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Poetic Notes and Quotes for Month of July

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Posted by mindsurfer25 in #QOTD, #QOTM, 21st Century Authors, 21st Century Poets, American Writers, Best Stories of 2015, Bibliography, Celebrity Authors, Creativity, Education, famous authors, Famous Poems by Famous Poets, famous poets, Famous Quotes by Famous Authors, Harlem Renaissance, Literary Blogs, Literary Critiques, Literary Genius, literary reviews, Literary Themes, Literature, National Poetry Month, popular quotes, Quotable Poets, Quotations, quote graphics, quote picture graphics, Quotes, Quotes for July, World Authors, World Literature, World Poetry Day, World Writers

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African American poets, American poets, Andre Gide, authors, Authors frequently mentioned on the web, Best Quotes of the Year 2015, books, Charleston Shooting, Claude Mckay, Confederate flag, current events, essays, Famous People born in July, famous poems, famous poets, Harlem Renaissance authors, Harlem Renaissance poets, Hilliary Clinton, Literary Genius, Marriage Equality, Maya Angelou, Nobel Prize Winners, nonviolence, quotable poets, quotes about freedom, quotes about poetry, Quotes by Aberjhani, William Shakespeare

In his amazing essay “Text & Meaning in Claude McKay’s If We Must Die,” the Quotable Poet pays appropriate tribute to the great author McKay. He reminds us that the poem first came out in July 1919… so this July 2015 is the 96th anniversary of its publication. But wait, why should any us care at this particular time?

Well how about this… Think shooting massacre in Charleston, think Supreme Court decision on marriage equality, think Hillary Clinton’s “in-it-to-win-it” second run for the U.S. presidency, think no more Confederate flag raised on government property. For all those reason we’re joining the Quotable Poet  in his tribute to Claude McKay by presenting 3 of the best quotes from the article throughout this blog. We’re also going to zero in on another topic but first this is quote number 1:

“Poetry has often proven an effective instrument for amplifying the voices of those who believe they have been targeted for unfair social and political discrimination; or, worse, tagged for a campaign of potential genocide.” (QP Aberjhani)

We’ve been noticing something all year long. It’s nothing that’s going to make the Flash ditch his red super-threads for blue or pink ones. Just a quotation thing that’s worth sharing.

What we noticed is a lot of people put quotes by the Quotable Poet to good use in blogs, stories, quote-pics, status updates, books, and all kinds of fun things. What we DON’T see so much of are the literary critique type blog and essays bold enough to say why it is one search engine places his picture between the late author Maya Angelou and William Shakespeare at the same time that another places it next to Nobel Prize for Literature winner Andre Gide and half a dozen writers from the Harlem Renaissance.

“That Blacks and Whites have made tremendous advances in securing social and political equality for all Americans is something most reasonable thinkers would not deny. The conditions as they existed in 1919 were the kinds that challenge poets of any race to prove the significance of their craft.” (QP Aberjhani)

 Don’t get us wrong. There are some, like the Mankipedia article by Vince Corvino where he talks about the meaning of travel and the word “nightmare” in one of the QP’s most famous quotes. You can also find a lot dealing with the “dare to love yourself” quote and there are some important reviews of his Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. But when you look at the size of the body of work in different genres it seems like there’s supposed to be more and it seems like publishers should prob be making that happen.

Aberjhani nonviolent conflict resonlution quote with Van Gogh BLUE poster courtesy Postered Poetics 2UPLD

“When confronted by social, political, or legal disagreements, options for nonviolent conflict resolution are often plentiful if allowed into consideration.” (QP Aberjhani)

Google generated list of poems by AberjhaniDrop-down sample list of poem titles by the Quotable Poet.

One organization we have to give their due creds is Google for making available a drop-down list of poetry titles by the QP when you type in “Poems by …” Some search engines do the same thing with his quotes which is cool because these back up what some of us have been saying all along.

MS/25

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August 2014 Quotable Poet 90th Birthday Salute to James Baldwin

30 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by mindsurfer25 in American Writers, Creativity, Education, famous authors, famous poets, Internet Buzz, Poetry, Quotations

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Aberjhani, African American poets, African-American artists, African-American authors, art, Author James Baldwin, Authors frequently mentioned on the web, Baldwin, book reviews, books, celebrity birthdays, classic quotes by classic authors, contemporary poets, Famous birthdays August 2, Famous Birthdays in August, famous poets, famous quotations, famous quotes, Harlem, Hollywood actors, Jake Gyllenhaal, James Baldwin, James Baldwin's 90th Birthday, Kerry Washington, literature, multiculturalism, New York City, Nikky Finney, quotes, Quotes about James Baldwin, Quotes by Aberjhani, Scandal actress Kerry Washington, The Year of James Baldwin

James Baldwin software art by Joe Williams for Blacksoftware.com Shared in honor of The Year of James Baldwin acknowledging Baldwin's 90th birthday August 2, 2014.

James Baldwin software art by Joe Williams for Blacksoftware.com Shared in honor of The Year of James Baldwin acknowledging Baldwin’s 90th birthday August 2, 2014.

“There is a ‘sanctity’ involved with bringing a child into this world: it is better than bombing one out of it.”—James Baldwin’s book The Price of the Ticket

“Sociologically, politically, psychologically, spiritually, it was never enough for him [James Baldwin] to categorize himself as one thing or the other: not just black, not just sexual, not just American, nor even just as a world-class literary artist. He embraced the whole of life the way the sun’s gravitational passion embraces everything from the smallest wandering comet to the largest looming planet…” –– Aberjhani from article The Quotable James Baldwin

If you had to guess what smokin’ hot actress Kerry Washington, Hollywood big-timer Jake Gyllenhaal, and the Quotable Poet all had in common what would you say? Besides the obvious fact that they’re all talented creatives in their way?

The answer would be that they’ve all gone on record blowin’ up books by James Baldwin. Kerry Washington did the YouTube “Importance of Reading” literacy video about how she fell in love with Baldwin’s “middle road” racial politics. Gyllenhaal was part of the launch for The Year of James Baldwin. And QP Aberjhani’s got at least half a dozen articles, reviews, and essays about Baldwin online––where the poems at QP? The latest story-piece is called The Year of James Baldwin Now in Full Classic Literary Swing.

When Jake Gyllenhaal went all intellectual in a public discussion of a novel by Baldwin it caught a lot of people off guard. Why was that? Can’t the man look studly and be smart too? The QP has been writing about Baldwin for years and the 2 authors have a lot in common. Being African-American male authors is just part of it. They’re both also multi-genre authors and both are African-Americans who have spent a lot of time outside the United States.

Most readers know Baldwin for his essays, novels, and short stories. Turns out he wrote poetry too (anybody under 25 who say they knew that already is probably lying.) This is a short one from his brand new book of poems is called Jimmy’s Blues with an intro from Nikky Finney.

SUNDAY

The mint bed is in
bloom: lavender haze
day. The grass is
more than green and
throws up sharp and
cutting lights to
slice through the
plane tree leaves. And
on the cloudless blue
I scribble your name.
–James Baldwin (from Jimmy’s Blues)

 

If you check out the Amazon page for the book you’ll see where Maya Angelou described Baldwin as “a giant” and the Booklist Review says “Poetry was the current that powered his novels, essays, and plays…” That’s more than enough to join the Quotable Poet in giving Baldwin a shout-out for his 90th birthday on August 2nd and for checking what The Year of James Baldwin is all about.

Jimmys Blues book of poetry by James Baldwinpost by MS/24
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June Poem of the Month: My One Favorite City

29 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by mindsurfer25 in Creativity, famous authors, Famous Poems by Famous Poets, famous poets, Famous Quotes by Famous Authors, Internet Buzz, Michael Jackson, Poem of the Month, Quotable Poets, Quotations, Quotes

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Aberjhani, Anniversary of Michael Jackson's death, Billionaire Club, celebrities, entertainment, Famous cities, Jackson family, Janet Jackson, literary translations, Madrid, Michael Jackson Facebook Group, money, Moscow, New York, Paris, quote of the month, Quotes about Michael Jackson, Quotes by Aberjhani, wealthy people, Wissam Al Mana

Ms Billionaire Janet Jackson photo by AM Records                   (photo of Ms. Janet Jackson from A&M Records)

Ever notice how the words “super rich” and “Jackson family” sometimes seem to mean the same thing? A lot of people were feeling like that after the 60 Minutes story about Michael Jackson’s estate earning more than $600 million since the King of Pop’s death 4 years ago. Then reports hit the web that sister Janet just joined the super exclusive Billionaire Club. And if you’re thinking she did it because she married billionaire Wissam Al Mana, you’re wrong. She did it with her own earnings from recordings, movie deals, and logging a lot of miles for a lot of years on concert tours.

So what’s any of this got to do with the June poem of month, My One Favorite City? It’s like this: everybody knows the Quotable Poet has written a lot about the King of Pop but where’s the love for Janet?

Ok, yeah, he gave her props for her tribute performance to her brother during the 2009 MTV Awards but what about thumbs up for her own achievements? In one interview he said one of his dream jobs was to “write an album with Janet Jackson.” Wouldn’t a nice hot poem make a good start? This one is from Visions of a Skylark Dressed in Black and although it wasn’t dedicated to Miss Janet in the book it makes you think of some of her more passionate songs. It’s also a good poem for the travel bug that starts biting during the summer. The graphic art image below with a quote from Summer-Song Rhapsody for Michael Jackson by Aberjhani in Spanish is a big bonus that popped up in email.

 My One Favorite City

My one favorite city is a kiss shared with you.
Make it on any street corner whatsoever,
above any orphaned moon you might please,
beneath a flag on this planet or another,
so long as the lips are yours and the pleasure ours.

I champion all laws forbidding my life
to wander too far from yours.
And I worship the swirling patterns
of divine satisfaction that adorn
my soul’s wretched skyline
each time your breath swallows mine.

Festivals in New York cannot match
the riot-filled crush of our stars pressed together.
In neither Moscow nor Madrid
do the domes gleam with the kind of gold
that your whispers melt inside my heart.

My only favorite city is a kiss shared with you.
Make it on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday night
or Monday morning. Otherwise, give me Paris
with your face painted on every window.
Or give me a sidewalk café high up in heaven,
where angels and the light adore you as much as I.

–from Visions of a Skylark Dressed in Black by Aberjhani (posted by permission)

Michael Jackson graphic with Aberjhani qoute by Groupo Facebook Frase o anecdota de Mike del dia ViviMJ digital art graphic with quote by Aberjhani from “Groupo Facebook Frase o’ anecdota de Mike del dia (Vivi)

This is the original quote in English: “His presence in the world was a powerful ingredient within the overall antidote to the mega-tons of despair that can weigh human souls so far down that for millions (if not billions) life on earth feels more and more like death in hell. His voice remains part of the antidote. That’s antidote as in: anti-hatred, anti-war, anti-ignorance, anti-abuse, anti-oppression, anti-prejudice, anti-bigotry, anti-fear.”
— from Summer-Song Rhapsody for Michael Jackson by Aberjhani

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    ~ Pagesurfer500 put "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" into shelf Pagesurfer500 commented on "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" A phenomenal #1 bestseller that has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly three years, this memoir traces Maya Angelou's childhood in a small, rural community during the 1930s. Filled with […]
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    ~ Pagesurfer500 put "Savannah, Immortal City, Volume One" into shelf Savannah, Immortal City is the first volume in the four-part Civil War Savannah Series. It takes you on a journey through time told by those who lived, breathed and fought America's bloodiest war. Out of this crucible, a new America was forged. Through the remarkable survival […]
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Additional Internet Surf-Notes on the Quotable Poet Aberjhani

  • A Universe Called Freebase Amazing adventures in Freebase space.
  • Aberjhani among Peers and Colleagues at Red Room Website based at the famous writing school in San Franciso with celebrity authors like Barack Obama and Maya Angelou and John Stewart.
  • Aberjhani on Poets and Seers Inspirational poetry site with a classic twist to it and some of Aberjhani’s angel poems.
  • Creative Spirit of the Harlem Renaissance on Picassa Photo site Call this the visual side of the poet at work.
  • Creative Thinkers International Founder Aberjhani Members call it CTI a site founded by the author for positive-minded creatively inclined individuals.
  • Notable Quotes by Aberjhani Another Quotable Poet collector with a respectable variety of quotations from the QP.
  • The Poet as African American Art Examiner Journalist His beat at the Examiner is writers, artists, musicians and naturally poets.

Blogroll

  • Notable Quotes by Aberjhani Another Quotable Poet collector with a respectable variety of quotations from the QP.
  • Poetry In Living Motion Breathe poetry in, breathe poetry out.
  • The Bookshelf on aNobii Catching up on my reading in a certain area.
  • The Quotable Poet

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