It was a while back when I realized that the school where I’d gone to kindergarten, first grade, second grade, walked to one block with my sister, hand in hand, was nothing more than a literal shell, housing collapsed floors and John Deere mowers—to keep the lawn of the shell neatly trimmed.
For a while I was filled with an almost inexpressible sadness, hot splashes of anger like Tabasco. Then it just stopped. It is what it is, and the magick is that I once again got to see it, remember that there was a ghost haunting the padlocked and severe basement, guarded by thick whitewashed wood; remember the smell of the lunchroom, and that there was a piano snug in the far right corner; remember the ledge of the steps where we would line up and jump off—a five foot drop is nothing to scoff at (but what I did was actually sit on the ledge and scoot myself off, breath lurching in my chest as I landed and tumbled).
It is what it is, and the river is moving so fast right now that the past wobbles in the rearviewmirror. The best of those things:
- This “Jack Butler” you speak of—Holy Moley, as Billy Batson would say! I was in the midst of a trip while our friend started posting. I’ve been perpetually boggled and delighted and cannot wait to see what he writes next (although he bested me with his “Parliament” jaxagram, I have not yielded!). I’ve been more excited about this then anything in quite a while.
- On December 14th, I’ll be having a show of my Polaroid work at the Light + Glass gallery here in Jackson, Mississippi. I’m tremendously excited about the show, even more so because of the wonderful artists I will be paired with. Wendy Eddelman and Rob Cooper are both well-known and deservedly-admired glass artists long associated with Pearl River Glass Studio and the Wolfe Studio—and they’re great people, as well. The owners of the gallery, Jerri Sherer and Roy Adkins, work with photography and glass, and each show they host will feature works in those media. I’m tremendously excited about the show, and we’ve still got to pick a name, figure out what’s going to be on display, and I gotta finish the drawings of the Jitney 14 for the new Sandusky Review and print the other one again and—yeah, I’ve got to get to work!
- On Sunday night I had the honor of introducing the extraordinary poet Laura Mullen as she read from her latest work, Murmur. Laura read from some of my favorite lines of poetry, and as she did I thought, I’d love to hear her read the whole thing. Then we proceeded to the Chimes and had a mini-PrettyFakes Summit (long-threatened!) with Laura, the legendary Prof. Fury, Dave Ashes, and hip-hop guru SDW. I have to admit I fell asleep around ten o’clock, I was so tired, but I fell asleep happy.
- PF has long needed a redesign, and I hope that in the next four to six months one of my favorite artists may be able to bring her special brand of design to the site.
- Favorite recent memory: playing Dig-Dug and drinking a can of Yuengling at the Cat’s Cradle while I waited for the Hackensaw Boys to start playing.
That’s all for now.
Related: the PF review of Murmur.
“(Southerners, who feel everything, intensely).”
(Title shamelessly lifted from Ryan Adam’s latest record, Easy Tiger).
The description of your recent visit to the Sandusky School perfectly captures how I feel when I return to the decaying Delta river town of my birth. Indeed, southerners do feel everything intensely.
On another note, I am thrilled about the upcoming your upcoming show … & the arrival of the new Sandusky Review!! I know I will not be disappointed.
Man, was great to see you Sunday night. Sorry I couldn’t stick around longer at Chimes, but 2 more drinks and you would have probably had enough of me anyways. Come back soon! The Fury fireplace awaits…
Wish I was in Jackson so I could see the show.
Got to say, you did it the right way. Wish I had taught myself to grow old. I had to have it beaten into me instead.
And thanks for the nod.
I’m going to read the Mullens review now, but is there a possibility we could see some of her poetry on PF?
Oops. I see Murmur is prose, not poetry. Still, how about some poems?
Well, it is poetry—but often blurs into prose, if that makes sense. Some of the chapters are much more obviously in a poetic form then others. And, I will totally try and get her to publish one of her poems up here.
Your school reminds me of visiting Sonny Boy Williamson II’s grave jusT Outside Tutwiler. First time I went there the adjacent old African American Community Center (just the other side of road from Endless cotton fields) was still standing but leaning in on itself on both sides. I almost didn’t find his grave last year over Labor Day wekend when I took my pal and Perfect Sound Forever compere Jason Gross on a Mississippi Delta Obscure Blues Sites journey. The split double image is one of those happy WalMart printing machine mistakes which creates “ART.” I call the two picture Mississippi Mitosis or is it Meisosis when a cell splits and replicates itself I can never remember that biology stuff anymore . . .
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/46/188322763_753018c950.jpg
That’s a print on wood by John Langford of the original Pollock Elvis cover art for the Mekons’ Rock’N’Roll album
http://www.twintone.com/minies/mekons-AM.jpg
and someday will be the most valuable piece of art I own as it was a one off that I e-ordered from yarddog in Austin while writing my essay, Honky Tonkin’ in Leeds, Nashville, and Chicago: The Place of Punk in Alt.Country.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2317/2005734442_8a3bdf5045.jpg
My living room’s MS corner. You can get the mitosis joke better now I think. The box on the floor is the smaller half of Susan Sharp Ford’s installation Cotton Fields; the other larger rectangle hangs directly across the room on the wall.
Congrats on the show; all things being equal I’m coming down even if I have my Mix Tape party in Starkvegas the night of the 15th.
Lovely! It was swell to see you this wknd, and I only wish it could have been for longer, and that we all had been less sleepy, and that someone had made balloon animals. If I buy Easy Tiger on your recommendation, and it turns out to be as big a disaster as the last thing I bought on your recommendation and against my better judgment—koff koff Meltzer JLA koff koff—I’m going to suspect you of harboring some kind of resentment that only manifests in passive-aggressive pop culture recommendations.
It stopped for me a while ago, but then again, you always said I was older than you, just not in years.
I’ve already cleared my calendar for the show. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. (proud leetle seester moment)
Also, can I sell the newest Sandusky Review in my store?? THAT would be cool. OH! You could even do a book signing!! All the Starkvillians could come and love you in person! YAY
Congratulations on the Polaroid show.
My elementary school is now a strange apartment building. I want to live there.
This from a northerner, who feels everything, intensely.
all the cool bars serve Yuengling now…i hear.