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So glad you have signed up to receive the For Random Learning Comes Newsletter! This is the one hundred and sixteenth edition.
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I hope you are well, and have not suffered any of the ravages of Hurricane Milton this past week. If you have, I am so sorry, and I hope things are getting better for you. (Did you notice, I used this exact same paragraph last week, only I substituted a different hurricane. This season is truly heartless.)
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We are fine. Jacksonville was spared most of the harsh things Milton had to offer. In these parts, the hurricane has brought one good thing in its wake: truly inspiring weather. This is the weather people come here for. Seventies, clear, sunny. Gorgeous. Finally!
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I have one poem to offer that is new. It's called The Corner and for me, it conjures up the image of a child, sent to put his or her nose in the corner, for bad behavior. The poem details what it's like, waiting for a monster of a hurricane, like Milton, to come.
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Today is the Riverside Music Tour, so there is music happening all around the neighborhood, starting around one o'clock. I have heard a few warmup sessions that remind me of poor Asheville, so recently victimized by Helene, back in it's heyday.
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I've been reading so many awful accounts from Asheville that remind me of the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, way back. But good memories come from the harmonica, fiddle, and mountain music nearby. Remember Asheville and the West Coast of Florida in your generous donations.
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But part of the celebration today is not about bluegrass, but about the connection that Jacksonville, and in particular, this neighborhood had, to the beginnings of some Southern Rock Bands that grew pretty popular in my youth. The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet.
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Writer Tim Gilmore has a recent series of blogposts that give more detail, if you're interested.
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The snippets of their songs, engrained in my brain, which used to play constantly on the radio, remind me of driving back home from college through the Green Swamp with the top down, listening to Zeta Four, a "hard" rock radio station of the eighties.
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I also recall many young men, who had rebel flags and gunracks and big trucks, and felt suddenly proud of their redneck-iness. Not sure whether that was the intention of the music makers, or just a sign of the times. It was a different era, for sure.
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Other news here is that the upcoming event JaxbyJax is starting to release the names of some of the writers who will be reading. Follow their Instagram to keep up on the latest.
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They have already announced many student writers. I love the way the event includes the student community. I had two daughters who benefited from the arts magnets locally, both in visual arts. So I'm happy to see representation from the creative writing students at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts as well as college students from nearby UNF and FSCJ.
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I was blown away by the quality of the student work last year. We should all thank Andres Rojas, a local poet, who runs that arm of the festival.
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JaxbyJax takes place November 8 and 9th, 2024 at the Jacksonville Public Library in downtown Jax. Please mark your calendar for JaxbyJax and be sure to come, if you can! I hope to see you there!
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On the novel, my current word count is 58,083 which is a good 3500 words more than two weeks ago. I discovered to my chagrin, going through old files, that I have been working on this at least since the summer of 2021.
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Something about this time of year, and perhaps the big events that take place now, the Florida Writers Association Conference in Orlando (10/17-20) and JaxbyJax, seem to guilt me into wanting to finish, and also, to have something physical to show off.
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I have decided to investigate the possibility of producing a physical book of poems myself, by the time of the JaxbyJax event. One of my artistically gifted daughters is working on a cover for me! I'll let you know when, and if, this actually materializes.
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FWA is only a week away, so I'll have to go there emptyhanded. I did not get any special notice for my submissions FWA's Royal Palm Literary Award or to the FWA 2024 anthology "Metamorphosis," so I expect to be able to attend more or less anonymously, anyway.
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I did receive feedback for my RPLA pieces, as I detailed in my last missive. We will speak no more of it.
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The music is starting, so I'll sign off now!
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If you know of anyone else who might be interested in receiving this newsletter, please forward it to them. They can sign up on my website, linked in the logo above if they like it! The more the merrier!
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Stay safe, if you're in the path of any hurricanes (God forbid!) or other rotten weather. Till next time!
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So Close and Yet So Far
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This essay discusses the Semiquincentennial celebration and compares it with Fourths of Years gone by.
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Drawing
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A poem on redistricting, the drawing of new districts to serve the ruling party's political purposes, with the blessing of the Supreme Court and with enthusiasm unchecked by either the people's will nor the State's Constitutional provisions.
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Attempt
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A poem describing the swirling emotions on and offline provoked by the attempted assassination of President Trump at the dinner for the press. Caveat: I do not doubt the attempt on his life was real. P.S. The photo is an attempt at beauty.
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Approaching May 1st, 2026, Anniversary of The Great Fire, Jacksonville, FL
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A poem about a very dry spring in Florida which calls to mind the terrible fire which consumed Jacksonville early in the 20th century.
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Smiles
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This poem analyzes the loss of reputation of the US in the eyes of its closest allies, and the attitude it projects, about that loss.
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