FRIDAY
hello world, lost an old buddy today, ihsan bracy checked out, moved on
ishan been carrying the hammer for awhile now, strokes, diabetic crises
a couple of comas, he was in bad shape, ihsan was a poet and novelist
shorstories, plays, ishan was a renaissance man, had this novel that was
potentially seminal but he felt pushed by that ticking clock and he put it out
last year over my objections, i said hit it one more time man, but he wanted it out
i said give the year to the novel, let it come out strong, after you gone
but ihsan wasnt feeling that, he closed it down before it was ready, it was
published last year, paths of sanctuary, and it was good enuf but good enuf dont get it
and i cant begrudge him the choice, he knew he was checking out
and its a good novel its just not the great novel it
could have been but lord knows art just a gamble and he made his choices and he won
by his judgment - this is what aalbc said about it
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ihsan bracy s new novel, paths of sanctuary, is an intricate story of love, lust, envy and filled to the brim with examples of how each can lead to the destruction of one s soul. Readers interested in family dynamics and the interworkings of African-American communities, will most enjoy being taken across decades of time to witness the creation of a three-generational family living in a town just south of the first gates of heaven. The town, called sanctuary, holds in it children born of both angel and man, living side by side with human beings. The forbidden man/angel relationship is at the core of the central conflict, although it is difficult to discern even if you are three-quarter s of the way through the book. This information is clearly given only in the last few pages, at which point you suddenly realize the tie-in and purpose of the prologue.
This is not to say that bracy s book is without merit. At times his writing is so lyrical you are easily swept away by the beauty of his words. The world he has created is full of magical-realism, colorful, interesting characters worth rooting for, and a litany of sub-plots that often commands more attention than the main plot. And, the third-person, exposition-heavy narrative allows readers to observe characters from various points of view. These same strengths also cause quite a conundrum for bracy. He gives us such strong, empathetic major and minor characters that their voices demand to be heard. Rarely are they and this makes it oftentimes difficult to distinguish between them. It also robs readers of a look at the characters interior and a chance to fully experience the heightened intensity of emotions that is pervasive throughout the book. Some will argue that bracy s writing is more in line with fable telling or the style of J. California Cooper and thus not required to do more showing than telling.
But in order to believe the motivations that drive bracy s characters to make life-altering, cataclysmic decisions, more insight into his characters interior is needed. Take for instance the story of passage, the son of main characters dance and time. He is depicted as a kind-hearted, well-liked boy who is on the cusp of becoming the kind of man all parents hope their sons will grow up to be. In an instant he is turned into an immoral, evil and depraved individual. Why is this? And why did bracy choose passage, the most benign of the family members, to be the catalyst for the family s destruction?
Other strengths pose similar challenges for bracy, like the use of three separate boy- girl relationships to symbolize the union of spirit and man. Each is beautifully crafted and depicts a pure, soulful, everlasting bond. But their true significance is unclear and so then is their link to the overall story muddling the genius of bracy s distinct storytelling and well-woven prose of rhythms and sensory. But bracy ends up coming out on top, leaving us with a story that needs to be told, one worthy enough to pass down to the generations. --aalbc.com, by Jill Robinson
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i told him, hit it one more time ihsan, 1 more time, it could have been a masterpiece
but he heard that ticking clock and he he stepped back, lost his literary stare down w/the gods
novels, specially at this stage in the game, are a big gamble with time, you know you got an investment
of x years and the big question is always, will i finish before i check out, will i have time to make it right
you know my position on this dear regulators, if i have to work on my novel till the day i die i will do so
if thats what it take for it to be the masterpiece i see in my head so be it,
i would desperately like for it to come out while im still here and able to enjoy the fruits of my labor
but ive gotten this far being dissed by the literary world, much as i hate it there is a part of me that just dont care,
im determined to prove the haters wrong, ima make this novel work if its the last thing i do -
gon show them all, arthur rickydoc flowers is, was and always been, a contender
if that dont happen in my lifetime ive accepted that - im writing for the generations
my mentor, babajohn killens used to tell us all the time, all the generations will have is your novel, they
wont care that you were being pressed by time, bills, tenure, pride, so forth - all they will have is the novel,
make it the best it can be
i got to go, got schoolhouse conferences lined up back to back
another friend to mourn/honor, time is winnowing my crew, got to be about my legacy, got to be about theirs
me and the gods of literarure got an understanding, i got to do my part
all my love
rdoc
Memorial Readings and Performance of THE WORKS of Ihsan Bracy Abdul-Rahiim < 7.13.1953 - 3.14.2009 > Please join our friends and family in this celebration of Ihsan's life's work Saturday April 4, 2009, from 12:30- 2:30 PM at The Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center 270 W. 96th Street N.Y., N.Y. 10025 Between Broadway and West End Ave. (1, 2 or 3 Trains to 96th St.) We apologize if you received this email more than once |
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Ihsan Bracy Abdul-Rahiim
Sadly, following a long and unforgiving struggle with complications due to an advanced condition of diabetes, at an early hour on March 14th, 2009, our dear author and friend departed from this plane of existence. He is survived by his wife Islah, daughter Zakiyyah, and sons Mustapha and Jihad. A graduate of Bennington College, Ihsan Bracy was a former member of the New York State Council on the Arts and former chair of the Theatre Department of Talent Unlimited High School, NYC's second largest performing arts high school. Ihsan's major educational credits include directing five Manhattan, three NYC and a third place National Shakespeare Championship as well as an ARTS National Finalist in Theatre. A spoken word and Brooklyn based artist, Ihsan had performed all across the city including a long running appearance at The Triad as part of composer Michael Raye's Soul Gathering. Author of two volumes of poetry, cadre and the ubangi files, Ihsan had twice been a CAPS Finalist and had been elected to the New Renaissance Writer's Guild. Paths of Sanctuary was his second work of fiction with Cool Grove Press (Feb. 2008). His first book was Ibo Landing: an offering of short stories, (CGP 1998). As artistic Director and Founder of The Tribe Ensemble, a multi-ethnic theater repertory company based out of the Jamaica Arts Center for thirteen years, Ihsan authored and directed Against the Sun, the Southampton Slave Revolt of 1831. A former member of The Family (La Familia) Inc., his credits included prolonged theatre workshops at Bayview Correctional Facility for Women, the Spofford Home for Juveniles and Riker's Island, which culminated in a forty prison inner city tour. Ihsan directed Juan Shamsul Alam's Benpires which received a Pulitzer Prize nomination in theatre. Ihsan also served as the Arts and Education Coordinator of The Mirror Repertory Company. |
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Paths
of Sanctuary 2008
 "Bracy's prose is both mystical and muscular and therefore utterly appropriate. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries but not for 'gentle readers'." - Library Journal "An exquisite post modern folkology, the novel every writer wants to write and every reader wants to read." -Arthur Flowers, "ihsan bracy is a visionary wordsmith." - Sheree Renée Thomas "Bracy is a writer unafraid to enter the deepest night to find the brighter light within." - Terence Taylor "At times his writing is so lyrical you are easily swept away by the beauty of his words." -African American Literary Book Club
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"Family
and friendship are bracy's forte... in this ensemble of 22 short pieces
based on the history of his ancestors, half South Carolina Gullahs and
half Blue Ridge Virginians...stories of childhood loom large."
"With
painstaking detail, bracy retells his family's epic, inviting readers
into his family with pride that will be felt almost immediately."
"There is myth and magic in this book and readers will find themselves nodding their heads in wonder, appreciation and approval as they savor each story. " -American Library Association (Black Caucus, NOV.,1998 )
THURSDAY
hello dear regulators, as you know i been trying to get back in my novel groove, had a conversation
w/ellen levine yesterday, my agent of some 20 years, had sent alex yates manuscript to her and
and in the cover letter told her i was finally moving into closure on rest and hoped she
hadnt lost faith in me and so we talking about it and she said, 'youre one of my favorites arthur"
man that meant so much to me, that ellen still believes in me,
when i came out w/de mojo blues the literary world swooned but now the literary world treats me like ima could have been,
but ellen has always treated me like a contender and a valued member of her stable
her faith means a lot to me and i needed to hear that, that was right on time, i feel like the punch drunk fighter getting up off the canvas for the last round, i feel like one for the gipper
showtime rick, rest for the weary, last lap, do or die,you can do this
im still underwater at schoolhouse and every morning im scrambling to stay float but by god and all thats holy im knocking off my morning 3s no matter what,
many times in my literary career ellen levine has come through the saloon doors both guns blazing
hold on arthur, im coming to get you
thats my girl, since she took me on as a callow cub 20 years ago she has kept the faith
got to finish this novel if for no other reason than to justify that faith she has shown in me
a faith that has not wavered in 20 years of literary obscurity
the painting is of yemaya by yasmin hernandez, the great mother and one of the seven african powers, called on her recently for a very important consultation and she came thru for me, i appreciate that,
(yeah, im kinda making a connection here with ellen and yemaya, arent you the close reader)
at the job there is this friendly rivalry between the poets and what brooks haxton calls 'the prosers'
he makes it sound pejorative somehow and i take every opp to poke fun at the poets as true believers
but i love poets and poetry, and want both forms to thrive, not so according to recent newsweek article:
In January, the National Endowment of the Arts released a report titled "Reading on the Rise," announcing that the number of American adults reading fiction had increased for the first time since the NEA began tracking reading habits in 1982. According to the report, 50.2 percent of adults had read a work of fiction in the previous year, compared with just 46.7 percent in 2002. The results were greeted with a mixture of excitement and caution by education experts. Some saw them as the long-awaited reversal of the trend toward a dumber, TV-obsessed United States; others, more wary, called them a statistical blip. Almost as an afterthought, the report also noted that the number of adults reading had continued to decline, bringing poetry's readership to its lowest point in at least 16 years.....
could have been worse right, could have been the other way around, and im willing to bet
they are counting shall we say, fiction i wouldnt call literary fiction, does that count or am i
(who loves scifi and fantasy) showing my prejudices against forms like urban fiction
which generally glorify aspect of afroam culture id rather leave behind as we evolve
i guess i will take reading fiction, no matter what the genre, as a good thing i guess
im out, see if i can clock at least an hour maybe three
for ellen
all my love
rdoc
WEDNESDAY AGAIN
i believe this is the longest i have gone w/o posting
and the world do not appear to be any worse for my absence,
thats unfortunate but it is what it is - couple of quickies and im still gone:
call to arms: obama has attempted to mobilize his network in support of his budget iniatives, threatened by moderate democrats he needs to pull off that filibuster proof 60, so far its been ineffective, they sent me the email, i havent even looked at it, bad sign
must be some way to use those believers, myself included, when i get a moment to breathe ima put some thought on that
realpolitic: south africa at chinas bidding, refuses to invite dalai lama to peace conference
realpolitic vs romanticism - smart money always on realpolitic - organizers cancel conference in protest - china say so what
criminal: bashir, in response to being called a war criminal, proves it by banning aid orgs in darfur - bashir apparently backed by african union - whats up w/that- what kind of real politic logic is that
perplexing: obama vs financial institutions - who in charge here
found this piano player, eric reed, been listening to him and betty carter
oxford american piece is out, unfortunately its not online
its a damn good piece, eventually i will post it, but in honor of their check i will leave it offline for awhile
real politic by rickydoc
what else, guess thats it, just trying to loosen up my posting hand here
still underwater at the schoolhouse, and not getting any novelwork done
no novelwork, no nothing else discretionary, including posting
im out of here
rdoc
WEDNESDAY
hello world, or whats left of it, im not even going to look at my numbers
whenever im offline for awhile my numbers drop precipitously, i hate that
but im going int the woodshed early this season so im just going to be spotty and insular for
the next 6 months or so, which means i have to ignore my drive to keep my numbers up
with regular posts cause i really dont care right along in here and best not to look cause then i will
im trying to think if there is anything i really need to say and to tell you the truth im not feeling it
maybe use the week to give my homeboy george hunt some play, put up some new pieces ive found online
red love is one of my old favs, that other is called holy ghost
i got to close the semester strong and focus on getting that novel done, the manuscript is cold right now
been off so long it will take some time to get momentum up, get a little groove on, but come summer i
expect to be serious woodshed mode, i want that novel done, by god and all thats holy i want it done
in the name of the conqueror i want it done
rdoc
QUIEN SABE
hello world
ive been out of the loop, down in the delta and taking care of family business
finally finished the app process and got energy freed up,
not much to say, havent been keeping up with current events like i like
going to the delta is like being in another world for me
i go deeper into my spiritual thing, roots and the world of my novel
i dont keep up with consensus reality like i like to do
i did hear they found some post death novels by bolano, 3 or 4 it seems
also i ran across this article by frum on newsweek, big battle lately for soul
of repbulican party, reasonable positions like this are both good and bad
bad because we dont want the republicans to get their act together for awhile
good because for the good of the people and the nation it would be good for them to
grow up
ah complexity, what would life be without it
im gone
schooload will be reasonable for rest of the year, forget waiting for
summer, im going into the woodshed now, ima desperate man
all my love
rdoc
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