As Gatsy’s Books in Long Beach closed its doors, the proprietor, Sean, sold me a piece of the furniture and then invited me to take a carton of whatever books had not yet been sold. One of them was by Ernest J. Gaines, a novelist I’d heard of but never read. No one in graduate school at UCSD had ever mentioned him, but then again no one at UCSD ever mentioned James Baldwin in a seminar either. Gaines is a more methodical writer than Baldwin, but his ability to depict the complex diversity of an African-American community is nothing short of astonishing.
Why doesn’t Netflix use its money to make a movie out of this novel? Surely there is a young African-American filmmaker who could launch her or his career by directing an adaptation. Ideally, whoever composes the music for it should somehow channel the influence of the late Quincy Jones,
I may be getting old and no longer teaching full-time, but I still want to speak up for the work that deserves more attention.
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A friend I’ve known for over 50 years is having bis “Breath Day” today. I sent him a card through an email that is a painting that Linda recently finished.
I am a Scorpio, too, and Laurel Ann Bogen recently drove down from Long Beach to celebrate my 77th “Breath Day” with Linda. Thank you, again, Laurel Ann, for your thoughtful gift, both of your presence at that evening’s dinner with Linda and for your gift itself of the tubes of paint that I have already begun using.
About Bill Mohr