Archive for April 2010
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"That should be the world's national anthem, the world's global anthem."
--Rachel Kohn, ABC Radio National, Australia,
After hearing John Seed recite "Word to the Mother," by Drew Dellinger.
(April 18, 2010)
On Saturday I met Cynthia and Angela in the parking lot of Bed, Bath & Beyond, so I coud give them 15 copies of my poetry book, love letter to the milky way, to take inside San Quentin State Prison.
Angela has been facilitating workshops at San Quentin for a while, and her work is amazing. Cynthia is a super-rad visionary activist from Borneo who occaisionally visits the workshop.
Cynthia shared some of my poems with the guys, and afterwards one of them asked for the book. As she was contemplating leaving her personally signed copy, a couple of the other gentlemen said they wanted one too. So she said she would bring some when she returned.
I'm glad to have the books inside. I hope the power of poetry can serve as an amulet of peace and creativity, even inside the California State Prison system, which has so often served as a contemporary expression of white supremacy and classist oppression as it shape-shifts through history.
Click here for info on the Ella Baker Center's Books Not Bars campaign.
Have you heard about the Nevada candidate for US Senate, Sue Lowden, who has proposed that we emulate our grandparents and pay for healthcare by bartering livestock?
(For background, cluck here.)
This 'chicken for a CAT scan' nonsense reminds me of the poignant scene in "To Kill a Mockingbird," when Mr. Cunningham sheepishly repays Atticus Finch's legal fees with a sack of hickory nuts. (Some internet satirist should dig up that clip.)
It's not that bartering is, in itself, ridiculous. In fact, I'm all for local, alternative economies. But the idea that this is a solution for the catastrophic rise in health care costs, or a viable option for patients in desperate need, is laughable. It shows how disconnected the Republicans are from reality.
How would this play out in real life? Can I trade you this celery for some chemotherapy? A turnip in exchange for treating my tumor? It sounds like an SNL skit.
The proposal is unserious, stupid and callous.
It's like when Sen. Tom Coburn responded to a woman in financial and medical crisis by saying neighbors should help one another. A noble sentiment, but when was the last time you knocked on a neighbor's door and asked, "Can I borrow $168,000 for a lung transplant?"
the soul is a night-shining cloud. the future is a spider on acid. the ocean is enlightened mind.
Here's a quote someone sent me recently, from a talk I gave at Esalen in October.
"To look at the worldview that has brought us to the current planetary moment, we have to look at racism, systemic racism, as well as misogyny and patriarchy, classism, militarism. But I think we really have to take a long, hard look at systemic racism in order to understand the worldview that we're in right now, and the transformations that are happening. So I think that looking at a wider range of voices and looking at the history of genocide and oppression and slavery and segregation and the struggles of resistance against that, to build liberty, compassion and justice, is integral to the work of [the] Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness department...."
--Drew Dellinger,
Oct. 26, 2009 - presentation with Richard Tarnas on "Martin Luther King Jr.: Life and Transits." Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA.
These days, saying "I read it in The New York Times," should be considered not a confirmation but a caveat.
P.S....See Brad Friedman's coverage of the ACORN media fail at The Brad Blog.
if you look into the darkest part of the sky you can see the blue galaxies at the start of time
Here's a recent radio interview with me and Danielle Drake-Burnette, conducted by Michael Stone.
Click here to listen.
Drew Dellinger was Amazing!
March 30, 2010,
by James Wells:
My friend Jeannette and I took the train to Guelph on Friday and spent time with our friends Eimear and Ed in Fergus. On Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed being in the presence of poet, activist, and teacher Drew Dellinger.
Both times, Drew talked about the cosmology of Thomas Barry, the universe story as we now understand it, and enthralled us with his passionate and cosmically rooted poetry. Friday included references to the later work of Martin Luther King Jr. Saturday’s session also saw us do some creative writing activities with Drew. The thrust of our time with him was that cosmology, ecology, and social justice are all united. What a society believes about the origins of all things influences how it treats all things. Drew is personable, smart, and engaging. Do see/hear him if you can. He’ll make you think and maybe even act.
On Sunday morning, before leaving E and E’s place, I wrote a journal entry in which I asked myself, “What is the most valuable thing I take away from my time with Drew Dellinger?” and responded:
I come away with a deeper awareness that everything/everyone is an incarnation of the Great Flaring Forth or Primordial Flaring Forth; therefore, every being (both human and more-than-human) is worthy of respect and celebration. Every being took billions of years to become what it/she/he is, and that merits reverence and praise.
--James Wells
Here's the link to James' blog
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