On a shelf in my office, that I call Rabbit Tobacco Field, is this folder next to notebooks that contain journals, travel notes, memories and the handwritten ideas of my stories. The folder is worn having traveled with me since the early 1990s and through fifteen moves. It has gone from New Hope to the factory in Atlanta to South First in Old Louisville and back to Georgia. It has been in and out of boxes, moving vans, been countless miles and sat on numerous shelves. I have looked at the contents from time to time and thought that maybe one day they might be read by others.
That folder contains the aftermath of the 1980s that I was living through in words. Those events had accumulated as gashes and onto paper I bled; not just bled but gushed in blue and black ink.
Most of these poems have only ever been shared with a person I call English Stan and he is in my next novel. Putting his motivations aside, he thoughtfully edited and critiqued some of my writing while I was a college student. I am thankful to him for his encouragement, mentorship and the hours of conversation. English Stan has long since left this world that he helped keep me in and I remember him as few can.
I want to publish a book of poetry in 2023 in addition to my next novel. In my downtime over the holidays I began to go through them and see what is worth putting out into the world. I have not decided which book may come first or if they will be published at the same time. The next novel is my priority.
My head is firmly placed in the 1990s as 2022 begins. Sonic Youth's 1991 video for Dirty Boots has the 90s look that I remember so well. It is so 90's that it looks like a parody of the fashion. Sonic Youth remains one of my favorite bands from that period. I was a hardcore Nirvana fan, but Sonic Youth was not far behind.
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