MIGUEL ZENON: THE FUTURE OF JAZZ?
E-NOTES: WHEN THE NEWS IS NOT ENOUGH. THE BLOG OF E. ETHELBERT MILLER
Thursday, December 18, 2008
FROM THE DC COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES:
ARTS EVE DC ARTS EVE DC ARTS EVE DC
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2008
1pm-5pm
The Historical Society of Washington
801 K Street, NW at Mount Vernon Square WDC
Embark on a global adventure through Arts Eve DC
Explore arts and cultural traditions of Italy, Mexico, Korea and Ethiopia
Live international performances
Arts and crafts
Dance instruction
Short film screenings
Poetry
and much more!
This New Years Eve, celebrate with friends and family for an unforgettable artistic journey that's free and open to the public.
Perfect for youth ages 3 - 16
ARTS EVE DC ARTS EVE DC ARTS EVE DC
ARTS EVE DC ARTS EVE DC ARTS EVE DC
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2008
1pm-5pm
The Historical Society of Washington
801 K Street, NW at Mount Vernon Square WDC
Embark on a global adventure through Arts Eve DC
Explore arts and cultural traditions of Italy, Mexico, Korea and Ethiopia
Live international performances
Arts and crafts
Dance instruction
Short film screenings
Poetry
and much more!
This New Years Eve, celebrate with friends and family for an unforgettable artistic journey that's free and open to the public.
Perfect for youth ages 3 - 16
ARTS EVE DC ARTS EVE DC ARTS EVE DC
A NOTE ON RALPH EDWARDS. SHOULD WE BRING THE SHOW BACK?
Edwards is probably best known for creating and hosting This Is Your Life. Each week Edwards would surprise some unsuspecting person (usually a celebrity, sometimes an ordinary citizen) and review the subject's personal and professional life. The show drew great interest from viewers, because the identity of the subject wasn't revealed until the show went live. Throughout the half-hour Edwards would guide the narrative of the show, ushering visitors on and off stage, and eventually prompting the honoree to recall a personal turning point. Edwards was showman enough to draw upon his Truth or Consequences experience: he emphasized the sentimental elements that appealed to viewers and listeners at home. His on-air tributes would often recount some heroic sacrifice or tragic event, bringing the audience (and sometimes the subject) to the point of tears.
From Wikipedia.
ELIZABETH ALEXANDER IS TODAY'S NEWS.
With all the talk about Obama and color these days, it seems Alexander captures the moment in her poem "Today's News." I used this poem for the title of my 1994 anthology - In Search of Color Everywhere. Below is the second stanza. All one has to do is replace the reference to the first black Olympic gymnast with the first black president and it makes Alexander's work sound very prophetic. Her poem is also what I would define as visionary. It points us in the right direction. If the Republican Party ever wants to return to power, they will have to listen to Alexander's words and get up and look for color everywhere.
I didn't want to write a poem that said "blackness
is," because we know better than anyone
that we are not one or ten or ten thousand things
Not one poem We could count ourselves forever
and never agree on the number. When the first
black Olympic gymnast was black and on TV I called
home to say it was colored on channel three
in nineteen eighty-eight. Most mornings these days
Ralph Edwards comes into the bedroom and says, "Elizabeth
this is your life. Get up and look for color,
look for color everywhere."
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
HERE IS AN OLD E NOTE.
Monday, July 07, 2008
SOMEBODY HAS TO DO IT:
So Obama is elected president in November.
Shouldn't we make plans now for (O)ath Day?
OK. Here are 2 people who should be considered to sing at the Inauguration:Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. (Sorry Alicia).
Is someone going to read a poem? No Maya II. (Sorry again)A few suggestions: Marilyn Nelson, Robert Bly, Elizabeth Alexander...
Who gets a special seat: Nelson Mandala, Martin Luther King's Family,Oprah, ( Sorry Spike - this is DC not Madison Square Garden)
Should Michelle Obama breakout with cornrows? What if she wore an Afro?Oh, so much to plan and so little time. Cancel Mugabe's ticket now. We don't won't our election to leave a bad taste in his mouth.
- posted by Ethelbert Miller @ 12:13 AM
Well, Elizabeth Alexander is reading and Aretha is singing.
Do you think Obama reads E-Notes?
Monday, July 07, 2008
SOMEBODY HAS TO DO IT:
So Obama is elected president in November.
Shouldn't we make plans now for (O)ath Day?
OK. Here are 2 people who should be considered to sing at the Inauguration:Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. (Sorry Alicia).
Is someone going to read a poem? No Maya II. (Sorry again)A few suggestions: Marilyn Nelson, Robert Bly, Elizabeth Alexander...
Who gets a special seat: Nelson Mandala, Martin Luther King's Family,Oprah, ( Sorry Spike - this is DC not Madison Square Garden)
Should Michelle Obama breakout with cornrows? What if she wore an Afro?Oh, so much to plan and so little time. Cancel Mugabe's ticket now. We don't won't our election to leave a bad taste in his mouth.
- posted by Ethelbert Miller @ 12:13 AM
Well, Elizabeth Alexander is reading and Aretha is singing.
Do you think Obama reads E-Notes?
OBAMA JOY! Alexander Returns to the City!
Elizabeth Alexander has been selected by Obama to read a poem on the great day of January 20th. This is an honor for a wonderful human being. Lady Alexander is a gifted poet and critic. She is a mentor to a new generation of African American poets. I always felt her family was the First Family of Washington D.C. Her mother and father are two gems.
Elizabeth Alexander
I like to say your
name because it sounds
like an era or period
in time when kingdoms
were won...
- E. Ethelbert Miller (from Whispers, Secrets & Promises)
Quote of the Day:
He gives me lines that he wants to use, phrases, ideas - he sends me e-mails with chunks of outlines and speeches - so it's a real collaborative effort. It's very much a two-way street. It's a little bit like being Tom Brady's quarterback coach.
- Jonathan Favreau, Director of speechwriting, Obama Administration
DID YOUR OBAMA MAKE THEM DO IT?
"2-Parent Black Families Showing Gains" is an article by Sam Roberts in The New York Times today. Who was hiding this information? Suddenly every family is an Obama. It seems we consumed so much "manufacture" nonsense over the last few years. Academic studies shaped by movies, television and rap videos? Now read this:
The Census Bureau attributed an indeterminate amount of the increase to revised definitions adopted in 2007, which identify as parents any man and woman living together, whether or not they are married or the child's biological parents.
See, all we had to do was change the definitions? Wait, it gets better as you read the article:
"It's a positive change, "said Prof. Robert J. Sampson, the chairman of Harvard's sociology department. "It's been hidden."
Someone should "hide" Harvard's Endowment. LOL LOL
Hidden - oh, please! Let me hold your bag while you run across the street. I'm such a fool.
"2-Parent Black Families Showing Gains" is an article by Sam Roberts in The New York Times today. Who was hiding this information? Suddenly every family is an Obama. It seems we consumed so much "manufacture" nonsense over the last few years. Academic studies shaped by movies, television and rap videos? Now read this:
The Census Bureau attributed an indeterminate amount of the increase to revised definitions adopted in 2007, which identify as parents any man and woman living together, whether or not they are married or the child's biological parents.
See, all we had to do was change the definitions? Wait, it gets better as you read the article:
"It's a positive change, "said Prof. Robert J. Sampson, the chairman of Harvard's sociology department. "It's been hidden."
Someone should "hide" Harvard's Endowment. LOL LOL
Hidden - oh, please! Let me hold your bag while you run across the street. I'm such a fool.
THIS IS WHO WE ARE, THIS IS WHAT WE DO:
IPS:
View it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbnEVc5XPyQwww.ips-dc.org
January 2009.
Is it Biggie before Barack?
Maybe it's just Notorious.http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/10/24/notorious-movie-trailer/
Support the Black Women Playwrights Group
This is their 20th year.
Be an Angel - send them $50.
www.blackwomenplaywrights.org
This is their 20th year.
Be an Angel - send them $50.
www.blackwomenplaywrights.org
NO BELOVED KENNEDY -YES TO TONI MORRISON.
Maybe some writers should talk to the governor of New York. Can't we find money to "buy"Toni Morrison that open senate seat? I got two long poems - you got cash?
Morrison comes to Washington? A mercy, mercy, mercy. If New York could once consider Norman Mailer for mayor - why not Morrison for the U.S. Senate? Who is going to make the call? Circulate this E-Note and let's start a grassroots movement. Hey - Oprah, do you want to help? Make it 2 for 2.
SPORTS:
The Wizards next win might be on December 27th against Oklahoma City. Look for this team to lose 17 games in January. They won't win 20 this season. This team is going to be bad for a long time. Who is in the front office? Keep them away from the draft. Why would someone attempt to bring Larry Hughes back to Washington?? The only thing that prevented it was the fact the guy was injured again. Geez -I'm waiting for the Wizards to lose Butler for 3-4 weeks. Then you know the season is over. Avery Johnson is my pick for coach next year. Maybe he can pray this club into the win column and get us out of basketball hell. Wait - here is a great fundraising idea.
Let's have the Obama Team (those basketball guys in the new Administration) play the Wizards this summer. I take Barack over Butler. The Iceman Returns?
SPORTS:
Where did the Washington Redskins think they were going this year? No one on the team is going to the Hall of Fame - that should tell you something. The club is mediocre on paper. Here are the problems and needs:
No Punt Returner (unless one sticks Santana Moss back there)
2 new wide receivers needed. They should be taller than the existing corps.
A serious pass rusher. The type of guy you need 2 people to keep away from the QB
A breakaway running back. When is the last time you saw Portis take the ball from 40 or 50 yards away and score?
A Hall of Fame QB - not somebody who is having a good year.
I will be surprise if this team wins their last 2 games.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Poems are just as important as cars.
ATTENTION ALL POETS AND ARTISTS. PLEASE SUPPORT THIS DOCUMENT.
WRITE TO CONGRESSMAN CONYERS TODAY!
December 16, 2008
To: Congressman John Conyers (D-MI)
From: John Cavanagh, James Early, Barbara Ehrenreich, E. Ethelbert Miller, Marcus Raskin, Anas Shallal, and Melissa Tuckey
RE: Call for Special Program to support artists and writers in Stimulus Bill
As you well recall, one of the most creative parts of the New Deal were programs to help artists and writers. Thousands were helped with relatively small outlays of funds, and the nation’s artistic heritage was greatly enhanced. The same argument should be made today.
We urge you to recommend that one percent of the stimulus plan be spent on arts and culture ($6 billion if the final package is $600 billion), building on the Federal Art Project and the Federal Writers Project of the New Deal. We offer eleven ideas on how the money could be spent below. We also support ideas that link different parts of the stimulus package; for example, the new schools that will be built could be adorned with new murals and sculptures.
Here is some background, followed by ideas on how the funds could be spent.
The Works Progress Administration was created in 1935 with the purpose of bringing jobs to those who had become unemployed or underemployed during the Great Depression. Since artists and writers were also hit by the economic hard times, two divisions of the WPA were assigned the task of creating suitable jobs for such people -- jobs that would not only take advantage of these individuals' talents, but would also serve to enrich America's cultural heritage and embellish public spaces. The grouping of the largest of these programs is collectively known as the Federal Project Number One. Included in this collective were the Federal Writers’ Project, the Historical Records Survey, the Federal Theatre Project, the Federal Music Project, and the Federal Art Project. All of these programs were divisions of the Works Progress Administration. Out of the approximately $4.8 billion allocated to the Works Progress Administration, Congress permitted $27 million to fund the Federal Project Number One projects.
The Federal Art Project, along with several other WPA-backed programs, created well over 5,000 jobs for American artists. These artists created over 2,500 murals, over 17,700 sculptures, 108,000 paintings, and 240,000 prints. The project's legacy still lives on, since it supported artists like Jackson Pollock, Arshile Gorky, and many other abstract expressionists whose work helped shift the most dynamic center of the art world to shift from its traditional location in Europe to where it now resides, in the largest cities of the United States.
The Federal Writers' Project created over 6,600 jobs for writers, editors, researchers, and many others who exemplified a given level of literary expertise. Established on July 27, 1935 by President Roosevelt, the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) operated under journalist and theatrical producer Henry Alsberg, and later John D. Newsome, compiling local histories, oral histories, ethnographies, children's books and other works.
These writers created over 1,200 books and pamphlets, and they produced some of the first U.S. guides for states, major cities, and roadways. In addition, the FWP was responsible for recording folklore, oral histories, and, most notably, the 2,300 plus first-person accounts of slavery that now exist as a collection in the Library of Congress. As with the Federal Art Project, the FWP's contributions to American literature were both significant and long-lasting, giving authors like Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, John Steinbeck, Sterling Brown, and many others the opportunity to continue their work in a time of difficult economic circumstances.
Here are some of the ways the funds could be used:
1. NEA and NEH: Increase funding for the NEA and NEH. Increase the staff at both agencies. Maintain many of the new NEA projects started by Dana Gioia, for example: The Big Read and Operation Homecoming.
2. Archives: Support the preservation of literary archives across the country. Many collections need to interface with modern technology; staff needs to be hired at various institutions. We don't want to lose our past.
3. A Secretary-level post for Culture/Arts: We support the idea of Bill Ivey, former NEA Chair under Clinton, and head of the arts/culture Obama Transition Team for a Secretary level post for Culture/Arts; indeed, the United States and Germany are the only wealthy nations without a Minister or Secretary of Culture. Ivey’s initiative involves the refocus and revitalization of the extant Committee on the Arts and the Humanities http://www.pcah.gov, which could be a better interim and/or long-term mechanism for new arts and culture policies.
4. Arts Education; Educational institutions, especially public school systems in low-income and under served communities, would hire artists and writers. Funds would be made available for artist and writer-in-residence positions.
5. Arts in Public Spaces: Support for the arts in public places; especially parks, metro stations, airports, etc. Every major city and community should have access to concert series and readings in their major parks, especially in times of economic hardship.
6. Workplace: Funds to bring poets and writers into the workplace. Build literacy by enlivening the reading public. Contemporary writers would bring their work to the people. Readings could be held around noon at workplaces.
7. Document history: Document U.S. literary and cultural history on a city, state and national level. This would be similar to the old WPA program. Interview major writers and painters. It could be done by doing a series of films.
8. American Artists Overseas: Money should be set aside to send American artists overseas for 3-6 month periods, with an emphasis on countries where the United States has been at odds. They would serve as cultural ambassadors and give lectures and performances. They would also collaborate with artists of the host country to produce cultural events.
9. Fellowships/Scholarships awarded to working/low income individuals who wish to enroll in creative writing programs. Many older people wish to return to school to pursue the arts but have no money for tuition.
10. Black colleges: Money should be set aside to develop creative writing programs at historical black colleges. No creative writing program exists at any black college. This would create teaching jobs for many African American authors.
11. Libraries: We should support library infrastructure and provide writer and artist-in-residence programs for our libraries, especially those in low-income communities. Our nation's libraries are public treasures and many have been closed in recent years. Money is needed to keep our libraries open and alive.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml
http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/WPAStateGuides.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPA_Federal_Writers%27_Project
http://www.harwich.edu/depts/history/HHJ/fedart.html
Please share this information with other artists and writers.
This document was drafted by members of IPS.
www.ips-dc.org
ATTENTION ALL POETS AND ARTISTS. PLEASE SUPPORT THIS DOCUMENT.
WRITE TO CONGRESSMAN CONYERS TODAY!
December 16, 2008
To: Congressman John Conyers (D-MI)
From: John Cavanagh, James Early, Barbara Ehrenreich, E. Ethelbert Miller, Marcus Raskin, Anas Shallal, and Melissa Tuckey
RE: Call for Special Program to support artists and writers in Stimulus Bill
As you well recall, one of the most creative parts of the New Deal were programs to help artists and writers. Thousands were helped with relatively small outlays of funds, and the nation’s artistic heritage was greatly enhanced. The same argument should be made today.
We urge you to recommend that one percent of the stimulus plan be spent on arts and culture ($6 billion if the final package is $600 billion), building on the Federal Art Project and the Federal Writers Project of the New Deal. We offer eleven ideas on how the money could be spent below. We also support ideas that link different parts of the stimulus package; for example, the new schools that will be built could be adorned with new murals and sculptures.
Here is some background, followed by ideas on how the funds could be spent.
The Works Progress Administration was created in 1935 with the purpose of bringing jobs to those who had become unemployed or underemployed during the Great Depression. Since artists and writers were also hit by the economic hard times, two divisions of the WPA were assigned the task of creating suitable jobs for such people -- jobs that would not only take advantage of these individuals' talents, but would also serve to enrich America's cultural heritage and embellish public spaces. The grouping of the largest of these programs is collectively known as the Federal Project Number One. Included in this collective were the Federal Writers’ Project, the Historical Records Survey, the Federal Theatre Project, the Federal Music Project, and the Federal Art Project. All of these programs were divisions of the Works Progress Administration. Out of the approximately $4.8 billion allocated to the Works Progress Administration, Congress permitted $27 million to fund the Federal Project Number One projects.
The Federal Art Project, along with several other WPA-backed programs, created well over 5,000 jobs for American artists. These artists created over 2,500 murals, over 17,700 sculptures, 108,000 paintings, and 240,000 prints. The project's legacy still lives on, since it supported artists like Jackson Pollock, Arshile Gorky, and many other abstract expressionists whose work helped shift the most dynamic center of the art world to shift from its traditional location in Europe to where it now resides, in the largest cities of the United States.
The Federal Writers' Project created over 6,600 jobs for writers, editors, researchers, and many others who exemplified a given level of literary expertise. Established on July 27, 1935 by President Roosevelt, the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) operated under journalist and theatrical producer Henry Alsberg, and later John D. Newsome, compiling local histories, oral histories, ethnographies, children's books and other works.
These writers created over 1,200 books and pamphlets, and they produced some of the first U.S. guides for states, major cities, and roadways. In addition, the FWP was responsible for recording folklore, oral histories, and, most notably, the 2,300 plus first-person accounts of slavery that now exist as a collection in the Library of Congress. As with the Federal Art Project, the FWP's contributions to American literature were both significant and long-lasting, giving authors like Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, John Steinbeck, Sterling Brown, and many others the opportunity to continue their work in a time of difficult economic circumstances.
Here are some of the ways the funds could be used:
1. NEA and NEH: Increase funding for the NEA and NEH. Increase the staff at both agencies. Maintain many of the new NEA projects started by Dana Gioia, for example: The Big Read and Operation Homecoming.
2. Archives: Support the preservation of literary archives across the country. Many collections need to interface with modern technology; staff needs to be hired at various institutions. We don't want to lose our past.
3. A Secretary-level post for Culture/Arts: We support the idea of Bill Ivey, former NEA Chair under Clinton, and head of the arts/culture Obama Transition Team for a Secretary level post for Culture/Arts; indeed, the United States and Germany are the only wealthy nations without a Minister or Secretary of Culture. Ivey’s initiative involves the refocus and revitalization of the extant Committee on the Arts and the Humanities http://www.pcah.gov, which could be a better interim and/or long-term mechanism for new arts and culture policies.
4. Arts Education; Educational institutions, especially public school systems in low-income and under served communities, would hire artists and writers. Funds would be made available for artist and writer-in-residence positions.
5. Arts in Public Spaces: Support for the arts in public places; especially parks, metro stations, airports, etc. Every major city and community should have access to concert series and readings in their major parks, especially in times of economic hardship.
6. Workplace: Funds to bring poets and writers into the workplace. Build literacy by enlivening the reading public. Contemporary writers would bring their work to the people. Readings could be held around noon at workplaces.
7. Document history: Document U.S. literary and cultural history on a city, state and national level. This would be similar to the old WPA program. Interview major writers and painters. It could be done by doing a series of films.
8. American Artists Overseas: Money should be set aside to send American artists overseas for 3-6 month periods, with an emphasis on countries where the United States has been at odds. They would serve as cultural ambassadors and give lectures and performances. They would also collaborate with artists of the host country to produce cultural events.
9. Fellowships/Scholarships awarded to working/low income individuals who wish to enroll in creative writing programs. Many older people wish to return to school to pursue the arts but have no money for tuition.
10. Black colleges: Money should be set aside to develop creative writing programs at historical black colleges. No creative writing program exists at any black college. This would create teaching jobs for many African American authors.
11. Libraries: We should support library infrastructure and provide writer and artist-in-residence programs for our libraries, especially those in low-income communities. Our nation's libraries are public treasures and many have been closed in recent years. Money is needed to keep our libraries open and alive.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml
http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/WPAStateGuides.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPA_Federal_Writers%27_Project
http://www.harwich.edu/depts/history/HHJ/fedart.html
Please share this information with other artists and writers.
This document was drafted by members of IPS.
www.ips-dc.org