From 1455’s Movable Type, Issue 15 (peruse the complete archives, here):
The State of the Art, right now, is a sum total of every individual story. Taken together, common themes emerge. We can learn from mistakes made (by ourselves, by others), while emulating those who succeed, often by ignoring tastemakers and tired conventions. Each artist must tread their own path, because anything worth doing must be original, reflecting a style born out of what one sees, hears, feels, wants, loves, loathes, dreams.
Our duty, as individual creatives and fans, is to tell our stories, listen to other’s stories, and do whatever we can to generate awareness and enthusiasm. One thing I’m certain of, after a lifetime of learning, failing, and falling, is the belief—no matter what the cynical or soulless insist—that art matters. What art provides is the reason we toil, struggle, and refuse to surrender. Art is what redeems the occasional silence and solitude. As ever, for those keeping the faith and staying true to their vision: the deeper drive is to connect, to put something unique into the world and see how it lands. Can a connection be established? Can a dialogue be initiated? Can a debate begin? Can our world be saved, one exchange at a time?
January
Imagined Conversations with People I Love about Trauma, courtesy of Humans of the World
Pharoah Sanders Donating Blood to Buy Food, 1962, courtesy of The Decolonial Passage
Jeff Beck, Guitar Grandmaster, Medium
St. James’s Place, courtesy of The Decadent Review
In the Unlikely Event of a Water Landing, courtesy of Exterminating Angel Press
February
Charles Mingus’s Memento, courtesy of Jerry Jazz Musician
March
Why Wayne Shorter Matters, Medium
April
Six Haikus for America, courtesy of Exterminating Angel Press
Introducing Rhapsodies in Blue, courtesy of Kelsay Books
May
John Belushi’s Bungalow, courtesy of The Daily Drunk
Ron Carter’s Fingers, courtesy of Jerry Jazz Musician
Now’s the Time, courtesy of Jerry Jazz Musician
The Inimitable Martin Amis, Medium
St. Elmo’s Fire, courtesy of The Blue Mountain Review
June
AI Will Not Replace Art, 1455’s Movable Type
What Writers Talk about When We Talk about Perseverance, Medium
Sustenance, courtesy of Blood and Thunder: Musings on Medicine
July
On This Day in History, 1967: Muhammad Ali Refuses Army Induction, courtesy of Words & Sports Quarterly
The Unsatisfactory Suicide Note, courtesy of Rough Cut Press
On This Day in History, 4877 BC: Universe is Created, According to Kepler, courtesy of Exterminating Angel Press
5th Annual 1455 StoryFest, including Inspiration Information IV: Black Women Poets Reading, Young Poets Award & Reading, Arlington Young Poets: The Making of an Anthology, and more via 1455’s YouTube Channel.
August
September
For Labor Day: Unpaid Internships are Evil, Medium
Roll the Stone Away: Jethro Tull’s A Passion Play at 50, courtesy of Record Collector Magazine
October
On This Day in History, 1926: Porgy & Bess Debuts on Broadway, courtesy of Washington Writers Publishing House
1455’s StoryFest Live! including Poetry Matters & Poet Laureates Reading, AI Inside (and Outside) the Classroom, and Storytelling at Shenandoah University
November
Henry Kissinger’s CV, courtesy of The New Verse Newsletter
Moby Dick, Martin Scorsese, and Making a Literary Life, 1455’s Movable Type
December
Football and American Faith, Medium
Albert Ayler’s Vision, The Decolonial Passage
Looking forward to 2024: lots of secrets I can finally share, and two new books dropping. Watch this space for more. Onward!
