poet, podcaster, radio host, troublemaker
Dear Students:
As the semester begins, I thought I’d provide you with a handy guide to getting an A in my class.
1. Come to class.
2. Listen to the things I say.
3. Read the things I give you to read.
4. Listen to or watch the examples I tell you to listen to or watch.
5. Do your homework.
5a. On time.
6. Study for the tests.
7. Bring me an apple.
If you follow at least steps 1-6, your chances of succeeding in this class are very high.
Sincerely,
Professor _______
Leave a CommentI hesitate to write this, but 2012 may have been the most tumultuous year of my life. (Dear 2013, please don’t feel you have to break any records.)
Toward the end of 2011 I met someone who in 2012 turned out to be one of the great loves of my life. By the end of the year, she was gone, we were finished, I was in Alabama and my show was over. I also spent half the year without a home of my own, and several months of it traveling more than 13,000 miles on Greyhound buses.
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| From Bushwick and more – Dec 2012 |
JANUARY
New Year’s Day 2012 included an interview for my former show, The Jazz Session, and a trip to the Museum of Modern Art in my former city with my former girlfriend and our former roommates. (Sensing a trend? So am I.) I did a lot of interviews in 2012, including with some major names in the jazz world. January was a good month for drummers – I spoke with Jack DeJohnette, Matt Wilson, Barry Altschul, Aaron Staebell and Deric Dickens. I also gave a talk at the annual JazzTimes conference. My topic was musicians telling their stories. You can hear the entire thing here (and see part of it, too).
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| From Trip to PA: Feb 4-5, 2012 |
FEBRUARY
Early in the month, I went to State College to visit my sons. For various reasons, my visits to PA were usually quite short. This one was just overnight. Back in NYC, I interviewed Charles Mingus’s widow, Sue, and saw great shows by Pete Robbins, James Shipp, the Mingus Big Band, Tim Berne’s Snake Oil, Peter Eldridge & Matt Aronoff, Enrico Rava, Ken Filiano, Vernon Reid, Myra Melford, Jeremy Siskind and The Wee Trio. (In one month!) I also went to a Vegan Shop-Up at the wonderful Pine Box Rock Shop in Brooklyn. I met DJ Soul Sister and Jeff Albert for the first time in person, and interviewed jazz giant Jimmy Heath at his Queens apartment.
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| From Warm nights, warm days in Brooklyn |
MARCH
The month started in fine style with a show by Matt Wilson’s band at Dizzy’s. I’ve never been a huge fan of that club, but I do love me some Matt Wilson, and his show was hugely entertaining and musical. A few days later I traveled to Jersey to interview Billy Hart. I also saw a show by one of my favorite singers, Trixie Whitley. I went to State College again, this time for my son John’s sixth birthday. My sister, Gretchen, went with me. Carmen Staaf and I got together for the first of a few sessions of my poetry and her piano playing, although we never ended up doing a gig. I also hung out one-on-one for the first time with my friend Sally, who would go on to become an indispensable part of my life. On the 18th, a gang of us got together at the apartment my girlfriend and I shared to read Walt Whitman’s “Song Of Myself†(the 1855 version). It was a moving experience, as it always is. I went to Albany for one day to visit my doctor. My partner and I went to see Nellie McKay perform a show about Rachel Carson at some ultra-swanky place where we clearly didn’t belong. The show was worth it, though. We also went to another vegan shop-up. Oh, and I took my sister’s cat to the vet. Although this trip was no big deal, Chloe would go back to the vet later and be given a few months to live. But by the end of 2012, it turned out she was fine. I still don’t understand what happened.
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| From Trip to PA: April 26-28, 2012 |
APRIL
I went to a CD release party for Theo Bleckmann’s album of Kate Bush songs. It was so good – a real show, not just a performance of the songs. I took an extended walk around Washington Heights, one of my favorite parts of Manhattan, and talked with a friend about my role as a father. I saw Natalie Cressman play at The Jazz Gallery, months before she would become the final interview I conducted for my show. For the first time ever, I showed up at an interview without my recorder (the aforementioned Theo Bleckmann), so I had to go back home. I took the self-guided East Village Poetry Walk, which I can’t recommend highly enough. You can download the guided tour here. I saw my pal Josh Rutner play gospel music at St. Peter’s Church in Manhattan. It’s the “jazz church.†I interviewed Dave Brubeck’s son Chris in the Teddy Roosevelt Room at the Museum of Natural History. I went to a tribute to the poet Philip Larkin. Paul Simon was one of the readers, making it the only Paul Simon performance I’ve ever attended. I went back to State College to see my older son, Bernie, play saxophone in his first school concert. On the last day of the month, I interviewed one of the smartest people around, guitarist Vernon Reid (of Living Colour, etc.). Other shows I saw in April: Romain Collin, Jo Lawry and Kate McGarry.
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| From Daryl Shawn & Todd Reynolds at The Firehouse Space, May 2012 |
MAY
In May I met and interviewed vocalist Maria Neckam, whose album Unison was one of my favorite records of the year. I saw my pal Jill Knapp in New York, who would become my first host in June at the start of my tour. I interviewed my good friend Nicky Schrire, whose Freedom Flight was another of my faves. I also heard her perform at Rockwood Music Hall. At the beginning of the month, my girlfriend and I learned that we would have to move out of our apartment. She moved in with her parents, but I had nowhere to go and no money. So I decided to go on tour instead, taking The Jazz Session and my poetry around the country. At the end of the month, my friends Andrea Wolper and Ken Filiano hosted a farewell dinner for me. I did a ton of interviews in May, and also saw shows by Gregoire Maret (whose final song with Raul Midon was one of the live highlights of the year for me), Daryl Shawn and Foolish Hearts.
Me, somewhere.
JUNE
On June 1, my girlfriend accompanied me to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where I boarded a Greyhound for Wilmington, DE. I stayed with Jill for a few days and had a great time with her and her partner, Matt. I also interviewed the guitarist Judith Kay. Then I went to State College to spend a couple days with the boys before heading south. I ended up doing an interview there, too, because Barry Kernfeld, the editor of the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, lives in town. On the 5th I went to Shepherdstown, WV, where I gave a poetry reading and interviewed Jeff Cosgrove. On the 7th I went to Washington, DC. I attended a tribute to the poet Gwendolyn Brooks at the Library of Congress and met poet Sandra Beasley, whom I subsequently interviewed at a nearby coffee shop. I was also briefly naked in the Library of Congress because I was very overdressed and stripped down in the men’s room so I could put on cooler clothing. Certainly a career highlight for me. While in DC I did a freelance interview for an education company, and jazz interviews with several musicians. I saw a show by saxophonist Brian Settles. On the 10th I went to Richmond, VA, where I stayed with drummer Scott Clark and then with guitarist Scott Burton. I interviewed both of them, too, as well as educator Doug Richards. I read poetry at Chop Suey Books and saw a show by Janel & Anthony, who were kind enough to come to my reading. On the 14th I traveled to Charlottesville, WV, where I met my Twitter pal John Mason and heard John D’earth play at the club that launched Dave Matthews’ career. I was interviewed on WTJU and I did two interviews for my show, too. On the 16th I took a long bus ride to Nashville. I did a poetry reading there the following day and conducted several interviews, including with Jeff Coffin, saxophonist for the Dave Matthews Band. I spent most of my time with Jeff and fellow saxophonist Evan Cobb, who has a great dog. I heard the Nashville Jazz Orchestra perform and saw fantastic shows by The Time Jumpers and the comedy/country team Doyle And Debbie. I did another radio interview, too. On the 20th, I went to Knoxville, TN, where I interviewed pianist Donald Brown. I also took a canoe trip on the Little River and did a poetry reading. On the 23rd I took an insane bus trip from Knoxville to NYC to see my girlfriend. Then on the 26th it was back down south, this time to Raleigh to meet Twitter pal David Menestres. From there it was on to Atlanta, where I interviewed jazz organist Matthew Kaminski at his day job – as the organist for the Atlanta Braves. On the 29th I traveled to Auburn, AL, at the suggestion of Twitter pal Patrick McCurry. I did a poetry reading at The Gnu’s Room bookstore on the 29th and was interviewed there for public radio on the 30th. Little did I know the role Auburn would play in my future.
A second line in New Orleans.
JULY
On July 2 I realized a lifelong dream when I traveled to New Orleans. I went to Jeff Albert’s Open Ears Music Series and also went to several second lines to commemorate the death of Uncle Lionel Batiste. I spent a week in New Orleans before heading back north to New York to see my girlfriend, then to State College to spend time with my sons. I stayed in State College from July 18 through the 25th, when my debit card was hacked and I had to travel to NYC to get a new one. I returned to State College the next day and stayed till August 3.
This happened in August.
AUGUST
I spent the weekend of August 3 in beautiful Tarrytown, NY, with my girlfriend. Then it was back to State College until the 7th, when one of my relatives by marriage, um, caused my plans to change. In somewhat of a scramble, I went back to New York, where my sister and my friends Daryl and Deborah were kind enough to give me places to stay. While I was back in NYC, I saw shows by Keith Ganz, Aaron Parks, Josh Rutner & Twelve Gates, Fay Victor and Jersey Band. I also did a solo two-day meditation retreat. At the end of the month I flew to Detroit as a guest of the Detroit Jazz Festival.
With my friend Mike and his son Jack in Mississippi.
SEPTEMBER
I spent Labor Day weekend in Detroit at the Jazz Festival. I MC’d a few shows, including one by the wonderful David Binney. I interviewed Geoffrey Keezer and Donny McCaslin, and did my third interview (the first one face-to-face) with Sonny Rollins. After the interview, Sonny and I and our mutual friend Terri spent an hour or so talking about life. It was beautiful and humbling. On September 4, I took a bus to Windsor, Ontario and then a Greyhound to Ottawa to stay with my pals Renee Yoxon and Craig Pedersen. While in Ottawa I did a Skype interview with the Upaya Zen Center, where I planned to go stay after my tour. I also interviewed bassist John Geggie and journalist/pianist Peter Hum. And I locked myself out of the house briefly. On the 9th I took a train to Montreal, where I met and interviewed Twitter pal (and pianist) David Ryshpan and stayed with David’s friend Sarah MK. The next day was my 39th birthday, so I treated myself to a little boat trip. Sarah and her friend gave me a little cake and sang to me, which was lovely. I also saw music by the Kalmunity Collective. On 9/11 I went back to NYC, where Jonathan Matz, a listener to my show, kindly offered me a place to stay. I had a small birthday dinner with friends. I met the guitarist Joshua Maxey for pizza. I saw shows by the DIVA Jazz Orchestra (with the wonderful Nadje Noordhuis), The Respect Sextet and Anat Cohen. And I did the final interviews for my show. On September 21 I got back on a Greyhound bus and went to Jackson, MS, to spend a week with my friend Mike Roberts and his family. Mike and I were union organizers together, and he’s one of the most important people in my life. While I was there I was accepted to the Upaya Zen Center and made plans to go there in October. On the 28th I went back to Auburn to stay for a couple weeks.
The Gnu’s Room in Auburn, AL.
OCTOBER
In early October, Tina Tatum offered me a non-paying job as the assistant director of The Gnu’s Room. I accepted, canceled my trip to Upaya, and decided to live in Auburn. I went to State College for a few days to spend time with the boys, then headed back to Alabama. I did a poetry reading at The Gnu’s Room on the 12th and attended the store’s fall music festival the next day. On October 19, I posted the final episode of The Jazz Session. I saw quite a lot of music and heard several authors read. Late in the month, my girlfriend and I had our come-to-Jesus conversation about the end of our relationship. At the end of that same week…
With my pal Marie, who plays in a band called HeY!ALLigator.
NOVEMBER
…I missed Bernie’s 10th birthday, the first of my sons’ birthdays I’d ever missed. Between that and the break-up, I was thinking I’d made a horrible mistake. By Monday, though, I decided I needed to stick it out in Auburn for a while and take a shot at rebuilding my life. So I made a one-year commitment to myself to stay. I went hiking at Chewacla State Park and at Lake Martin. I went to a Diwali celebration at the university. I saw lots of music at The Gnu’s Room and heard Katie Martin perform several times. I went to Thanksgiving at the home of Tina & Kelley (owners of The Gnu’s Room) and made another Thanksgiving dinner with a friend. And I did the first interview for a new podcast series based at The Gnu’s Room. And at the end of the month I had my heart broken in what turned out to be the real end of the love story.
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| From Christmas In PA (2012) |
DECEMBER
In December I was hired by the College of Human Sciences at the University of Auburn to do web work and create content for the college’s various sites. My first full-time job in two years. I also signed the lease on my first solo apartment in two years. Thanks to some help from a very generous friend, I was able to fly to State College to spend Christmas with my sons. I met several new friends, too. As the year ended, I worked at The Gnu’s Room while the university was closed. I moved into my new place on December 27. And on New Year’s Eve I was on my weird built-in couch relaxing with a cup of tea.
So there you have it. Twelve months of change, travel, love, loss, music and discovery. Who knows what 2013 will bring?
5 CommentsTwo years ago yesterday, I posted a poem called “writer’s song,” which you can read here. I came across it today and noticed a comment from my friend Carolee about a way to revise the poem. So I made some revisions. The new version is posted below. What do you think?
/ / /
writer’s song
I stand against despair
each stroke of the pen an affirmation
as ink flows into the paper like a transfusion
the arteries of the world full once more
I acknowledge dreaming
caressing the soft flesh of possibility
a gentle kiss, like an afterthought
or the smell of cookies baking
I assert my Self
one human being in a fragmented age
a hand-brake on the spinning world
an extra moment to bring life into focus
I say “I love you”
and let “you” be all the world
six billion diamond-bright minds
flowing over the earth like water
I throw a rope to a drowning man
on shore and in the water simultaneously
I take sorely needed oxygen in my lungs
to power the dreaming blood, to sing this song
5 December 2012
Auburn, AL
Thanksgiving
She leans down to set the turkey
on the table.
Everyone looks up with reverence.
She’s been in the kitchen all day.
The room is awash in autumn browns
and reds; the colors so strong
you can almost smell them. Deep magenta
cranberry sauce — the real thing,
Not the jellied kind.
Creamy white mashed potatoes,
First plunge of the spoon.
A crock of earth-brown gravy and the smile
on Grandpa’s face. He never
Has to take seconds, because everyone
passes him their leftover turkey leg
or slice of pie.
This table holds four generations —
some who remember when a dinner
like this cost two weeks’ wages, and
the turkey was fresh-killed that
morning in the steaming barn of a
farm on the edge of town.
The littlest among them are amazed to
see so much fresh food. They don’t
understand why the meal takes
so many hours to make, and they’re tired
and a little cranky by the time fork
tings against knife.
If they’re lucky, they’ll remember enough
of this embrace of family and food to
repaint this picture for their
own children. They’ll try to explain
how Grandma’s kitchen smelled,
and they’ll be more than a little saddened
by the haze that has obscured memory.
Now, as she sets the turkey at the
head of the table, ready for his
sure hands on the carving knife,
the future is an unclouded line of
possibilities, and every year will
follow this one – warm, autumnal.
/ / /
This poem is from my book, Unexpected Sunlight. You can get the book at The Gnu’s Room (414 S. Gay St., Auburn AL) or at Babbo’s Books (242 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn NY) or online here.
Leave a CommentI tweeted the first of these as a joke, but they keep occurring to me. I’ll add to this post as I think of (or more sadly, engage in) more of these.
Table Of Contents
1. I Just Parallel-Parked My Borrowed Minivan
2. I Wrote This Poem On Bar Napkins Because My Special Notebook Is In My Borrowed Minivan
3. I Stayed Up Till 2 A.M. Watching Math Videos On A Friday Night
4. I Can’t Come To Your Gig Because I Don’t Have A Car
5. I’m Watching Physics Videos In My Pajamas
Leave a Comment
In honor of Bela Lugosi’s birthday, enjoy “Enchanting Transylvania,” a classic sketch by one of my heroes, Lenny Bruce. (Just click the play button above.)
And if you like this track, here’s a link to the full album:
Leave a CommentOnce again my life has taken a left turn. This time, though, it’s a left turn for the better.
I’m not going to Upaya Zen Center. I am instead staying in Auburn, Alabama, to become the assistant director of Gnu Arts, a nonprofit that runs a bookstore, community center, publishing imprint and (soon) a whole lot more. The Gnu’s Room, the bookstore, is where I read poetry last time I was in town.
I really fell in love with Auburn and made several good friends here. I think there’s a real chance for me to build a life here and to make an impact on a changing community.
Gnu Arts’ director is Tina Tatum (interview). She’s one of the people working hard to build a progressive, inclusive community in Auburn. She and I have become very close and she really lobbied for me to stay in town. Factor in a lovely community, low cost of living, several other good friends, and the chance to have a home my kids can come to, and it really feels like the right thing to do.
All of this happened because my friend Patrick McCurry has a Twitter account. If he hadn’t contacted me via Twitter, I never would have come to Auburn in the first place. Thanks, Patrick.
My main initial goal with Gnu Arts will be raising the money to expand the organization and pay myself. So I’ll be looking for some additional work while things get off the ground.
If you’d told me in May that I’d be living in Alabama by October, I’d have said you were nuts. But I couldn’t be happier. I’m tired of being on the move and ready to have a real life again. And I have a feeling it won’t be long before you can hear my voice on some sort of show again, too.
By the way, if you’re in Auburn, I’m reading poetry one week from today, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. at The Gnu’s Room. Details are here. Hope to see you!
3 Comments
NOTE: This post is always at the top of the page. For the most recent content, just scroll down.
Since 2007, I’ve hosted an online interview show called The Jazz Session. All 400+ episodes of the show are available for free here.
I write bios, press releases and Wikipedia pages for artists of all kinds. I can also analyze the content of your website. For rates and samples, visit cranewrites.com.
And now for the rest of the introduction…
Welcome! Thanks for stopping by. Here are a few quick pointers to help you get the most out of this site. While you’re here, you can:
At the very bottom of this page you can choose from two drop-down menus: Categories and Archives. The first is grouped by category (!) and the second by date.
Thanks again for stopping by!
Jason
Leave a CommentOBJECTIVE: Save money by trimming your own hair. It’s easy!
STEP 1. Start with a full head of hair, like this:
STEP 2. Using beard clippers that are clearly too small to cut the hair on your head, begin cutting the hair on your head:
STEP 3. Realize to your horror that the clippers are, in fact, too small. Hurry to the local pharmacy for a larger set of clippers (cost: $35). At the suggestion of someone on the Internet, cut your hair into a temporary mohawk:
STEP 4. Attempt to fix your mistake by cutting all your hair very, very short:
STEP 5. Realize that your initial hackjob is irreparable. Remove all of your hair with a razor:
That’s it! For double the price of a trip to the local barber, you now have no hair at all! Congratulations!
3 CommentsI asked my friend Kate to describe what she likes about programming. Her series of IMs made for a lovely description and looked like a poem to me. Here they are, unedited.
/ / /
it’s like a logic puzzle
and when you get really into it, you can make things
and then when you get REALLY into it, you can make whatever you want
and that’s awesome
and it’s easy to lose yourself in it
Tonight I started jogging using one of the many couch-to-5K apps available for spacephones. Here’s what I learned:
(June 27, 2012) RALEIGH, NC – I had an entire apartment to myself last night for the first time on the tour. My host, David, was kind enough to stay elsewhere and give me the use of his apartment for two nights. And just like the canoe trip last week, it reminded me how important it is to have a place of your own once in a while.
I stayed up till nearly 3 a.m., which should have been fine because I had no particular agenda today. Unfortunately, one of David’s neighbors started mowing his lawn at 8:30 a.m., so that was it for sleeping. Ah well.
I futzed around for a while, ate some of David and Carrie’s homemade bagels (fantastic!) and then produced tomorrow’s show, featuring drummer Pete Zimmer. This is one of the interviews I recorded back in New York before the tour. I have just two of those left in the can – Brandon Wright and Jerome Sabbagh, both of which will be posted in the next couple weeks.
In the middle of the morning I received a nice email from a reporter at the Opelika-Auburn News, asking for an interview about my tour. I’ll be in Auburn on Friday and Saturday. I have a poetry reading there on Friday at 7 p.m. at The Gnu’s Room and then I’ll be interviewed at the same place, same time the next night. There’ll be live music on Saturday, too, including three settings of my poems done by Patrick McCurry. The reporter called me a little later to move our interview to tomorrow. Apparently some news broke that she needed to cover. Can’t imagine what could be more newsworthy than a jazz hobo and wandering poet.
(Aside: I’m writing the first part of this diary while listening to a 2-hour celebration of Woody Guthrie courtesy of American Routes. You can stream the show here. This country has such a tradition of wanderers and hobos and tellers of stories. In my own tiny little way, I’m thrilled to be a part of that lineage. And I’m not being falsely modest when I say “tiny†– what I’ve done can’t compare to Studs Terkel or Woody Guthrie or the Lomaxes, for example. But I hope to get to that level someday.)
When the tour started, I told myself that I wanted to reinvigorate my daily meditation practice, which had slipped a bit during my final few weeks in Brooklyn as things unraveled there. I also wanted to start doing some sit-ups and push-ups each morning so I could take off some of the weight I gained over the past few months. It’s definitely possible to be a vegan and still put on pounds. I’m quite overweight for my height and I just don’t feel as healthy or full of energy as I’d like.
Well, I started out on the tour doing my daily routine of sit-ups, push-ups and meditating. I think I made it as far as the second stop on the tour (State College, PA) before I stopped. Since then, I’ve maybe meditated once or twice at the most and exercised once or twice, too. Other than walking. I’ve done a ton of walking, often carrying a heavy backpack. And I canoed seven miles. But that’s it.
One of the difficulties I’ve had is actually finding a quiet, private space in which to do those things. Particularly meditation. But that’s mostly an excuse. If I can sleep somewhere, I can also meditate there. And I could always get up early enough in the morning to have quiet before other people are up and around.
This morning, aided by having my own place, I meditated and exercised. I truly do hope to keep this going. I don’t feel particularly good about my physical self, and meditation really helps my mental state.
After all that was finished, I walked over to Carrie’s house to spend time with Carrie and David. We ate more of the yummy pasta with lamb’s quarters (not what you think) from last night, and I also had a yummy blackberry galette they’d made.
Then David and I took a walking tour of Raleigh’s downtown. I have to say, it leaves a lot to be desired. There are still some older buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but for the most part downtown Raleigh has that soulless, dead beige architecture endemic to so many modern American cities. No character at all. It looks like the whole downtown came in a kit. It’s really too bad. And it makes me appreciate the character of cities like New York that still feel like individual places.
One interesting note: A company called Empire Property owns and controls most of downtown Raleigh. According to David, the founder of Empire was the son or grandson (I think) of Mao Zedong’s personal physician, which is where the money came from to start the company. David said Empire started buying up property in downtown Raleigh when no one at all was buying downtown. He gave them credit for some of Raleigh’s revival. They’re now sitting on a lot of expensive property. On some blocks, if you leave the coffee shop and walk down the street to the restaurant or across the street to the offices, you’ll never leave property owned by Empire. The best part of all? Apparently on the top floor of Empire’s headquarters there are enormous portraits of Mao. Irony, anyone? In fact, I thought I detected a bit of the Cultural Revolution in the logo of this coffee shop, also owned by Empire:
We walked all over downtown, some of which was deserted (near the convention center) and some of which had a moderate number of people moving around and eating and such (near the legislative building). One of the best sculptures I saw was this one, titled “Presidents North Carolina Has Given The Nation†–
The three presidents are Polk, Jackson and Andrew Johnson. I’ve got to give the state credit for celebrating those three. What a trio of criminals and incompetents. Oy.
We also encountered a soldier at the memorial for fallen soldiers. I asked him if I could take his picture while he looked at the memorial, and he agreed. I wish we also erected monuments to peace activists and environmental activists and others who are working to make the world a better, less violent place.
A cool moment: I wanted to buy postcards as I’ve been doing in every town to send to donors to the tour. (You can donate here.) I walked into the North Carolina Museum of History just after they locked up the gift shop for the night. But the workers inside were kind enough to reopen it and sell me postcards. So if you get a postcard from Raleigh, you have them to thank.
Earlier in the day David had been lamenting the lack of street musicians in downtown Raleigh. Then, behind the science museum, we found Lily:
We tried to go see the Flanders art gallery, but it was closed. I did get to see the great yarn-bombed facade of the building, courtesy of Olek, who is, I’ve been told, the Banksy of the yarn world.
Instead we went to the Contemporary Art Museum. It was nice but didn’t blow me away.
Then we walked home. I got some work done, then met up with David and Carrie for some cheap Chinese food at Carrie’s place. I had planned to go hear Carl Testa play in Chapel Hill, but I’m just too tired and so I’m going to bed. I have to get up at 5 a.m. to catch the bus to Atlanta. Sorry, Carl!
Tomorrow I’m going to a Braves game. I’ll be watching from the organ booth with Matthew Kaminski, the organist for the Atlanta Braves. Friday and Saturday I’ll be in Auburn, AL. I’m reading poetry on Friday and talking about the tour on Saturday. Both nights at 7 p.m. at The Gnu’s Room in Auburn.
(If you’d like to support my tour, you can make a one-time donation and get great thank-you gifts HERE. If you’d like to become a member of The Jazz Session and make recurring monthly or yearly payments, you can do that HERE.)
I’ll leave you with this photo of a career summed up in one sign:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Listen to this interview using the player above or download the mp3.
Sandra Beasley is a poet and memoirist. She’s the author of the memoir Don’t Kill The Birthday Girl: Tales From An Allergic Life, and the poetry collections I Was The Jukebox and Theories Of Falling. This interview was conducted on June 7, 2012, in Washington, D.C. Outdoors. Near a fire station.
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