Upcoming Events + News of the Day

Vincent Woodard Updates: poet and scholar Rachel H wrote in the comment section to say that there'd be a tribute to Vincent tomorrow at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

In a comment at Reggie H's Noctuary, she gives more information:

The University of Colorado at Boulder is holding a memorial service for him, hosted by the English department, at 4pm on Wednesday, February 20th. At the Koenig Alumni Center near the corner of Broadway and University. I'll be there and I hope to post something here after the ceremony.

Andre Lancaster sent Reggie info about a NYC memorial gathering for Vincent this upcoming weekend. The details:

Sunday, Feb 24 @ 1230 - 130pm
A Celebration of Vincent Woodard (d. 2008)
Brownstone Books
409 Lewis Avenue
Btwn Macdonough and Decatur Streets in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn
A/C to Utica Avenue

There will be small bites and juice. There will be time and space for readings, reflections, and creations to share. Please direct all questions to Andre Lancaster (347) 409 1091.

Light.

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John Jordan from Phyre sent me the following info, for those in and around the ATL this upcoming weekend:


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This Thursday, poets Evie Shockley and Olivier de la Paz will be reading in Brunswick, Maine...but if you can't attend, you can catch them online via the Fishouse (I always want to add the extra "h"):

From the Fishouse is pleased to present a reading by poets Oliver de la Paz & Evie Shockley this Thursday, February 21, at 7:30 p.m., which will be broadcast live on the Web:

Simply visit the above link any time after 7:30 and watch the reading as it happens from the comfort of wherever you may be.

For more information, and to listen to poems by Oliver de la Paz & Evie Shockley, visit From the Fishouse: www.fishousepoems.org.

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Also this Thursday, also on the East coast, in Philadelphia, Dr. Sweat + the Soundscribe:

Temple University Poets & Writers Series -- MENDI & KEITH OBADIKE
February 21 8:00, Room 222, Temple Center City Campus, 1515 Market, Philadelphia.

All events are free and open to the public.

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And finally, in today's news:

Fidel Castro removes himself from consideration as president in the upcoming selection process, and his circle will choose a new leader, very likely his younger brother, Raúl. Will the USA restrain itself and not meddle, allowing the Cuban people in Cuba to choose their destiny? Don't bet on it. All 3 US major presidential candidates appear to be locked in the past on the issue.

Pakistan's dictator and W's best bud, ex-General Pervez Musharraf, is now barely hanging onto power after overwhelming legislative victories by the parties of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and banned former Prime Minister Nawaz al-Sharif.

The US Supreme Court rejected the American Civil Liberties Union's suit to sue the federal government over warrantless wiretapping. In a Catch-22 scenario, the 6th Circuit US Court of Appeals said that none of the parties on whose behalf the ACLU was suing could bring suit since they could not prove they had been monitored, because the W administration has classified the information and they have no access to it. The SCOTUS also declined a suite by historically Black institution Xavier University of Louisiana and other plaintiffs challenging denial of benefits by insurance companies, which said their policies did not cover flood damage. The 5th Circuit US Court of Appeals had issued this ruling.

Alain Robbe-Grillet, one of the avatars of the mid-century experimental French literary innovation, the nouveau roman (new novel), passes away at 85. A filmmaker as well, he wrote the screenplay for one of the remarkable films of the French New Wave era, Alain Resnais's 1961 masterpiece, (Dernière Année à Marienbad) Last Year at Marienbad. Not really a regret, but I always wished I'd had the opportunity to take a class with him when I was at NYU.

About 1,000 African-American students from HBCU Prairie View A&M University and their friends in Texas organized a 7.3 mile walk, from their campus to the Waller County, Texas seat, Hempstead, to vote and protest the County commissioners' decision to close nearly all the local early voting sites in favor of only one, in Hempstead. (As some of the comments in the Burnt Orange piece note, this isn't the first time Waller County has tried voter suppression games against Prairie View students.) As a result of this action and pressure from the Feds, more early voting sites will eventually open in Waller County.

And Senator Barack Obama wins his ninth consecutive primary or caucus, Wisconsin, handily, by a margin of 58%-41% (as of this entry). He's winning nearly all demographic groups, except elderly voters, and has cut into Hillary Clinton's key support group of female voters. John McCain has won both Wisconsin and Washington (which already had caucuses for both parties, so go figure.)