Hello friends. Well, the world has seen carnage and hate and stupidity this week. I must admit I have a difficult time finding solace.
The literary world is mourning the loss of Denis Johnson.
In announcing his death the Michener Center for Writers reported that Denis Johnson kept on his desk this quote by Walt Whitman as a personal manifesto.
“This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one 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 of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, 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.”
In his poem “Surreptitious Kissing” Denis Johnson wrote: “I want to say that / forgiveness keeps on / dividing, that hope / gives issue to hope, . . . .”
I am going to keep these quotes in mind.
In totally unrelated news, way back in 2015, on April 20, I wrote a post about 420 and what the date means. Just recently I received an email (well, three actually) from Travis Bezos, who is the editor of RedEyesOnline. He wants you to know that his site has a very comprehensive blog post on the history and the origin of 420 – National Weed Day. Indeed the site has lots of information on marijuana so check it out if you have questions or curiosity about this subject.
Hope you have a great three-day weekend. My gratitude goes to the soldiers past and present. If you are interested in supporting the troops through contributions, I found the information on the site Military.com to be helpful.
Peace, love, and solace
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