Dear Realness people, greetings. I am sitting in Arts-in-corrections room creating this newsletter. There has been no lockdowns for months now, Hopefully things will stay that way. But they have changed the prison administration, so things may change and get crazy with more lockdowns and less programs. Late again with my Newsletters and will make this number 10 & 11 short. The rain is here and moving in slowly like a mudslide. Crisp but not cold. Thinking of what to speak about, here the political system has changed some with Democrats taking over the congress. But actually there is not much difference between a democrat or republican in America - both jump on whatever movement or topic is hot for the moment and that they can use to augment their pockets or position.
PRISON DAY
I got up this morning looking forward to the concert in the chapel. We had our annual visit from poet/songwriter performer from Alaska Buddy Tabor and this time he brought two other performers from Alaska with him. The concert went well. Fellow art room artist, prisoner and brother Marty did a couple of songs and I got to read three poems. Plus a fellow prisoner, gospel singer, got up and sung a tune in an old style of singing. All and all it was real and another brother Rick who along with Mary Youngblood has taught me play some on the flute. We held a little flute session after the concert. After concert, I went back to art room and got my five hole native american flute and played some more and fed the pigeons and black birds my lunch. Back in cell I await the mail as I read one of the two books I needed to read for the book clubs I am in. I worked on my chapters on the new book I am writing with my mentor. It is fun and freeing the process - the journey of creating this book and the re-writing watching the paragraphs, pages, scenes and chapters take shape is amazing. Especially when you let go and let whatever it is foaming and pushing inside you like an ocean wave, flow out. The journey - the reaching out and in and creating and making your goals is the realness and with each goal met you make room for a new one. My mind and pen hand is a little tired from all writing, pondering and reading. But happy, in the sense that my time is full of projects - projects coming out of realness. I found out now that California prisons will start shipping prisoners to other states in USA due to California prisons being overcrowded. They are rented space in other prisons. I probably spoke of this before I don't remember. The California prison system sent each one of us a form asking which state would we chose to be incarcerate in given a choice. Well, I crossed out all the states listed and put Swedish prison - send me to Sweden. I might add after further pondering Switzerland prison. I do not think they will ship lifers anywhere. I also heard they may be bringing more days back to visiting. The prison system had cut visiting to only saturday and sunday even though it has been proven that visiting is rehabilitative. So it may be expanded to four or more days a week.
WRITING STUFF
There has been no lockdowns for awhile and both of my writing groups have been able to meet regularly. Things are going well in both. One I am having concentrate on prose, short stories, essays or chapter from a book they are working. I hope to send a collection of the work out to the streets in some form to see if any of their prose can get published . In the other class I am doing poetry and collecting poems for a poetry anthology. I hope to have some art work in it and have brother Jack, a excellent drawer or visual artist figure what drawings goes with what poems. Hopefully, some kind of support for the two projects will come from outside world. I have gotten inspiration from two anthologies full of poetry, prose, art and photography - stunning realness work coming out of the Alabama prison Arts & Education project, center for the Arts & Humanities at Pebble Hill Auburn University. The Director of the project Kyes Stevens have created very fine and real to the soul anthologies. Their latest anthology is called "FOLD". It shows the magic and depth of art - how it touches and even change souls and hearts. I am hoping some college on the west coast will step up and help us extend hands of realness across this country to our sisters and brothers through the realness of words and art. We can extend realness hands across the planet. We are reaching out to reach in and in to reach out and I hope we can touch through prose, poetry, words and art. I do believe artists that are incarcerated can add another dimension - another layer of realness to the art world outside of prisons. I hope more of this realness will be realized and allowed into the free world.
STAY REAL SECTION
I want to thank my Leo buddy for two soul and heart feeling visits. I want to Thank Peace Gang around the planet for sharing realness, growth and peace. I have been getting into heated discussions about racism - especially institutional racism embedded within the fabric of the United States. Some, even my black brothers say I make everything racial and then I get into a torrent debate about the issue. Some black and white guys then say; Well Spoon, you are a racist because you bring racism up all the time. The problem is that if someone does not bring the issue up - people, black and white, and other colors try to pretend like it don't exist. Like the surface of the ocean is all there is and that what is beneath the surface does not matter, and is not wet. Words are my life, my niche and if I do not bring such issues up, as racism, sexism and injustice what good or what real is my work. I know I can at times with words, verbally heap invective on people, and could take a more scenic route to make a point. But, sometimes people need to be shocked and hit beside the head and heart with words. When I heard Martin Luther King's daughter speak recently at the New Martin Luther King memorial in Washington D.C saying that America is even more racist now then in her father's age. There are some things that need to be looked at. We all must do our parts to shape realness, light and foster non-discrimination no matter the color of our skin or gender. What should or must I do or you do? Lynda Davis, fellow Peace G. Thanks for believing in me. Thanks for your realness - to all the mothers of prisoners. BIRD STUFF Still feeding the birds when I can. I saw a hawk snatch a fat pigeon. The weather is changing so there are not as many birds around. For a couple of days one pair of geese appeared each morning on the big yard. But yesterday there was one gooses. I wonder if anything happened to his or her mate. Sara, my plant friend is re-born and has three other friends beside her - one plant, an old mother plant is were Sara sprung from. I keep all the plants together in the art room.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Keep the realness flowing! Peace G. is with you! Stay Real, Glowing and Growing - Creating and Spreading Love - The Light and Magic is in your Hearts.
In Realness Spoon
