|
whose really
blues
By Q. R. Hand Jr.
As it steps from
stage to page,
the poetry of Q.
R. Hand never
stops
testifying. That
the poet has led
and continues to
lead a full life
in a real world
crammed with
real ignorance
as well as
actual light
these trembling
pages make
clear. In the
title poem of
this exciting
collection, the
poet asks a
question:
|
how
do
we
know
the
real
robert
johnson
met
the
real
devil
at
the
real
cross
roads
just
'cause
he
says
so
and
his
blues
intone
scripture
for
the
21st
century.
|
Like a Mobius
strip but also
like a DNA
strand, Q's
heaven and hell
twist and stick
and wrap
themselves
around another:
a cool but
sweaty doo-wop
dance pair,
coupled to
outlast the
night.
The poems in
this book—as
they whisk and
yank and ease
you through
'that certain
place at / that
certain time'—speak
directly to the
body that houses
heart, mind and
soul. As they
eyeball human
cruelty, greed,
delusion and
color prejudice,
dogma of every
stripe (campus-
or
street-triggered),
poverty, social
justice, science
and social
philosophy, time
as history and
time as time,
personal
geography
(Brooklyn,
Harlem, Oakland,
San Francisco
Bay), love's
unchartable
behavior and
misbehavior—these
tough, caring,
wayward poems
take it all and
everything.
Forever at play
in the fields of
the word, Q. R.
Hand is a
homegrown
American
original.
Place this book
to your ear and
hear: 'All those
beautiful fine /
all those fine /
all those who
spread their
love along the
line / that
stretches
through heart
beat and heart
ache.'—Al
Young, Poet
Laureate of
California
Q. R. Hand's
poetry traverses
the terrain of
form, music and
language. This
is an inspired,
well crafted
poetry that is
political in
intent and
spirited in
execution and
defies any
comparison to
any literary
predecessors or
contemporary
schools of
thought. Q. R.
Hand is an
entity unto
himself; a true
visionary walks
among us.—Reginald
Lockett, author
of Random
History Lessons
and Other Poems
Words studiously sculpted with jazz
precision by a musical poet. "we are the people of the sun / glory
morning peoples of so many selves". Much unified complexity, "on the one
hand it's a rat fuck / on the other / you could write a good novel about
it". Words flow freely and melodically—energised by a structured
spontaneity. Self-aware of textual gush but "i am not as crazy as these
words but / hopefully i will be sooner or later".
—Global Tapestry Journal
(England)
* * *
* *
Q. R. Hand,
Jr. moved to
the SF Bay Area
from NYC about
forty years ago.
Originally
published in the
1968 classic,
Black Fire:
An Anthology of
Afro American
Writing, edited
by Amiri Baraka
(Leroy Jones)
and Larry Neal,
which has
recently been
reproduced by
Black Classics
Press, he is the
author of three
poetry books,
i speak to the
poet in man
(jukebox
press), how
sweet it is
(Zeitgeist
Press) and
whose really
blues, new &
selected poems
(Taurean Horn
Press). He is a
member of the
wordwind chorus,
a Bay Area
quartet that has
performed poetry
with jazz for
over twenty
years. Wordwind
chorus has a cd,
we are of the
saying,
recorded in
2000, with
original
members,
Reginald
Lockett, Brian
Auerbach, Lewis
Jordan, and Q.
R. Hand Jr.
He has recently been anthologized in
The Outlaw
Bible in American Poetry, edited by Alan Kaufman (Thunder's Mouth
Press, 1999),
An Eye For An Eye Makes the Whole World Blind, Poets on
9/11, edited by Allen Cohen and Clive Matson (Regent Press, 2002)
and
New American Underground Poetry, Volume 1: The Babarians of
San Francisco — Poets from Hell, edited by David Lerner, Julia Vinograd
and Alan Allen (The Press of San Francisco, 2005).
Whose Really
Blues
is also available from Small Press Distribution, http://www.spdbooks.org/
* * *
* *
Searching for
the Legend of Q.
R. Hand, Jr.
By
Martha
Cinader Mims
In thinking
about how to
approach this
column for
Museletter, the
word “legend”
kept coming into
my head. In my
search for a
precise meaning
of the word, and
whether it made
sense to
describe qr hand
jr. as a legend,
I learned an
interesting
thing or two
about the
history of the
word.
Legend comes
from the Latin
adjective
legenda, “for
reading, to be
read,” which
referred only to
written stories,
not to
traditional
stories
transmitted
orally from
generation to
generation...
but ever since
the 15th century
legend has been
used to refer to
traditional
stories as well.
Today a legend
can also be “a
person or
achievement
worthy of
inspiring such a
story...”
 |
I
searched
for
qr
hand
jr.
on
the
Web,
and
found
a
reference
to a
poem
by
Lewis
Jordan
entitled
“bothallandevery”
dedicated
to
qr,
but
not
the
poem,
and
nothing
on
the
man
himself.
I
looked
up
Wordwind
Chorus
(the
ensemble
of
performing
writers
of
which
qr
hand
jr.
&
Lewis
Jordan
are
half—Brian
Auerbach
&
Reginald
Lockett
are
the
other
two),
and
came
up
with
past
performance
dates
at
festivals,
book
stores,
jazz
clubs
. .
.
but
not
a
site
dedicated
to
the
group.
I
went
to Amazon.com,
searching
for
books
by
the
man,
and
came
up
with
one
entry:
We
Came
to
Play!:
Writings
on
Basketball
(Io,
No.
54)
by
John
Ross
(Editor),
Q.R.
Hand
Jr.
(Editor),
Spain
Rodriguez
(Illustrator)—
a
book
with
pictures
of a
native
American
and
three
African
American
athletes
on
the
cover.
Interesting,
but
not
exactly
what
I
was
searching
for
. .
. |
An Oral
Legend Among
Poets
You see, to me
qr hand jr. is a
poet who moves
me with his
words and the
way his words
sound when he
comes around to
an open mic and
shares them with
the rest of us.
I ask myself
“how is it
possible that a
man whom every
poet I meet
already seems to
know, could be
so absent from
the World Wide
Web, a place
where we look
for what we
can’t find in
the commercial
media?” Part of
the answer is
the humble
nature of this
man, but another
part is the
stuff that
legends are made
of . . . you
don’t have to
take my word for
it. Soon his
work will be
available to all
those who seek.
Taurean Horn
Press is to
publish a
collection of
his poetry
spanning several
decades,
entitled
Whose Really
Blues. qr
hand jr., an
oral legend
among poets,
will fulfill the
ancient meaning
of the word when
his words,
having long
served his
community,
travel new
roads, to be
read.
In many ways the
story of his
life is an
aspect of the
legend of his
generation, his
personal
approach to
poetry
inextricable
from his focus
on the civil
rights movement
and social
service. He was
raised in
Bedford
Stuyvesant and
later Central
Harlem, in New
York City, part
of an upwardly
mobile middle
class family. He
wasn’t
particularly
rebellious but
he always felt
he was
“someplace
else.” His life
did not take
focus until he
became involved
in the civil
rights movement,
and even then it
took time
“before some
real poetry came
out.” His early
leanings toward
Marxism, in
search of
“creating more
freedom” later
gave way to a
world view that
“given lots of
people with lots
of guns, there
will be the same
result no matter
what the
ideology.” He is
now a
self-described
Strange
Anarchistic
Populistic New
World Black. He
came to
California in
1969 because he
“had to get out
of New York.”
Trying to get a
handle on
himself he
ultimately
became a
community mental
health worker in
the Mission
District of San
Francisco, for
Progress
Foundation,
which he
considered to be
“good work”
until he
retired.
I recently
visited qr and
his wife Pam in
their newly
moved-into home
in the historic
district of
Vallejo. I
confessed to him
that sometimes I
don’t really
care what he is
saying because
he sounds so
good when he’s
saying it. Not
surprisingly he
told me that he
is not a
musician or
composer, but he
has been
influenced by
music perhaps
more than
literature. The
rhythm of what
he likes to hear
informs his
writing and
carries over
into
performance.
He described his
experience while
still in New
York of
proximity with
Amiri Baraka,
and
Umbra poets
Norman
Pritchard,
David Henderson,
Calvin Herndon
and others, as
one that took
him time to get
over “being
floored.” He
didn’t write at
all between the
mid-sixties and
the
mid-seventies,
but eventually
could be found
sharing a sudden
flood of writing
in places such
as the Coffee
Gallery in North
Beach and other
reading spots of
the time. Once
again, a focus
on civil rights
and social
movements helped
him to find his
voice. It was
during this time
that he came
into contact
with the people
who would
eventually
become the
members of
Wordwind Chorus.
Wordwind
Chorus
Now
collaborating
together for
more than twenty
years, qr hand
jr.,
Reginald Lockett,
Brian Auerbach
and Lewis Jordan
make up the
group Wordwind
Chorus. They
have appeared at
one time or
another
practically
everywhere in
the Bay area,
and have
recently put out
a cd entitled
we are of the
saying,
finally
documenting the
legend. We were
recently treated
to a performance
by the group at
Listen & Be
Heard in
Vallejo. I
commented to qr
that I rarely
hear a group of
poets who truly
perform as a
group and not
just a
collection of
individuals. I
was really moved
by the way these
four men came
together and put
so much energy
and intelligence
into the
rendition of
each other’s
work. He replied
by telling me
that he could
not recall any
“unproductive
clashes” between
them: “. . .
sometimes tough
shit comes up,
but we always
worked our way
through that.”
The mass media
tries to create
legends all the
time, throwing
the word around
like a bouncing
ball, and not
always keeping
track of where
the ball finally
lands. But in
the end
legendary people
create
themselves in
their own
personal search
for truth. I
asked qr why he
likes to go to
open mics, and
he told me that
forty years ago
he would have
laughed at
anyone who told
him he would do
it, but he likes
to perform and
he enjoys other
people. Other
people enjoy qr
hand jr., too.
If you live in
or come to the
Bay area, check
your local
listings for qr
and Wordwind
Chorus.
If you can’t
wait, or you
can’t get here .
. . or send an
email to Brian
Auerbach at
wordwindchorus@earthlink.net,
and ask him how
you can get a
copy of the CD.
Source:
http://www.cinader.com
* * *
* *
|
numberless
are
the
sands
on
the
sea
shore
q.r.
hand,
jr.
us
folks
are
the
peoples
who
look
towards
the
sea
vision
and
memory
past
perfect
futures
are
strewn
about
our
musics
like
sea
weeds
on
the
shore
our
eyes
hearts
afired
dancing
on
limbs
aghast
and
bedazzled
caressing
these
sands
hand
clappin
spirits
our
souls
are
numberless
like
bands
of
the
spectra
our
hues
are
numberless
jump
back
brothers
see
our
sisters
prancing
on
the
sea
their
curves
and
spheres
rounding
off
the
edges
of
the
sands
making
sheets
of
molten
glisten
we
are
evocations
of
this
sweet
liquid
strumming
on
these
vibrant
far
reaches
on
our
faith
full
shore
this
ritual
clamor
we
are
on
this
shore
spelling
out
the
seasons
of
reason
numberless
beings
grow
gills
sprout
wings
drunken
on
the
bottom
of
pink
coral
reef
then
leap
the
sea
sailing
easy
to
afar
to a
star
we
are
stoned
reflections
of
to
view
from
there
these
sands
who
do
not
know
they
are
us
not
these
sands
our
foundations
on
these
wheels
of
things
rolling
shore
surf
washed
waves
yearn
to
roll
in
murmurs
on
these
grits
are
relentless
too
in
change
in
forms
numberless
pasteled
in
pale
yellows
mixed
by
the
sea
wind
sun
our
constant
companions
on
this
sphere
on
this
beach
head
here
on
our
minds
and
communal
heart
molds
sands
into
cities
and
ports
to
welcome
from
the
sea
more
ancestors
to
be
to
play
on
this
shore
notes
of
universal
hide
seek
time
here
is
numberless
we’ve
known
not
its
name
we
are
the
growth
here
we
are
the
trees
we
are
the
creatures
here
so
it
is
said
on
which
cosmic
bet
no
wages
subsist
numberless
are
the
names
of
this
life
on
these
sands
on
the
dream
washed
up
on
these
shores
us
folks
are
on
the
peoples
who
look
towards
the
sea
looking
towards
the
sea
our
songs
are
the
bread
of
the
shore
our
spirits
our
spawn
on
these
quick
sands
we
name
our
selves
numberless
©
2003,
qr
hand
jr. |
* * *
* *
More
Titles
from
Taurean
Horn
Press
Bone Songs
By Gail Mitchell
From Spirit to Matter: New and Selected Poems, 1969 -- 1996
By Carol Lee Sanchez
In Concern: For Angels
By Bill Vartnaw* * *
* *
* * * * *
 |
Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All
By Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons knows firsthand that
wealth is rooted in much more than the
stock
market. True wealth has more to do with
what's in your heart than what's in your
wallet. Using this knowledge, Simmons
became one of America's shrewdest
entrepreneurs, achieving a level of
success that most investors only dream
about. No matter how much material gain
he accumulated, he never stopped lending
a hand to those less fortunate. In
Super Rich, Simmons uses his rare
blend of spiritual savvy and
street-smart wisdom to offer a new
definition of wealth-and share timeless
principles for developing an unshakable
sense of self that can weather any
financial storm. As Simmons says, "Happy
can make you money, but money can't make
you happy." |
* * * * *
|
The New Jim Crow
Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness
By Michele Alexander
Contrary to the
rosy picture of race embodied in Barack
Obama's political success and Oprah
Winfrey's financial success, legal
scholar Alexander argues vigorously and
persuasively that [w]e have not ended
racial caste in America; we have merely
redesigned it. Jim Crow and legal racial
segregation has been replaced by mass
incarceration as a system of social
control (More African Americans are
under correctional control today... than
were enslaved in 1850). Alexander
reviews American racial history from the
colonies to the Clinton administration,
delineating its transformation into the
war on drugs. She offers an acute
analysis of the effect of this mass
incarceration upon former inmates who
will be discriminated against, legally,
for the rest of their lives, denied
employment, housing, education, and
public benefits. Most provocatively, she
reveals how both the move toward
colorblindness and affirmative action
may blur our vision of injustice: most
Americans know and don't know the truth
about mass incarceration—but her
carefully researched, deeply engaging,
and thoroughly readable book should
change that.—Publishers
Weekly |
 |
* * *
* *
* *
* * *
posted 16 March
2009
|
