there is a better way

TUESDAY

ok, i confess, in my mythic heart of heart i am the superhero known as Armchair Revolutionary,
Defender of the Faith, Protector of the Weak

cleverly disguised as a mild mannered (but tenured) english professor at a university in syracuse
which shall remain unnamed - i do however realize that im tripping, i dont think the folk of the

Real Life Superhero Project know they tripping, i think they think they real

that would be like me taking Rickydoc Trickmaster, Hoodoo Lord of the Delta and

Wouldbe Prophet of the Hoodoo Way, seriously

sorceror supreme

i hear mississippis barbour got in trouble for saying the white citizens councils were cool,
like this is news, whats news is that he thinks sayng it is good positioinng for a 2012 run

the dread drammamu comes - do not worry, he will have to come thru me

rdoc

 

 

 

MONDAY

man, i am so dug into this novel and feeling like my changes are fruitless, what i have to do is stay microfocused and not worry about the cumulative effect just yet,

i tell you the euphoria is so gone

it basically boils down to putting the hours in, the more hours you put in the more the work grows, step by step and inch by inch

was working this morning and stumbled up on the answer to a big hole in the novel, its just about putting the hours in, about sitting there at the sacred desk and wrestling w/those demons hour upon hour, if you get nothing else from my words dear regulators get that

more on withers and the fbi, not really a whole lot of new info but its fascinating
and uncomfortable reading for somebody who considers himself a product of the struggle in memphis

and considers both withers and maxine old family friends and fellow travelers, it cause me to have to do some soul searchng, because anybody else anywhere else i would be condemning them

but this memphis, this my world, these my people, this my struggle and i know what other folk dont

maxines read on this i accept unconditionally, her contribution, both to the struggle and me personally, has been such that i can do no less than give her benefit of the doubt, and defend her against all comers

and baba withers i have decided to give a pass - my call, i feel no need to defend it -
stil i enjoyed the read, i am a student of black memphis and a student of the struggle

and i like to know the real deal behind historys myths, as much as its possible to know the real deal

it goes without saying that i dont acccept the commercial appeal's position as the real deal, everybody got agendas

this just one more piece of the puzzle, just more mythwork to wade thru in the eternal quest for the real

a lluta continua

rdoc

 

SUNDAY

 hello world, working the new draft, im dug in, 1st im cutting the slack, ruthlessly rick, anything aint strong got to go

commercial appeal in memphis had a letter to editor about civil war not being about slavery, this is a popular position in memphis

but this was a particularly uninformed letter, talking about the 'war of northern agrgression'

obviously a bid by the commercial appeal to generate commentary, i fell for it, wrote the following:

i agree with the post says it must have been a slow day at the ca to post this uninformed letter

obviously to generate commentary from progressive folk like me and the yahoos
the ca does like to stir the pot, easier than doing real reporting i guess

her comments on slavery and the 'war of northern aggression' arent worth responding to -
they are entertaining, as i assume they were meant to be

only real point of interest is her claim that since only a small percentage of
southerners were slaveowners, why would the others fight for slavery

why indeed do uninformed folk fight today against their own interests - against healthcare, against
estate taxes, against regulation, why are they so rabid in defense of policies that work against them,
like slavery did, boons for the rich built on the backs of regular folk

this letter and the posts supporting it evidence the willful blindness that
allows them to be so easily manipulated by the powerful

it was unfortunate then, its unfortunate now

 

 

 

SATURDAY

okay, im dug in, im clocking, yesterday i tried but couldnt get a grip - the trauma of deciding what of my manuscript to cut was more than i could handle

but today i got a groove on and its much stronger work, and once again i am acutely
embarrassed i let folk see that other draft, but the feedback has been critical

whatever, it will work out, it always does, never like you

planned but it works out, the euphoria is gone, im back in the saddle, all my love

rdoc

 

 

  FRIDAY

okay, heard from ellen, she say its brilliant, she say shes never read anything like it - now thats what im talking about, thats what i want to hear when folk read this novel

one thing my friends telling me is brilliant, entirely another when its my agent

she also says she wants me to revise about half of it, thats not what i wanted to hear

the same half, the contemporary half, that other folk objecting too, she say historical banging, contemporary not so banging, she say when can i have it back, she say arthur dont take a year on this

so instead of end of summer like im thinking i tell her 3 months, then i start thinking trying to do realwork during semester and i tell her forget 3 months i will have it for you before we go back for the spring semester (when i will be buried in app process and two workshops) mid jan i tell her

she like that, she like that a lot

also starting to get feedback, got to assume they will be saying what everbody else is saying historical banging, contemporary not so banging

now the next big challenge will be to sit down and actually read what feedback, i want the basic structural done by weekend
so i can be thinking about it on the road to the delta,

had planned to focus on my grad thesis this break but thats not going to happen now, still ahead of the game to have read them already, but now i got to

grit my teeth and start reading feedback

a real re write in about 3 weeks, lets ride

rdoc

 

 

TUESDAY

booklist review: Ive seen the promised land

Both evocative and factually rich, this presentation of the career of Martin Luther King Jr. shows the man on an authentic world stage and as a leader who learned from his travels to both India and Africa. Flowers provides an incisive and succinct text that steadily maintains the propulsive griot narrative style of King’s African ancestry: “This what bring King to a vision of black folk as a folk with a destiny. This what move him to the prophetic.” Chitrakar’s free-floating images, which juxtapose and amplify the text, are deeply steeped in the Patua scroll-painting tradition, from the Bengali faces to the panoply of browns and yellows and pinks that differentiate individuals rather than races. The choice of props and scenery speak more of India than America, and protesters’ signs are written in Bengali script rather than English. Rossi’s graphic layout intersperses black pages in which King’s quotes are set in large white type with bright pages tracing his education as a preacher, his entry into the nascent civil rights fray, and his ascendancy to martyrdom. King’s doubts about himself and others, adultery, and relationships with political leaders all receive just due. Older teens, in addition to adults, will find this to be a standout both as a distinctive graphic narrative that combines two world storytelling traditions and as an examination of King’s life and its enduring legacy across the globe.   — Francisca Goldsmith

-----------------------

cant take it anymore, cant begrudge folk, takes me months to get to a manuscript, but
ima get back to work on my novel, got too many ideas perculating, and i dont feel good

when im not working it, apparently i just dont know how to not work on my novel

had to ponder on this clip before i decided to post it, woman being flogged in the sudan
i figure im going to get charged with cultural insensitivity or something, but you know dear

regulators what i think about the sudan, how desperately im pulling for the southern independenc vote next month

and for the south to be a viable state, and maybe show the sudanese there is a better way

a luta continua

 

Comments

[BuffaloSoldier]

IN THE 1880S, BuffaloSoldier salutes Jesse Little. The recent election conjured up oldfeelings about Black in the country that reminded me of GeorgeBushOne and the Clarence Thomas disaster. It reminds me that faith and Critical Thinking have two distinct roles and while they sometimes converge, sometimes one has to be chosen over the other. A man says he sees the face of the Virgin Mary in a potato and thousands line up. Fine. Now the potato instructs him to vote with an existing tyranny. Uh-oh. Not so fine. I listened to Monica Crawley smugly cackle that the LionKing will recieve TheBlackVote, no matter if it works in their favor or not. She and MadHatter teaparty land crowed that without him on the ticket, nobody came out. She didn't mean to but she did raise a concern. That brings us to GBOne and CT. When those of us of CriticalThinking cried foul at the selection, citing that he was being overtly cynical, figuring to just replace one Black with another, after the passing of the giant Thurgood Marshal, he smugly cackled that %70 of the BlackPopulace, the "faithful" as he identified them, not the elitists, as he identified Black CriticalThinkers, favored his choice. What does it mean? Do we allow critical thinking to be stampeded by the faithful, who may not be as well informed. Remember, Clarence Thomas was a name chosen out of a hat. Not one person I asked even knew of him. That brings us to the LionKing and the conditioning I fear in the works. We've now been conditioned to accept someone we've never heard of with a Muslim name. Muslim names have been comfortable with us for years. Re Muhammed Ali. So if someone were to exploit that new found comfort with out most important leader, it's not inconcievable that Project 21, in conjunction with the Madhatter Teaparty movement could run Akbar Shabazz for Pres. Ahhh, Akbar. Why not? And project 21? A very, very proud organization, priding itself on its extreme BlackConversativism. If they surrounded Clarence Thomas, he'd be the liberal in the room. Oh, and the man with the potato? He decided to vote with his stomach and had mashed that night. I'm BuffaloSoldier and I approve this caution.

[Karen Simpson]

Glad to hear that your agent liked your new work!!!