Poet At Center Of Firestorm

Further developments on the Nikki Giovanni/Ken Blackwell story.

In an article in The Cincinatti Inquirer, poet Nikki Giovanni is quoted as follows with regard to her Saturday poetry reading in Fountain Square:

Giovanni isn't happy about the criticism or controversy. But she's not apologizing, either.

"All I have is my voice," she said. "I don't want it silenced. We were on (Fountain Square) where the Klan gathered to speak. I'm not sure as many people called to complain about what the Klan had to say as what I said."

Giovanni said Fountain Square has a long history as a place where controversial and sometimes unpopular issues are voiced.

"There's never an appropriate place," she said. "The square is a place for free speech and public dialogue."

Giovanni added, "I think Kenny is not a nice person. I think you can tell that by what I wrote."

Miss Giovanni's remarks are balanced by the following:

Keith Fangman, vice president of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, was unhappy about a line in the poem that referred to police shootings of young black men. He called the reference "inflammatory."

"What a great way to welcome the cop-hating, racist element back to Fountain Square," he said sarcastically.

Fangman said 3CDC leadership was to blame for the "PR nightmare" created by Giovanni's remarks. "Any imbecile should have known that Nikki Giovanni is an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, left-wing, political militant and should never have been invited to speak at this celebration."

If that's not an imflamitory, militantly Right-wing, not to say vicious remark, this blogger doesn't know what is.

Moreover, I find it highly inappropriate for a police officer to make such nakedly partazan remarks in a newspaper, especially when he is specifically identified as Vice President of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police. Frankly, a poet *is* free to express her private views in any place and in any way she sees fit. A police officer is not. If Mr. Fangman had been speaking as a private citizen, he, too, would have been free to be as partizan as he wished. However, for him to speak as he did in his capacity as an officer of the law is distasteful and shows poor judgment on his part, to say the very least.

We wholeheartedly support Miss Giovanni's courage and artistic integrity, as well as her inalienable right to free speech.

Thanks to Renee*in*Ohio at Howard Empowered People for highlighting this controversy.

No Laurels For Nikki If Ken Wins?

Yesterday, Plunderbund ran this story about poet Nikki Giovanni:

I Am Not A Son Of A Bitch Like Kenny Blackwell

It is unclear whether the entire text of Miss Giovanni's poem is included in the article, or only most of it.

A strong, evocative poem, "I Am Cincinatti" is not necessarily well served by the hypertopical refferences IMO. My hunch is that they may be removed when the poem is printed. Still, Miss Giovanni demonstrates the power of poetry and the public engagement that I feel is an integral part of being a poet. She also showed no little courage.

We applaud Nikki Giovanni for her poem and the courage to perform it.

Read more:
Nikki Giovanni's web site

New U.S. Poet Laureate

Donald Hall has been named U.S. Poet Laureate. A prolific essayest as well as poet Mr. Hall, who lives in New Hampshire, writes movingly and vividly about the natural, day to day world around him.

Asked about the future of poetry, he expressed optimism. Poetry is infinitely more popular today, he told The News Hour's Jeffrey Brown, than when he was a boy. Today, Mr. Hall pointed out, it seems that there's a poetry reading on every block.

We congratulate Mr. Hall on his achievement.

Read more:
Poet Laureate Donald Hall Reflects on Age and Nature
PBS News Hour: Poet Profile - Donald Hall
Donald Hall's poetry at the Poetry Foundation's web site

Interestingly, while the just departed Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky wrote a statement of conscience supporting Sam Hamil and the Poets Against The War movement, Mr. Hall does not appear to have any material at their site. One cannot help but wonder whether this nonappearance has anything to do with Mr. Hall's appointment. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

Poetry On The News Hour

Throughout this year, The PBS News Hour is carrying an occasional series on poetry. The series profiles American poets and discusses the role of poetry in America today.

Click the title to go to the "About" page for the series, from which you can access the entire sub-site.

Egyptian Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz In Unstable Condition

Egypt's Nobel Prize-winning writer Naguib Mahfouz is in intensive care at hospital in the capital, Cairo.

Mahfouz, in his mid-90s, has been in hospital since a fall last month. He is said to be in an "unstable" condition.

His vibrant, colourful portrayal of capital in his Cairo Trilogy won the 1988 Nobel Prize for literature.

Click the title to go to the BBC article. Our prayers are with Mr. Mahfouz and his family.

Call For Solidarity From Poets Against War

Dear Poets Against War:

Fernando Rendón, poet and workhorse for peace, directs the Medellín International Poetry Festival. We at Poets Against War support his petition whole-heartedly.

Please go to
http://www.poetsagainstwar.net/poetspetition2.asp
and add your signature.

Namaste,
Sam Hamill & the PAW Board

Medellin, March 22nd, 2006.
Dear poets:

Greetings from Colombia.

We invite you to sign the attached letter to express as soon as possible your solidarity with this cause and then to circulate this letter electronically among your friends.

All the best,
Fernando Rendón
Director
International Poetry Festival of Medellin

Cease hypocrisy on the issue of Human Rights
The 62nd Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights will begin next March 20 in Geneva, coinciding with the broadcasting of new footage of US military torturing Iraqi prisoners.

The United States and its EU allies have successively prevented this Commission from condemning the massive and systematic violations of human rights promoted in the name of the so called war against terrorism.

The EU governments have refused to admit the testimonies and evidences submitted by citizens of their countries, who have been victims of several forms of torture at Guantánamo navy base. They have also allowed the flight of CIA aircrafts carrying prisoners to illegal detention centers in Europe and elsewhere.

We the undersigned call upon intellectuals, artists, social activists, and men and women of goodwill everywhere to join our claims: the Commission on Human Rights or the Council that will substitute it, must demand the immediate closing of the arbitrary detention centers created by the United States as well as the ceasing of all these deliberate violations of human dignity.

In Memoriam: John Morressy

from the Blind SF listserv

Forwarded (I think) from Joyce Scrivner:
SF and fantasy writer John Morressy died Monday, March 20, 2006, of a heart attack at his home in Sullivan, New Hampshire, at the age of 75. Morressy wrote more than 20 books, from space opera to humorous fantasy, and was best known for his novels and stories (mostly in F&SF) about Kedrigern the wizard.

» The SFWA obituary includes funeral details
http://www.sfwa.org/news/2006/jmorressy.htm

From mataliandy via listener: The Impeachment Wagon is Ready to Roll

(Oh you know you want it...)
All aboard!

Vermont's Impeachment document known as the Rutland Resolution has wheels, and we're hitching our wagon to it.

The Rutland Resolution is a resolution passed by the Rutland Vermont County Democrats on February 28 that takes advantage of a little-known US House rule for impeachment charges to be transmitted to the US House from the states. It's building a groundswell of support in Vermont, and starting to leak into other states. Rhode Island already had their own version in the works, and there are rumors of action elsewhere.

We need to keep the momentum going!

mataliandy has just posted a do-it-yourself impeachment guide on Kos http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/7/105540/6002 and MyLeftWing http://www.myleftwing.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=6540, which includes the text of the Rutland Resolution, link to a pdf of the US House Rules, as well as steps to creating your own state's resolution.

Recommends are needed, but we also need swarming. The most helpful thing right now is to get rolling thunder - make it sweep across the landscape before it can be stopped. Once the word is out there, we can keep people excited by reporting on what's happening with it around the country. If we can't get it into the media, we can at least get it into our communities.

That's where you come in. If you can get folks to recommend, please do, but also, if you have a blog or know someone with a blog, please post about it - feel free to use the entire thing wholesale if you're short on time. The important thing is to get it disseminated.

While you're at it, please email the diary to any email lists you belong to. The more people who are aware of the option, the better

For more information email: impeach@dfvt.com

Thank you!

Ads For The War On Iraq, Coming To A TV Near You

TruthOut reports today:

TV Ads Push Iraq War Support
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030206E.shtml
In an early sign of the imagery that may flood the nation's television screens as congressional elections approach this fall, a conservative political group closely aligned with the Bush administration has launched a blitz of television ads to shore up sagging public support for the war in Iraq.

I don't need to read the story. The summary alone is enough to raise my blood pressure. I'll only say here that the purchase and broadcast of such adverts seems to me to be an abuse of the public airwaves and of the cable services many Americans pay for.

Cardinal: Ash Wednesday, 2006

"All artists are mystics in some way."

~ Franciscan Br. Robert Lentz,
(known for his riveting rendition of the Stations of the Cross)

Br. Robert's work can be found at Trinity Stores.

WONDERING IF THERE'S A WAY TO ACTUALLY HELP THE TROOPS?

listener writes:

Soldiers in Iraq must be having a very scary week, with the situation there deteriorating so rapidly. And the medical units must be running on exhaustion.

I am thinking these days of my friends' son Aaron who left for Iraq in November when his firstborn daughter was only two weeks old. He's younger than our youngest, so about age 21. I've been wishing we knew how he is, and wondering how to ease the strain on our friends here in Vermont.

Well, I just got word through my sister Patti, who is now an Air Force Captain, that there are some specific items that a medical unit serving injured soldiers could use. It might take a little of the strain out of this time to do something which is kind and useful, at least to add a little balance to the Universe.

If you would like to send something, here are the particulars, which come from Capt. Maureen A. McCann, Life Skills Nurse. Typical of a nurse, Maureen says, "Many of you are asking what you can send, do we need anything? Well, we don't, but our patients do."

She elaborates, saying: Many can't continue to wear the uniforms they come in with and do not have anything else. Here is a list of what we can use (many of you are connecting with your church or job, but even one set is great!).

• Large size:
  
  • Sweat pants
  
  
  • long sleeve T-shirts
  
  
  • T-shirts
  
  
  • gym shorts (blue, black, gray only; they need to be conservative due to the area we are in)
  
  
  • mens underpants
  
  
  • small pillows (great for stuffing under or around the patient's injuries/casts to make them more comfortable for their long flight while they are on a litter.)
  
  (We get tons of socks and toiletries.)

THANKS SO MUCH!

Mailing address for packages:
Capt Maureen McCann
332 AEW/CASF
APO AE 09315-9997

From The Inbox: The Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America

Last month we went to El Salvador so Ike could get better acquainted with the people and projects. In El Salvador, this included a variety of meetings with community leaders and the staff of the Coordinadora, our local partner. In Guatemala the Mesoamerican Peace Committee had its annual meeting (which drew the attention of the international press); Ike shared a pipe ceremony, a part of his Native American spirituality, with the participants from Chiapas, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.

One of the things visitors to El Salvador always want to see is the Rays of Light Youth Art Project. The communities are truly proud of their young people and how they are channeling their creativity into works of beauty. Balbino is one such artist, who has already received international recognition in El Salvador. You can read more about him here. To learn more about the advances of the art project last year, click here for a report and pictures. Remember that there's still time to sign up for our summer tour, July 22-29. Contact us if you'd like to participate.

Saludos!
Isaac "Ike" Trevino & Jose "Chencho" Alas
Executive Director Founder & Peace Project Director
ike@fssca.net chencho@fssca.net

PS, We will be in Worcester, Massachusetts, on March 22nd to celebrate Romero's anniversary with Rep. Jim McGovern. The event, from 7-9pm, will take place at The College of the Holy Cross's Rehm Library. For more information on this event, call (508) 831-7356 or click here.

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PRIVACY
The Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America does NOT share your email address with others.
You received this email because you either gave the FSSCA your email address, signed a mailing list at a special event, or a friend thought you would be interested in our work.
If you want to subscribe to or be removed from this list, send an e-mail to sean@fssca.net with either "subscribe" or "remove" as the subject.

Quilts For Veterans

Rutland Herald
February 21, 2006

Fifty Iraq war veterans from around the state were presented with "Quilts of Valor" at a ceremony Monday night at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in White River Junction.The quilts were made by nationwide volunteers taking part in the Quilts for Soldiers organization based in Silver Springs, Md.

VA Hospital director Gary De Gasta said the quilts were in part a response to the poor attention given to veterans of the Vietnam War."I hope we've turned that around," he said.

Rep. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., was scheduled to be guest speaker for the event, but had a scheduling conflict. Samuel Haskins, a Vietnam veteran and aide to Sanders, read a statement stressing the importance of adequately funding the VA to give veterans the help they deserve.

Springtime?

I heard the first blue jay today. Spring can't be long off now.

On The Money

Different countries and cultures have different ideas about who it is appropriate to portray on their money. At present, the Swiss Frank is graced by portraits of figures from the arts. The previous series displayed portraits of scientists.

If the U.S. were to place American artists (native born and naturalized) on our bank notes, who do you think those artists ought to be?

Images and Blogger

Some Blogger blogs, this one among them, have user pics in comments enabled. This means that, if you have an image stored on your Blogger profile, that image will show on your comments on the Blogger comments page. User pics do *not* show next to comments on the individual pages for each thread.

Blogger does not allow you to upload images directly to your profile. Instead, you must provide a URL of up to 86 characters. The image must be in .png, .gif, or .jpeg format. If you have a graphics program such as Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop, you can simply "open" an image with the .jpg extension and "save as," giving the file the .jpeg extension. Then, upload it to your online storage area, free web space, or whatever, and enter the URL in the blank on the profile form. Click the orenge save button at the bottom of the form to save your changes.

As to the uploading itself, you have a choice. If your ISP provides free web space, as many do, you can upload your images to that space for storage. To use this option, you'll need an FTP program to transfer the image files to your webspace.

A simpler, less expensive alternative is the Hello software system, offered free to Blogger members. According to the info on the Hello page, this system is fully integrated with Blogger and will allow you to upload images to your Blogger blogs with minimal effort or knowledge of the particulars. This system may also allow you to create a URL accessible to the Blogger profile.

You can upload images on the fly to your post threads by means of the "add Image" function on the post creation screen. This function permits you to upload images directly from your computer.

Morning Prayer

Lord, thank You for a beautiful morning,
The hope and promise of a beautiful day.
Grant me the strength to fulfill that promise.
Help me to be kind, thoughtful and generous
And to think of others before myself.
And help me to do something good this day.

Protect those I love and all Your people,
And keep the world in peace till evening.

Well, Knock ME Over With A Feather!

Have you ever had a moment, as a writer or other sort of artist, when you received unexpected recognition or worthwhile comment on your work, and the experience just knocked you over with unimaginable joy?!

This is not a rhetorical question; please share your "bluebird of happiness" stories!

Mine happened TODAY!

An article I wrote was published in December in a magazine that comes out every two months. This morning I received word from a peer in R.I. that the new issue includes "a full page of letters to the Editor (including one from the Executive Director herself) affirming" the article! A short while later I received word from another peer in MA saying: "Did I share with you that copies of your article were given to us at the Residency? Excellent and so important to the dialogue."

Given that in the past whenever I have gone out on a limb and spoken out about something regarding the ministry I offer, I have been met with resistance and disdain, I am feeling a bit startled! So, it may take awhile to receive this news, but I will continue to savour it.

Now, I really DO want to hear your stories!
Tell us your "greatest response" and JOY story.

With Amazed and Delighted Gratitude, listener

In Memoriam: Peter Benchley

Peter Benchley, novelist, shark lover and advocate for ocean concervation, died Saturday. He suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive and fatal lung disease. He died at home, in Princeton.

Most recently, Mr. Benchley wrote articles for National Geographic and did radio ocean reports and educational films on ocean conservation. He believed deeply in the vital importance of the seas and of rain forests, and worked to educate the public, especially young people, about the need to care for this planet.

Mr. Benchley is survived by his wife of forty-one years, Wendy, and his three children.

RIP

Related Links
Jaws Author Peter Benchley Dies at 65
Jaws Creator Loved Sharks, Wife Reveals
Jaws Author Dead at 65 from xinhuanet.com (China)
Peter Benchley, The Author of Jaws, Dies at Sixty-five
PeterBenchley.com

Words of Wisdom from the Good Gray Poet

Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown, or to any man or number of men - go freely with powerful uneducated persons, and with the young, and with the mothers or families - re-examine all you have been told in school or church or in any book, and dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem, and have the richest fluency, not only in its words, but in the silent lines of its lips and face, and between the lashes of your eyes, and in every motion and joint of your body.

From the 1855 Preface to Leaves of Grass