struggle is about, trump made it clear the other day:

"Unless Republicans get 100% of what they want -- and that may include getting rid of 'Obamacare,' which is a total disaster -- they should not make a deal other than a minor extension which would take you before the elections which would ensure that Obama doesn't get elected, which would be a great thing. ... The Republicans have the leverage. I don't care about polls. When it comes time to default, they're not going to remember any of the Republicans' names. They are going to remember in history books one name, and that's Obama."

probably the one thing obama wont compromise on - getting reelected,

i say drop the 14th, if default is as much a crises as you say it is

 

 

WEDNESDAY

got my first rejection, crushed me, the editor i wanted most to work with - basic reasons, too
strange, not commercial enuf, last book almost 20 years ago, etc etc

it was a dash of cold water, i been thinking the litworld was going to line up for this one - apparently not,
i was hoping i would get some respect this time, now i fear i will continue to be marginal 2nd string writer

when the lineup of the writers of our times are called im not on the list, never invited to anything, books out of
print, i dont get paid, etc etc, i really hope this novel is going to change all that, also it cause me to doubt the

work - its so strange i cant judge it, its either a masterpiece or a farce, im betting masterpiece, but i fear farce

ima have to do what im always telling my students to do - be patient, let the process play out, keep working

FRIDAY manuscript making rounds, pray for me

Comments

[Karen Simpson]

prayers being said.

[BuffaloSoldier]

THERE CAME A BRAND NEW SOLDIER. BuffaloSoldier salutes QueenMother Qwendolyn Brooks. "There is no one more Irish than me!" That gleeful declaration came from America's first Black President and I felt somewhat vindicated as he raised his guinness and saluted adorning throngs on the Emerald Isle. I've said from the start that The LionKing played fast and loose with his identities. He's a ShapeShifter of the highest order. That is not a sin or a crime in and of itself. It's all of the bodies left on the rocks that's troubling. What is a BlackAmerican to think when he outnumbers all other people of African identity in this country, has the longest most complete history of anyone who comes here either themselves or through their immediate parents and is not even seriously considered by the Harry Reid Disney machinery for a comprehensive run at the highest office in this land? Do we measure up? If we are wanting, why? Who are we, really? In the 60s, and no one was more guilty than me, We donned dashikis, grew afros, and declared ourselves as much Africans as anyone born on the continent. Remember Watuwazuri? And yet, quietly, in a corner of Louisiana and California, humble Griot Ernest Gaines quietly reminded us that we had forged a serious identity here that we need not abandon. We were from Memphis, Philadelphia, Harlem, Chicago's South Side and those cities rang with our essense. Some people judge us harshly because our confused children know not who we were and are. So Dreds,tattoes,and lowered pants define us. So we're trotted out of our room only to vote for the Harry Reid machinery. And no BlackPresident, once in office says, "No one is more BlackAmerican than me" My suggestion? Read aloud Queen Mother Qwendolyn Brooks "For My People" I'm BuffaloSoldier. Black In, Black Out.

[nanakwame]

http://www.iuniverse.com/ if necessary; its done, get it out and we all push

[Karen Simpson]

Give it time, don't doubt your work because the system of publishing is pretty screwed up especially when it come to publsihng African Americans. Keep in mind that traditional publishing is not the only way to get a book out now days. But you go to plan B only when all the options in Plan A are exhauted and you are nowhere near being out of plan A options yet.

Keep the faith.

[arthur flowers]

thanks partner, all my love

[BuffaloSoldier]

THE INDIANS CALLED HIM BUFFALO. BuffaloSoldier salutes HooDooWay. You are no second string writer, Brother. Second String doesn't write DeMoJo Blues. As for twenty years ago. So what? Aren't we all still reading Mark Twain? I'm BuffaloSoldier and I approve this encouragement.

[arthur flowers]

a luta continua - im back in the cuse, will check out that package