seed blossom fruit

i am trying not to dwell on this grant business because i have a tenure-track job to go to elsewhere. and, man alive, as david letterman would say, it feels good to type that. but it is a great comfort to me that i had notes from both joan and my mutha today wishing me well. joan and dr. liza are working on a new book -- love letters. how beautiful will that one be? joanie even shared the transcription of one of the entries. i wish that i could come and wear my slingback stilettos and be you two's intern this summer. thanks mom for the poem about blossoms and fruit. it was beautiful. almost as beautiful as one miss nicole kidman.

i had a chat with mary sieze today on the phone today about my defense date and she sounded positively happy to speak with me. i had worked myself up about having a talk; it was nothing like i imagined. maybe it helped that i drank a beer before i called her?


this evening, i did a gallery talk for the black fraternal organizations for the show, embracing eatonville. zora neale hurston, the most famous daughter of eatonville, was a zeta phi beta. so, when one of my students made the connection between the exhibition and their sorority, i telegraphed this to the curator of education who found money to hire a dj and caterers for a party for the students. it has not been an easy year to be a black student on campus after prop 2. this was an extremely nice gesture on pam's part and it was so cool. here, the sorors listen to a track of hurston's field recordings while contemplating the photography of carrie mae weems.