Poetic Traditions of Compassion and Creative Maladjustment (Part 3): Gwendolyn Brooks

Welcome to the third segment of Poetic Traditions of Compassion and Creative Maladjustment: June 7, 2017, marked the centennial of the birth of Gwendolyn Brooks, (she died December 2000), who in 1950 became the first African American–and at the time the youngest American–to win a Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Her literary career spanned the latter … More Poetic Traditions of Compassion and Creative Maladjustment (Part 3): Gwendolyn Brooks

Part 1: Introduction to Poetic Traditions of Compassion and Creative Maladjustment

Consider that members of various “demographic groups” in different nations have begun to assert claims to political power at the same time that unavoidable historical population shifts are already in progress. Nearly everyone recognizes the need for greater social harmony as these shifts progress, yet many insist on touting reactionary measures steeped in xenophobia, military coercion, and denial of documented research as the best hopes for achieving stability. … More Part 1: Introduction to Poetic Traditions of Compassion and Creative Maladjustment

Election Day 2020: Democracy, Personal Whims, and Accountability – Conversations with the World 101

Welcome to Conversations with the World 101. Originally part of the virtual launch party for the book Greeting Flannery O’Connor at the Back Door of My Mind, this edited version is being presented as Americans head to the polls for Election Day 2020. This is what it’s all about: Quotations from my work in different … More Election Day 2020: Democracy, Personal Whims, and Accountability – Conversations with the World 101