Moon and the Manzanos cabin

Moon over the Manzanos, 14" by 11" watercolor, 140# d'Arches

 Solitude allows you to see things, and this painting came to me recently in one of my quiet times. One of Dad's masterpieces, an oil painting of sunflowers and the Manzano Mountains near our old cabin southeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico,  hangs over our fireplace mantel.
A smaller winter scene of his is also in the living room.
I've noticed that these mountains keep appearing in several of my  paintings. They're not the tallest nor most dramatic in New Mexico nor my life, but they certainly, along with the paintings, have influenced me and seem to be in my consciousness.
I saw them in the moonlight, in the snow, with a cabin, in my head.

One of Dad's paintings

The pages of February

Watching gentle, large flake snowfall out my window this morning, sipping coffee, thinking of travels past and future, I journeyed in other worlds this month, in the pages of eight books, five of them completed, one sampled, one mostly read, and one underway.

Five of the books came from friend Jeanetta Calhoun Mish's Mongrel Empire Press in Norman, poems, short stories and a fictional novel, all with strong Oklahoma roots and subjects. 
The other included Longmire creator Craig Johnson's "Wait for Signs," a collection of short stories, purchased from friend Joe Hight's Best of Books in Edmond.
The books of poetry were "The Walmart Republic," J.L. Jacobs' Streets as Elsewhere," and Carter Revard's, "From the Extinct Volcano-A Bird of Paradise."
"The Long Rifle Season" by James Murray is a bunch of short stories, appropriately titled "Tales," most of them set in southeast Oklahoma, and including a fictional view inside Timothy McVeigh's mind. The fictionalized novel by William Cunningham is "Pretty Boy Floyd."
The seventh book is Natalie Goldberg's "Loving Color--Painting, Writing and the Bones of Seeing." Writer-teacher Goldberg lives in Taos, doing what I dream about, and I bought the book thinking it would be about writing. Instead, it is a book about a writer taking up painting, filled with her art and prompting. I found it has a chapter on Cezanne, my favorite artist, which means it's a must read to complete.
The eighth book was OKC Mayflower UCC church pastor Robin Meyer's book, "Saving Jesus from the Church," a discussion prompt in our Sunday night "Soul Detox" group. He has lots to say about the difference in institutionalized Christianity and what Jesus taught.
Reviews and comments on most of these are coming. The poetry books are the most difficult, as you can see from my previous review of "The Walmart Republic."

          

Journeys on maps of imagination-The Walmart Republic

Journeys of a different sort beckon when winter makes your body sluggish, when your soul seems half awake, when your imagination is  mired in the traditional map of Oklahoma.
I found new maps and soul journeys this February in a blizzard of new books from Mongrel Empire Press, (click the link to view and buy) a small independent press known for publishing poetry and prose of culture and politics and life deeply rooted in Okie.

Like any maps to new places, these were full of surprises and mysteries, discoveries and disturbances. The first two were "The Walmart Republic" by Quraysh Ali Lansana and Christopher Stewart and "Streets as Elsewhere" by J.L. Jacobs.
Don't expect a traditional review from me on these, because there's nothing traditional about them. I've had to read them more than once to even approach doing them justice.  I  even wrote the publisher, poet and friend Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, to ask questions so I could try to write intelligently.
These are deep maps of imagination which will stretch your mind and understanding of who we are and who we are not.
All I can do is give you a sampler, and a brief look at the poets--the storytellers and their narratives.
What can you say about a book that has two poems entitled "The Will Rogers Turnpike" by two friends, one from a small Texas town, the other from Enid, Oklahoma, who met and live in Chicago?
They found their Walmart title in a classroom comment when at OU, a disparaging term of our commercial culture. The poems include more than Oklahoma, as the cover with a weird map and Big Tex on fire more than suggests. There is fire in this book, speaking of the superficiality of our "culture,"  and the truth of common people, in 45 poems, stories in 87 pages.
My favorites?--A few.
 "The Suit" by Stewart, about a man bringing in his suit to the cleaners for his wife's funeral, and a conversation with the owner. Two lines:
"She is old as well, her body crooked
 from years over a stitching machine."

"Bible Belted: Found Two" by Ali Lansana
"oklahoma   the birthplace
of the dawes act    tulsa race riot
the reservation   a 900 foot tall white jesus"

"Will Rogers Turnpike," by Stewart
Two lines:
"A waitress fondles  trucker music with her wiry, spellbound
ears as I leave this scene."

"Will Rogers Turnpike" by Ali Lansana
A few lines:
"these roads my  veins dry red
clay body  sun-smoke wafts heat
tired of itself  wheezing semi-trailers
alfalfa between cheek and gum"

"Sunday at Mutha's" by Ali Lansana
Opening lines:
"we could hardly wait for crusty ol' reverend
jenkins' final Amen so the real sunday afternoon could commence.
"fried chicken and fresh catfish.
aunt maudell's potato salad.
aunt bonnell's cakes.
"fresh corn on the cob and green
beans from mutha's garden."

There's a lot of our world here we don't or won't notice--sadness, humor, black and white and in between. Steward says in one poem, "A poet's job is to remember, he thinks...." Ali Lansana writes in one poem of "the bone of your words."  There's remembrance and bone in their words.

I wanted to write about both of these books together, but there's too much here. "Streets as Elsewhere" next.







    

Barn again

"Oklahoma Memories," 14" x 20" watercolor, plus frame

Old barns grab my attention, as did this one in eastern Oklahoma County a couple of years ago. It demanded a painting, with some artistic license. Excuse the reflections on the glass.

The current issue

I'm proud and excited that our official state magazine,  Oklahoma Today, paired it with a poem by poet and  my friend and small book publisher Jeanetta Calhoon Mish of Mongrel Empire Press inside this current issue. 
Go buy a copy. Poets and painters see differently I think, but both see things that others don't. The poem and painting together have a rich flavor.   This is an honor for me because Jeanetta is a full time poet, writer, teacher and publisher, and to have a part-time painter's work accompanying her professional work is a validation of my work. I've written for the magazine before, and plan to again, but this is a really big deal for me. This version shows reflections, but the magazine's copy is a clear scan. P.S. Yes, it's for sale.
I found this old barn driving around on the backroads east of here one Saturday--one of my favorite pastimes. It was decaying away, and the light wasn't good, but it helped me be free with color, and I could embellish the composition as I wished.

I'm "published"--an inside look at tenure and academia

Publication is a big thing in academia. Professors are supposed to do research, write about it, and submit articles to "scholarly journals." That means they're "peer reviewed"--several professors in the field will review the submission to see if it acceptable.
Major universities require it as part of your career--"adding to the academy" as one prof at the Indiana University School of Journalism told me a long time ago. Most major universities (called "R1" for research, doctoral-granting institutions like OSU and OU), and those that are not so major like UCO (MA- and BA-granting schools)--require publication for promotion and tenure. For the record, those universities put as much emphasis, or more, on research than they do teaching, and profs usually only teach one or two classes a semester to allow for it. At UCO we require it, even though we're a teaching university, and profs teach four classes a semester. (By the way, as a former newspaperman, I am not complaining--this is a great job.)
Fortunately, I'm at a school, and in one of those fields where creative work, or publication within my discipline, also matters. The doctoral degree is my union card, and yes, I've earned tenure, but those of us in journalism, and the arts, are often looked down on because we may not be published in the journals. And we shoot back that we publish writing that people want to read, not in snooty journals full of bloated academic language that nobody reads. And I contend, anybody who can meet my editors' demands is more than "peer reviewed."
We're both a little full of ourselves, and also defensive.

Tenured curmudgeon

By way of explanation, most people are hired as assistant professors, and depending on the school, have a certain number of years, about six, to be granted tenure and promotion to assistant professor. That's where the publication comes in. If you don't get tenure, you have one year before you're gone. If you get tenure, you have a certain number of additional years, and publication, service (You're supposed to serve on committees, etc. As someone who abhors meetings and committees, this has also been difficult for me), teaching and whatnot, to be promoted to assistant professor. The step is repeated till you get promoted to full professor. Then you're a "silverback" or "old dog" like me, and are still supposed to keep producing.
Tenure is terrific, but it's not complete protection against being let go. I suspect that in Oklahoma, at least, if the president of a university and other higher ups want you gone, you'll be gone. Obviously sexual harassment and other factors can affect it.  I know the system has protected poor teachers, but remember, those people are expected to do more than teach. There's also an increased fear of lawsuits.
I've said before that  I don't need tenure, because I can make a living doing other things,  unlike some professors who have done nothing else but straight academics. But I'm happy to have it. Among other things, it helps me speak my mind more freely--which somehow I've developed a reputation for as a curmudgeon.
I do have journalism professor friends who have published in journals, but alas, I have not. My research and writing has been much more practical through the years. I have "presented papers," and attended conferences, but I haven't written a book (which I do regret), nor been cited by others' research, nor  used a footnote in my writing (I don't think that I can remember).
But I know the power of a byline, for my students, and myself. For a young student, seeing your name in print is a huge boost, a validation of your writing skill and importance. It doesn't change with age. And publication and creative results, of some sort, are important for professors--how can you teach if you're not setting an example.
That's probably why I have written this blog for more than five years, and have written a monthly column for The Oklahoma Publisher, trade newspaper for the Oklahoma Press Association for 19 years. I'm still excited to see my byline in Oklahoma Today and Persimmon Hill magazines.
That's only one reason it was great to see my byline this week under "A letter home," the personal column "Coffee with Clark," in the new Waurika newspaper, the Waurika News Journal.
I'm published.