Sarah Browning

SeeingBlack.com's Top Ten 2007 Movies
By Esther Iverem--SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic

Full disclosure statement: in a media world of fakery and distraction, I do favor movies that are about something real and that speak to our lives today. Despite some outrageous duds such as “Norbit,” 2007 also offered a rich array of movies, both in theaters and on television, which satisfied my need for the real. Here are my top 10 picks of movies by and/or about Black people for 2007. The links will take you to a complete review of the movie. See you at the movies in 2008!

Read the excellent list here:
http://www.seeingblack.com/article_345.shtml

Sandy Taylor, best known as a publisher and advocate for poetry, was also a very fine poet himself. A sample:


GOODBYE, BODY

Tree
on which I’ve carved
a few victories
and a thousand defeats,

old map,
scar on my leg
long as Chile,
broken knuckle
that shortened a finger,
city of distress
etched on my face
and forehead
like scratches on birchbark,

Thank you for your
kind shelter,
your hilarious jokes,
your nerve-endings
where pain warned me
of your reasonable
limitations.

What a pal you’ve been!

If you forgive my excesses,
my wild longings,
the way I’ve let life
beat you
like some dumb animal,
I’ll forgive you
the thousand tight spots
you put me in
with your excess
of hormones, your
abundance of
kinetic energy,
your mad dreams
that propelled me
through the night.

- by Sandy Taylor

With thanks to Bob Clawson

A terrific essay by Sharon Wachsler, editor of Breath & Shadow: A Journal of Disability Culture and Literature, at Word Gathering:

Disability culture grew from the disability rights movement, and thus includes its tenets, such as that disability is socially constructed (as are gender and race) and that disability is normal - not aberrant. Paradoxically, disability culture espouses that people with disabilities have a unique, enriching perspective to contribute to the world. Thus, disability culture embraces both the normalcy of disability and the peculiarities of living with disability.

Read the essay, which talks about several disability culture poets, including our own Kathi Wolfe, here: http://www.wordgathering.com/issue4/essays/wachsleressay.html

We note with sadness the passing of Ann Darr, a prominent DC poet. Dryad Press has started an 'In Memoriam' page on their website that is terrific. The link reprints poems, and gives biographical information.

http://www.dryadpress.com/AnnDarr.htm

The publisher of Dryad, Merrill Leffler, also invites anyone who is moved to do so to contribute their remembrances of Ann as a teacher, friend, influence, etc. Send him emails at publisher@dryadpress.com, and Merrill will add to the page.

I am humbled and moved and delighted by a review of Whiskey in the Garden of Eden by Rigoberto Gonzalez on the Poetry Foundation's blog Harriet. The Shout Out includes my whole poem, "Another March," then continues:

The value lesson here: it’s not about where one comes from (“Mt. Pleasant, Parsippany,/ Oneonta, Chattanooga”) or even who one is (a transvestite, a rabbi, Muslim from Texas), but about keeping hope and the possibility of change alive.

Read the review here: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/12/wednesday-shout-out-15/

At Weirding Word, we believe that “language creates reality.” How does language create reality in your life? In your writing?

SB: I think as writers we always have to struggle to maintain an authentic language, especially in a culture that is drowning in the language of commerce, the language of propaganda, the language of subtle coercion. These are dead, artificial languages. We have to wrestle with language, keep it on its toes, keep it alive. That's what gives me the greatest shot of pleasure -- when I feel like I'm engaging the language, and if I'm lucky, and working hard, maybe, just maybe, doing something a little bit new.

Read Part II of Gaea Honeycutt's interview with me here: http://weirdingword.typepad.com/weirding_word/2007/12/weirding-word-s.html

Lots of alternative options for the DC area. Two to keep in mind:

• Busboys and Poets Books
• Brian McKenzie InfoShop. Here's the latest from the InfoShop:

Winter Update #2

Dear Infoshop Friends,
Here's a few items of interest, as winter moves in and the holidays approach...

HOLIDAY SALE!! - SAVE THE DATE!
The Brian MacKenzie Infoshop's annual holiday sale - 20% OFF (almost) everything - is coming up soon: December 14, 15, and 16. Mark your calendars so you don't miss it. It's the perfect time to stock up on gifts for the holidays, or just to find a new book or two for yourself. The sale is our way of saying thank you for another year of support and patronage, and it also helps the infoshop raise funds that help during less busy months.

NEW ITEMS
We've been busy stocking our shelves with new books and restocking them with old favorites. A sampling of what's arrived in the past week or two. Don't miss these key new titles, plus many more:

NEW DERRICK JENSEN! - "As the World Burns", a GRAPHIC NOVEL from Jensen and comic artist Stephanie McMillan
plus:
Chainbreaker Bike Book: A Rough Guide to Bicycle Maitenence (from Microcosm)
Do-It-Yourself Screenprinting: A Graphic Guide

We've also restocked many favorite Microcosm titles (Making Stuff&Doing Things, Please Don't Feed the Bears Cookbook, Doris Book, etc.) and have a huge order of new titles and restocks on the way from AK Press, including many vegan cookbooks and a thourough restock of our Anarchy section. We've also greatly expanded our poetry section in recent months, with lots of innovative and/or political poetries.

Slingshot Organizers + 2008 Calendars
Just a reminder that the always popular Slingshot organizers are instock, in both small and large sizes, and numerous colors. We also have a selection of 2008 Wall Calendars as well: Nikki McClure, Colors from Palestine, and Ceartian Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners.

ROCK N SHOP
The infoshop will have a table at the Black Cat's annual ROCK N SHOP on December 7. We'll have a selection of books and music, as well as lots of Slingshot Organizers. Visit www.blackcatdc.com for more info.

HOURS
And lastly, we're continuing our effort to have and keep more reliable hours. Our December hours are as follows:

December 1-23
Mondays and Tuesdays - CLOSED
Wednesday through Saturday - 12-9
Sunday - 12-7

Monday Deceber 24 - 12-6
Tuesday December 25 - CLOSED


We hope to see you soon, and as always, thanks for your support!

The Brian MacKenzie Infoshop

Don't miss the last three weeks of A Question of Impeachment

"Finally, backboned America has a forum besides Dennis Kucinich's website!"
-- HuffingtonPost.com

Monday, December 3 at 7pm, actor and activist ALEC BALDWIN joins attorneys and community organizers, as well as Lewis Lapham, Bobby Cannavale and Tracie Thoms to explore Article III: Criminal Negligence in Response to Hurricane Katrina.

Monday, December 10 at 7pm, DemocracyNow! Host AMY GOODMAN joins former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Brennan Center for Justice, and performers including KRISTEN JOHNSTON, for Article IV: Warrantless Surveillance.

Sunday, December 16: CLOSING DAY
At 2pm, Harper's contributor SCOTT HORTON, attorney Marjorie Cohn, and performers including Josh Hamilton and Tracie Thoms take on Article V:
Expansion of Executive Power.

At 7:30, a special closing celebration includes performance and commentary from JACKSON BROWNE, NAOMI WOLF, DUNCAN SHEIK, John Nichols, author of The Genius of Impeachment, and others.

Tickets: http://www.cultureproject.org/ or 212-352-3101

Prior programming can be viewed at http://www.cultureproject.org/
Tell us what you think at http://www.cultureprojectnyc.blogspot.com/

I am delighted to announce that Whiskey in the Garden of Eden made Kim Roberts's list of Five Top Books of 2007 when she guest blogged on the Happy Booker. It's in excellent company, too, sharing the list with new books by Kyle Dargan, Rod Smith, Hiram Larew, and Terence Winch.

See the list here: http://thehappybooker.blogs.com/the_happy_booker/2007/11/making-a-list.html

And remember, Whiskey makes a great holiday gift! Buy it at the Word Works site or at either Busboys & Poets location.

Great news! Split This Rock is partnering with the Poetry Center of Chicago to produce a poetry film program during the festival. Curated by Francesco Levato, the Poetry Center's new Executive Director, we are seeking innovative films in the spirit of Split This Rock. Guidelines below.