The Alewife

"The Theatrical Dark Comedy 'Can You Forgive Her' Offers No Apologies"

by Jacques fleury

 

 

"Don’t let the Indian in!” The aforementioned phrase is one among many caustic one liners that suffuses the Huntington Theatre Company’s new play “Can You Forgive Her?” It is written by prolific writer and playwright Gina Gionfriddo, Brown University graduate, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and writer for Television shows such as “Law & Order” and “Cold Case.” The play is directed by Huntington’s own Peter Dubois and is expected to run from Mar. 5th through Apr.24th at the Boston Center for the Arts’ Calderwood Pavilion in the South End.

The play is mostly about Miranda, a prima facie heartless and nefarious young white woman who is entombed in arrears, namely college loans, credit cards and a lavish lifestyle she can’t afford; which attests to the spirit of the times today since most of us can identify with her quandary when it comes to living beyond our means. During her perpetual quest to keep up appearances by straining to sustain the often precarious echelons of social class and status, she uses her feminine wiles to build several quid pro quo relationships with affluent “Sugar Daddies” with “enough sugar” to help her sustain her debt-ridden existence; that which will implicate her in potentially catastrophic consequences as the narrative dictates.

“This play has a perspective on reality in a sense that these types of relationships actually exist,” explained female spectator Zoe Arguello answering to my request for her take on the production. She went on to say, “sugar daddy or rich guy with intellectually and emotionally intelligent female, who use one another assuming that they are balancing out their troubled lives but are living in a fantasy not reality.”

Miranda’s “reality” is that she’s HUNGRY for cash and her appetite is insatiable. In the French Creole culture, she is what we would call a “Piyagḗ”, anyone who will stop at nothing until they clean out your bank account before moving on to their next victim. What the play does, however, is raise the question: “why” Miranda has to be a “Piyagḗ?” Is she simply a victim of her circumstances, a casualty to her choices or is she tragically aggrieved by a consumerist and socio-economic status obsessed society? Can we forgive her?

In the play, Miranda  slighted a man from India whom she kept referring to as “The Indian”; thus alluding to the subtext of her racism. The “Indian” remains nameless throughout the play inferring of how often minorities are seen solely for their ethnicity and not for their humanity. She came to think that this man wanted to kill her because he found out that she has several other “boyfriends” and in her flight she interwove herself into the lives of another couple navigating their own convoluted relationship woes. The characters possess undeniable chemistry and the dialogue is meticulously clever and fast paced. The story is believable and arguably true to our present day realities as depicted on Television shows, within our own families and in the newspapers.

The theatre often imitates life and this is the third play I’ve seen at the Huntington Theatre that tackles subjects ostensibly ripped right from the newspaper headlines. “A Confederacy of Dunces”, “Disgraced” and now “Can You Forgive Her” all have these three subtexts in common: fear of the unknown, dissatisfaction and unrest with present day realities and ultimately confronting our inherent racism. Nevertheless Gionfriddo’s brilliance is readily apparent when she manages to render uncomfortable topics whole heartedly laughable. In an interview with Huntington dramaturge Charles Haugland, Gionfriddo spoke about some of the themes that ignited this play.

“I had become fixated on a crime that was a murder-suicide,” said Gionfriddo. She went on to say, “A couple went on a date in which the woman had publicly treated the man badly…and it ended with him killing her and then himself.” She added that, “I kept thinking ‘Oh, I want to know more about this case,’ and I really couldn’t find out any more, so I created a fictional story to explore why I was so obsessed with it. That is where [the character of] Miranda came from: a woman who finds herself on a very self-destructive path…I wanted to know how she got to that moment.”

Some of the concurrent themes range from the self-help book and spiritual search phenomenon; that which Miranda refers to as a “… type of self improvement cult pyramid…”, alcoholism, grief, anger, menopause, living beyond your means, mother/son relationships, differences between the sexes and differences between gay and straight men. In a hilarious scene when Miranda is “spilling her guts” to the character Graham whom she originally thought was gay and when her assumption was refuted, she screeched, “How could you NOT be gay! You’re obsessed with your mother!!!” She went on to say, “I only tell my sh*t to gays! They GET the blackness! I’m humiliated!” She is characterized as being among “active and energetic form[s] of female wretchedness.” Miranda, as she describes herself, is “an outsider aspiring to the ruling class.” The issue of “class” permeates throughout the play. Some of the other topics range from taking refuge in the joyful innocence of children, to taking jabs at fat families with dressed-up pets; all amalgamated together to make for a hilarious experience.

I believe that the theatre exists to help us navigate the often complex nuances of our lives, re-affirm that we are all connected and as America’s founding father George Washington once said, “We are one.” Basically we can all relate to these topics of love, anger, hate, the quest for peace and the pursuit of happiness. At the risk of making broad generalizations, I think that we all have a little “Miranda” in us, we can all be cunning, selfish, and hateful and we also all want to fit in and be accepted, even if it means living beyond our means in a flagrant effort to impress others to make being accepted easier.

I was thinking about all of this while walking by the Boston Harbor the other day and I came upon these colorful words written artfully and probably by a local artist. It said: “Nothing’s for keeps except that we must keep going. You’ll spend your entire life searching, ok? We all want to belong. So let’s all get along…” I think forgiveness is an imperative component in our quest to get along. Miranda offers no apologies for her shrewd, duplicitous and selfish ways and yet still, can’t we identify with her? And more importantly, can we forgive her?

 

Jacques Fleury is a Writer, Educator and Author of "Sparks in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue, A Poetic Memoir" about his journey out of Haiti endorsed by the Boston Globe. His collaborative CD "A Lighter Shade of Blue" as a lyrics writer with Folk musical group Sweet Wednesday is available on Itunes.  visit him on www.facebook/J.S.Fleury. or contact him at: [email protected]

 

The Political Play “DISGRACED” Packs a Personal Punch

By Jacques Fleury

“For 300 years they’ve disgraced us! Why can’t they understand the rage we’ve got?!” Declares Amir, the principal character of Ayad Akhtar’s edgy play “DISGRACED” presently playing with no intermission at the Avenue of the Arts Huntington Theatre Company in residence at Boston University beginning Jan. 8^th through Feb. 7^th 2016.

The Pulitzer Prize winning play and gripping Broadway hit is directed by Gordon Edelstein and written by screenwriter and playwright Ayad Akhtar. A graduate of Brown and Columbia Universities, Akhtar was born in New York City and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a screen writer, he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for “The War Within.” Similar to the main character in his play, Akhtar is American born with Muslim roots and the play dramatizes and personalizes the tension between these two dichotomies while simultaneously infusing  scant yet much needed comic relief.

This play is a pontification on the contemporary Muslim American identity but more specifically, it is about a New York lawyer striving to climb the echelons of the corporate ladder while diminishing his Muslim roots and emphasizing his Americanized identity. When it is revealed during a dinner party that he was implicated in the papers as being part of the defense team of a man purported to be raising money for terrorism, buried tensions begin to surface, accusations are hurled and true feelings are revealed about race, class, religion and marriage; all the things you’re not supposed to talk about at the dinner table. It is unapologetically controversial and rightfully so. It is unsettling, emotional, uncomfortable, tense, and refreshingly NOT politically correct.

“There’s a long history of the West defining…Muslim[s]…In a post- 9/11 world, where… Muslim[s]…continue… to be defined [negatively]…we are called to defend ourselves, to define ourselves in opposition to what some are saying about us,” Akhtar stated regarding the play. Most of us are fully cognizant of the pejorative media portrayals of Muslims since 9/11 and the more recent political conflicts with ISIS or Islamic State. The play essentially serves as an educational and more importantly personal point of reference from which non-Muslims can be better informed on actual Muslim religious beliefs, practices and socio-political point of view. “DISGRACED” reaches a pivotal boiling point when Amir roars about feeling “pride” the day of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. and referring to Muslims as being attributed the moniker “The New Nigger”; all combine to make this play the more jarring; providing inarguably lively social media hot topics. “The play exposes the ways people think and their prejudices without casting judgement or forcing a simple point. It exposes, it does not preach,” said audience member Logan Nash in a post-show conversation.

“The conversation about Muslims in America is constantly evolving in tandem with the negative media portrayal of Muslims around the world,” this from an article by Lisa Timmel and Phaedra Scott. They go on to say, “In the aftermath of 9/11 hate crimes against Muslims in the U.S jumped from around 30 per year to 500.”  More reasons why the non-Muslim public, young and old need to be more aware of what it means to be Muslim in America. But Amir, the play’s protagonist, is not oblivious to what it means to take a stand in American politics: “If you’re young and not a liberal, you’ve got no heart, if you’re old and not a conservative, you’ve got no grit.” Well whether you’re got grit, heart or both, it would be a disgrace NOT to see “DISGRACED.”

Jacques Fleury is the author of “Sparks in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue, A Poetic Memoir” which was featured in the Boston Globe & is available on www.amazon.com. His Collaborative CD “A Lighter Shade of Blue” with Folk musical group Sweet Wednesday is available on www.itunes.com. Contact Jacques at: [email protected].

 

 

 

The Theatrical Comedy:

 

" A Confederacy of Dunces" is Nothing to Laugh At

 

 

by Jacques Fleury

 

 

“I intend to challenge the way you think,” asserts Nick Offerman as Ignatius J. Reilly, the principal character from A Confederacy of Dunces currently showing at the Avenue of the Arts Huntington Theatre Company in residence at Boston University from Nov. 11^th through Dec. 20^th, extended due to popular demand.

 Offerman, whom you may know from his role on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation”, effectively and with meticulous yet seemingly nonchalant accuracy, ignites the brash and corpulent Ignatius character as it was originally written by John Kennedy Toole in his Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same title in 1981; adapted for the stage by playwright Jefferey Hatcher and directed by David Esbjornson, who coincidentally directed Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner with Malcom Jamal Warner of The Cosby Show. Also working behind the scenes as part of the developmental team is Oscar Winning director Steven Soderbergh.

Confederacy of Dunces is a about an enigmatic and lovably conceited character relatively akin to the Kelsey Grammar character on the TV show “Frasier.” Nick Offerman stars as the all-consuming character Ignatius J. Reilly, brash, weighty, egotistical, unconventional and still living with his mommy in 1960s New Orleans. He goes on a series of misadventures in the vibrant city which is infused with shady dealings, prostitution and of course jazz music.

 

He meets a cast of characters each more peculiar than the next in search of ideals of justice and freedom from his inferred fears.  He is an optimist with an intellectual bent. His favorite book is A Constellation of Philosophy and he looks down on everything and everyone around him, most notably his supportive and devoted mother who financed the education that he uses as a weapon to subjugate her.

“Anything you have to say to me you can say it in front of my mother. She will not understand…” His probity is consistent and readily apparent. After an accident that resulted in strained finances, his mother beseeched him to get a job and when he did, he galvanized what he perceived to be suppressed fellow workers to start a workers revolution against racial and economic injustice and inequity; a thematic ideology that continues to plague contemporary society. He declares:  “Had I been a Negro, I would have been a terrifying one.”

The play also examines unfair policing of minorities, another modern day challenge impeding social progress and equality for all. Much like the author of the novel turned play, Ignatius seems to titter on the edge of madness, and when his mother threaten to institutionalize him, he runs away with his girlfriend.

“The title of the book comes from a famous Jonathan Swift quote: ‘When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him’”, writes Charles Haugland in an article about the play. The word “dunce” was adapted in 1570 according to Merriam-Webster dictionary to mean “…a slow-witted or stupid person." It was inspired by John Duns Scotus, whose once accepted writings were ridiculed in the 16^th century. Basically Confederacy of Dunces translates to “Conspiracy of Idiots.”

Offerman portrays Ignatius tethered with the often complex dualities of humanity: Ignatius is lovable and insufferable, liberal and conservative, logical and irrational and so on. The play is a prima facie comedy, however it harbors a plethora of socio-political and intellectual subtext which indeed has the potential to “…challenge” the way we think about mental illness, economic disparity, classism, and race relations.  The murmurings of social dissidence are its conduit. Also present are grandiose utopian ideologies and palpable tensions between law enforcement and civilians all unified to make this play current and relatable. Written at the cusp of the civil rights era, the way in which it captures imminent social upheaval is jarringly prophetic; especially in the face of societal discordance currently in our midst in the form of capricious policing, terrorism and class warfare.

  Confederacy of Dunces exemplifies the recurring revolutions ignited by social unease, dissatisfaction and the need for civil disobedience that are the arguable dogmata leading to the American Revolution. The play reminds us that as long as we continue to oppress one another, there will continue to be defiant archetypes like Ignatius P. Riley along with his philosophical “constellations” of human evolution and spurred rebellions against the status quo.

This play is a blatant, caustic, atmospheric, satiric and unusually comical dramatization of serious themes. Confederacy gets to the heart of the matter but not without side spitting laughter. I once heard a dramaturge profess that the theatre is life, film is art and television is furniture. This play effectively reminds us of our protracted love affair with the theatre and essentially with life.  

 

Jacques Fleury is the author of "Sparks in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue, A Poetic Memoir" about his journey out of Haiti featured in the Boston Globe & is available on http://www.amazon.com. His collaborative CD "A Lighter Shade of Blue" with folk group Sweet Wednesday is available on http://www.iTunes.com. Contact him at: [email protected].

Longing & Nostalgia Plague the Characters in Durang's Broadway Play

By Jacques Fleury

Theatre Hall of Famer and Tony Award-winning playwright Christopher Durang of the comedy “VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE”—showing at the Huntington Theatre Company from Jan. 2-Feb.1 –speaks the heart of us all in his play replete with pathos and eye-watering humor when he tackles loss, sexuality, intergenerational dating, unrequited love, longing and the neo-technological challenge to seemingly antiquating family values. The Play is in actuality a timely social commentary regarding the state of humanity in the age of technology; which tends to create an illusion of unity, while many of us are aggrieved with a sense of loss, isolation and yearning for something more; much like the characters in Durang’s play.

The play’s characters and more visibly their names are based on the characters created by the Russian writer and playwright Anton Chekhov whose works Durang studied extensively at Harvard University in addition to earning his Masters of Fine Arts in play writing from Yale University. But Chekhov’s underlying themes of loss and longing is at the core of “VANYA AND SONIA…” and as a Chekhov reader myself, I can certainly attain to that premise.

“This house feels a lot like a house in [one of] Chekhov[‘s plays.]” says Durang in a phone interview with Boston Globe correspondent Patti Hartigan, referring the characters in “VANY AND SONIA…” The play begins with Vanya as played by Martin Moran and Sonia (Marcia Debonis), making a big fuss over coffee with Sonia ending up smashing a cup of coffee on the floor contradicting her prima facie benevolent appearance which conceals her passive aggressive tendencies while symbolizing an imminent change which came in the form of their sister Masha (Candy Buckley) and her younger boyfriend Spike (Tyler Lansing Weaks). Soon after, deep seated resentments, angst and emotions are revealed as Sonia, the adopted sister, confesses her feelings for Vanya and Vanya has a melt down over a “texting” incident, a transgression executed by the much younger Spike, while reading from a play he wrote. He then goes on a tirade about how things used to be and how “we used to do things together” as a people like watching the now timeworn TV shows and licking postage stamps; which all has become antiquated.

And just when I thought I was going to love everything about this play, out of nowhere appeared this neo-aunt jamima: the stereotypical sassy Black maid, whose character name I can’t or perhaps subconsciously choose not to remember, played by Haneefah Wood, a minority playing a minor role. While her character can at times spur genuine laughter from the audience, her acting at times comes off, nervous, frenzied and cartoonish and like me, the audience did not warm up to her right away as they did the major characters. She goes on and on quoting literary tragedies and mythology while producing morose psychic predictions and voodoo practices involving the unavoidable voodoo emblem, yes...the voodoo doll; which had me somewhat entertained but mostly just squirming in my seat. She is not “typical” in that she is unexplainably educated, perhaps she is a student/maid—or even more farfetched—an idiot savant of Greek mythology and Shakespearian tragedies. There were times I felt the audience was laughing with her and sometimes at her. She is the personification of the trendy ideology of the quasi-angry black woman, though it is not clear as to why she is angry; that is left to conjecture and supposition.

The most sympathetic character is Sonia who says things like “I hate my life!” and is the most bitter and melancholy of all the characters plagued by bucolic isolation, regret and self reflection regarding the decisions they made earlier in life that brought them to this point. The audience clearly rooted more for Sonia and example of this i when she turns down an invitation from a possible suitor, which she complains of wanting so much, there was a collective sign of regret until she changes her mind and you could almost hear the audience letting out a sigh of relief.

At the play’s end, we can descry a hopeful future for these characters; that their lives have already began to change for the better. If you, like the characters in “VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE”, are at a crossroads with the state of your life within this neo-technological world and yearn for something more, then see this play and perhaps see yourself and be inspired to change your life.  

 

 

 

Phographed by Jim Cox

 

Jacques Fleury is the author of "Sparks in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue, A Poetic Memoir" about his journey out of Haiti featured in the Boston Globe & is available on amazon.com. His collaborative CD "A Lighter Shade of Blue" with folk group Sweet Wednesday is available on iTunes. Contact him at: [email protected].

 

 

 

 

Innocence Lost in James Joyce’s “Araby” and

Ernest Hemingway’s “Indian Camp”

 

By Jacques Fleury

 

 

     Ah, childhood, a time when slate was clean and fresh like the morning dawn.   A time when we saw life very much as we saw
a new toy: to be observed and explored. 
This brings me to James Joyce’s “Araby” and Ernest Hemingway’s “Indian
Camp.”  These stories depict the story of
two boys on their rite of passage to early adulthood.  It identifies, to some extent, with all of us
when we were innocence and optimistic about everything. Nevertheless, this
innocence only last up to that key moment when one day, everything changes; the
tooth fairy’s mask falls off and we see “Mom” and Santa Clause becomes just
“Dad.”   Children are often very curious
and restless to know about what lies ahead.  
Nevertheless, once the truth comes to light and exposes the harsh
realities of life, the thinking process starts to change. We inevitably
surrender our “innocence” to “insight.” 
In this case, however, one boy grows up and the other doesn’t despite
life changing circumstances.

    
Nick in “Indian Camp” is a young boy who is about to embark on a boat

trip with his father.  His father is on
his way to see a woman in labor for an extended period of time.  Subsequently, being the immediate physician,
he agreed to go and help the woman even though he was without his tools.  He takes his son with him thinking that he
was going to expose him to a new but fairly predictable experience.   Nick, not knowing what lies ahead, is very
inquisitive and apparently neutral about the impending situation. 

   
The boy in “Araby” (who is nameless perhaps inferring that he is

representing every adolescent boy) on the other hand, is love sick and finds
himself extremely emotionally pre-occupied with this young woman.  Once he realizes that going to a Bazaar in Araby
could mean possibly buying her something, thus enhancing his imagined
relationship with her, he’s absolutely stoked. 
Not knowing what lies ahead, he welcomes the opportunity.  Hence it seems to me that the “Araby” boy is
making an unconscious decision to grow up, while Nick in “Indian Camp” is
unconsciously choosing to hinder his mental development by remaining neutral
and passive. 

       The train in “Araby” and the boat in
“Indian Camp” of which facilitated the boy's journey, symbolize the crossing
over to the adult world; leaving childhood behind for one brief moment in
time.  The train, being faster,
symbolizes the “Araby” boy’s expedited rate of mental growth.  While the boat being slower, symbolizes
Nick’s delayed mental growth rate.  These
two comparisons are significant in that it prepares the reader for what’s ahead
for the boys.

      During this journey, one boy is
autonomous: a leader if you will, and the other a follower. Nick in “Indian
Camp” journeys over a water.  The water
having a weaker and more widespread surface, leads to all possible
destinations;  which represents the
uncertainty, vulnerability, and the tendency to “follow the wind” attitude as
demonstrated by Nick.  Hence the water
symbolizes Nick’s mentality in its paralyzed state.

   
The bridge the “Araby” boy travels on represents a symbol of strength,
determination and self governing attitude. 
Bridges tends to lead to a specific destination.  Similar to the attitude of the “Araby” boy,
who made a conscious decision to go to Araby; thus the bridge portrays the
lovesick boy’s sense of direction and possibly further mental extension and
development ahead. 

   
The symbolism in both stories helps to foreshadow what might happen at
the end.  Who is going to get the most
out the experience?  For on the road of
life, there are passengers and there are drivers.  Who do you
think gets more insightful as time goes by?!

   
The “Araby” boy’s journey from innocence to insight is also hinted at
when he was on his way to the Bazaar.  He
says “I could not find any six penny entrance, and fearing that the Bazaar
would be closed, I passed in quickly through a turnstile, handling a shilling
to a weary looking man.”  The phrase
“passed in quickly” here hints that the Araby boy is ready to leave
childhood.  This is shown and expressed
when he decides to use the “adult” turnstile when he could not find the “six
penny entrance” reserved for children.

   
On the other hand, Nick from “Indian Camp” demonstrated unwillingness to

leave childhood when after he’s father delivers the baby and asks him; “How [does
he] like being an intern?”, to which he responded “All right” but belied his
words by “...looking away so as not to see what his dad was doing."  This gesture has much impact because it shows
that Nick is not ready to step into his dad’s shoes or the adult world just
yet.

   
The Araby Boy has no father sheltering him from the experience of
growing up; thus expediting the passage of child to adult. Nick, on the other hand,
has a father to protect him; thus making the exact opposite happens.  The father’s protection is displayed when he
tells George, the uncle, to “take Nick out of the shanty...” but then realizing
that Nick had already seen the dead man. 
I find that in reality kids grow up faster when they lack adult
supervision and protection.  The draw
back to that particular case is that it robes the child of his her childhood
that much sooner.

   
As I read “Indian Camp," I anticipated that Nick’s life is about to
take a turn for the best.   He was going
to be exposed to something so profound that there was no way that he was going
to walk away from it not having grown up a little.  However, on his way back with his Dad he asked
him “Is dying hard, daddy?” and to that his dad answered “no," and that it
“depends."  These questions
represent a mirror of his true innocence. 
In the end, he felt sure that death was not going to knock on his door;
which in reality was a way of clueing the reader that Nick did not grow up at
all.  He remained still a child.

   
In contrast, the Araby boy did seem to get something from the

experience.  At the end he thought to himself,
“Gazing up into the darkness, I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by
vanity, and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.”  It’s at this point that I feel he undergoes
the transition from “innocence” to “insight”.  
Despite the “darkness” that he was in, which implies the confusion and deception
that he felt was imposed on him by the adult world, he finally manage to see
“light.”  He was able to see himself,
like adults often do, as a victim of life’s many disappoints and that with each
disappointment, one tend to get more insightful about life.  It’s like driving a car and being lost.  Life happens when you try to find your way
out.

   
So, unlike Nick in Indian Camp who kept his innocence, lover boy in
Araby inadvertently trade-in his innocence for insight.  This reminds me of the axiom: “life without
risks, is no life at all.”

 

Jacques Fleury’s book: “Sparks
in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue, A Poetic Memoir” about life in
Haiti & America was featured in the Boston Globe & available at
www.lulu.com. His CD “A Lighter Shade of Blue” with the folk group “Sweet
Wednesday” to benefit Haiti charity St. Boniface is available on iTunes.
Contact Jacques at: [email protected]
and visit him at: www.facebook.com/thehaitianfirefly.

 

 

 

 

Talking Back: A Critical Dialogue on Spirituality

 

By Jacques Fleury

 

 

 “Just for today, do not worry

Just for today, do not anger,

Honor your parents, teachers and elders.

Earn your living honestly.

Show gratitude to everything”.

                               Dr. Mikao Usui

 

 

I was once walking down a road paved with rocks.  It was like they were put there to slow me down, to keep me from reaching my ultimate destination.  I was becoming quite angered with the constant stumbling and tripping, mind you.  Then, I tripped onto this one particular rock with an oval shape and a glow like the moon in a black out.  I didn’t know what to make of it at first.  But then it came to me.  I know that it will probably sound strange but that rock to me represented my unique ability to glow among seemingly hardened stones!  I held the rock in my hand, and it felt like a beaming ray of energy zing zaging in all directions in my hands.  I realized then that I held the power, formerly referred to as Reiki: Universal Life Force Energy!

 I came upon this article on The Reiki Page. It was on the website: http://reiki.7gen.com/index.html.  Dr. Usui was the founder and former practitioner of Reiki in the late 1800’s.  I found his ethical philosophies to be deceptively simple, at least on a prima facie level.  I stared at his words just as I did the rock, while deciding how to get beyond my first impression.  For there is always an “opportunity” to find truth in any given situation, if you look closely enough.  As a matter of fact, that very notion of “deceiving simplicity” was what drew me to explore and implore their empirical and spiritual depth, with a more curious eye and intuition.  The philosophy to which I am referring is quoted at the top of this article.  After reading it through, I decided to go through it line by line.  For each line was deceivingly basic and fascinating to me!

“Just for today, do not worry.”  I spend most of my days worrying.  Mostly about this or/and that! And when I’m not worried, I anticipate becoming worried.  So at times, when worrying left me in isolation, I started thinking.  What is it that I’m not doing, while I’m worrying, that’s making me so anxious?  Then it came to me!  My heart was frozen!  I had let the hurt and anger from the past overtake me, even more so than my mother, as you will see in further along in this article.  I knew then that in order to increase blood flow to my frozen heart, I would have to thaw out its interconnecting veins!  I realized that it was going to be an ongoing process.  

“Just for today, do not anger.”  The anger for me has been a constant struggle.  I anger easily.  Although, I am a joyful person.  But I can’t seem to cope with disapproval in my life.  It’s like my mother is perpetually hovering over my spirit, constantly molding and redirecting the beams of my eternal light.  I want everything that I am to be accepted fully and wholly without reservations.  I know that that’s not realistic of me to ask that of others, but I do.  In effect, I’ve come to realize that that is something to undertake personally: to completely accept myself just as I am!  Anger is often said to be the absence of love and the presence of fear.   It becomes logical then that once I learn to stop being afraid to love myself, then there might be less room in my heart for anger and more room for love.  Maybe that’s why I am so drawn to the supernatural world, like Reiki for example.  It allows me to rise above it all, including myself!  I’m learning to get out of my own way!

“Honor your parents, teachers and elders.”  Now I have always, always been taught to honor the latter three.  I am from Haiti and you don’t pass the womb until you learn that!  But somewhere along the way, I started to question the notion of respecting your elders unconditionally, especially when you don’t necessarily get even a modicum of that respect back!  For example, in Haiti at one time, you could not look at someone directly in the eye while talking to him or her if they are older than you!  As a matter of fact, a young man acted like that with me just a couple of years ago.  When I asked him why, he said that it was old “habit”. Yeah, old is the right word alright, I thought! Given all this, adults would call you names, talk down to you, and take your money, all in the name of love.  And if you ask for that money back, there’ll be hell to pay for undermining the wisdom of a supposedly “honest” and “respectable adult.”  Nowadays, I have learned that “respect” is a two-way street.  I am just as worthy of it for my limited wisdom as my much “wiser” elders are worthy of it for their allegedly more comprehensive ones.

 

Jacques Fleury’s book: “Sparks in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue, A Poetic Memoir” about life in Haiti & America was endorsed by the Boston Globe & available at www.amazon.com. Contact Jacques at: [email protected] & visit him at:  www.facebook.com/J.S.Fleury.  

 As the Sun Sets Over Port-au-Prince

 By Jacques Fleury

 In honor of my mother Marie-Evelyne Toussaint, an iconoclast in her own right

  In Haiti, I grew up taking blood baths, basking in the epoch of oppression. I am a Creole poet, despite the un-equivocal fact that my nation was occupied by the French. My Caribbean spice rack is stock full of flavored stories which I will gladly tell you just enough to satisfy your hunger for the knowledge of courage of my people; since my blood was once the color of slavery. But now, since I left Haiti for America, I dream the dream that every Americans dream: to sleep on the pillows of justice, freedom and opportunity. After all, aren't we all entitled to be happy? So now watch me run from the lasso of the unjust, just to make it under the wire of justice. 

The great Cuban singer/song writer Joseito Fernadez, who penned the lyrics to the popular song "Guantanamera" wrote, "...with the poor people of this earth, I want to share my faith." But like him, my heart has been oppressed and wired and my vocal codes have been tapped, but like the great Rhythm and Blues singer Marvin Gaye so eloquently said, "True artists suffer for the people" and so I'm going to continue to say what I need to say even if it means some suffering along the way.

How Haiti Earned Its Place in Black History

The first independent nation in Latin America and the first black-led

        Republic in the world shaped the African-American identity

 

By Jacques Fleury

 

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

                                                                  Martin Luther King Jr.

 

 

     In the years since the earthquake devastated Haiti, a country already marred by political depravity and economic hardship, Haitian scholars have shed some light on the profound connection between Haitian and African-American history. The Haitian people’s triumph over slavery and their achievement as the first black republic have inspired African-Americans in their own melee against centuries of slavery and modern day inequality rooted in racist ideology.

 

Why Your Teeth Could Be Killing You

By Jacques Fleury  

   

[First published in Spare Change News.net]

 

My motivation for writing this article is simple: to alert people about the correlation between poor dental hygiene and systemic pathology like Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and what you can do to protect yourself.

First and foremost, I do not profess to be a medical doctor nor am I a health and wellness expert; however I do have a medical background, understanding and personal experiences that I think are applicable to the subject matter of which I will attempt to write about. I have completed one year at Mass Bay  College’s Nursing Program which included Fundamentals  of Nursing, Biology I & II, Anatomy and Physiology, Nutrition, Microbiology and Medical Terminology just to name a few before I changed my major to Liberal Arts and transferred to UMass Boston upon graduation.

Happy New You

By Jacques Fleury

The Haitian Firefly Speaks 

     The bells and whistles of Christmas are but a distant memory; the holiday dramatics are now over and a New Year has dawned upon us, perched like a proud and hopeful eagle, as we begin to make the often provisional promises to ourselves for the New Year. However, I know that I have made promises to myself in the past that I was unable to keep and I’m almost certain that you too will succumb to a similar fate. But I am not necessarily here to simply tell you that the building blocks of your New Year resolutions are doomed to collapse, I just want to emphasize some key strategies about how you can be more methodical and realistic about them; thus minimizing the possibility of failure and ensuring a grader degree of success.

     The faltering economy will most likely affect New Year resolutions in 2011. Surfeits of people fell victims to the unsteady economy and lost their jobs and homes. No one was impervious to the dark claws of economic scarcity. Even the Television show “Inside Edition” profiled a lawyer who went from litigating in the courtroom to cleaning the bathroom by taking a job as a housekeeper; proving that—as I’ve always known—anyone can succumb to hardship and essentially become jobless and/or homeless at any given time no matter what their circumstances.

     December 21^st marked the National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, a fact that I just recently became aware of and which I’m certain that most people don’t even know about. I long for the day when we won’t need a day set aside to commemorate the homeless because they’ll all be housed. Nevertheless, there is good news about homelessness in Massachusetts. During the 31^st Annual Homeless Census on Dec. 6^th, Jim Greene, director of the city’s Emergency Shelter Commission went around town counting the city’s homeless. “City and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) figures released on [Dec. 21^st] show a 30 percent decrease in homelessness in the past five years,” writes Justin A. Rice of the Boston Metro. He goes on to say that, “The number of chronically homeless people has decreased 25 percent, which officials attribute to the city’s…efforts to permanently house the homeless.” Hence for those that are still homeless, their New Year resolution will probably be to become permanently housed and to them I say I find that prayer and perseverance is the cure to all barriers, so keep pushing through until

Why We Still Need Black History Month

By Jacques Fleury

The Haitian Firefly Speaks

 

 

     In an article by Mema Ayi and Demetrius Patterson from the Chicago Defender, they wrote that “actor Morgan Freeman created a small firestorm…when he told Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes that he finds Black History Month (BHM) ridiculous.” Freeman goes on to say that “Americans perpetrate racism by relegating Black history to just one month when Black history is American history.”

     As you can clearly see, a month dedicated to Black history continues to stir controversy. The point of the matter is we can’t continue to ignore the fact that—although we have made progress towards racial unity—we still have ways to go towards racial, harmony,  understanding and tolerance if not acceptance.

     Scholars and historians such as Conrad Worrill, chairman of the National Black United Front repulses the commercialization of the celebration, stated Ayi and Patterson. However, they go on to say that “but [Worrill] agree that Black Americans still need February and everyday to reflect on the accomplishments of Black Americans who contributed countless inventions and innovations into society.”

     It was in 1926 when Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week. Now all these years later has evolved into Black History Month. But why do we still need—even in 2010—a month set aside to recognize Black history in this country? Perhaps you can look within your hearts for that answer. Negro History Week morphed into Black History Month in 1976, when African Americans developed a renewed interest in their ancestral history primarily as a result of Alex Haley’s revolutionary miniseries “Roots.”

     Radio personality Cliff Kelley offers an explanation as to why we need Black History Month. Loosely translated, he said that we need it because capricious historians conveniently leave out certain parts of history that does not corroborate their version of history, which I think consist mostly of dead White men. Blacks are virtually removed from it to substantiate the White historical agenda. Plenty of Black youths do not know their history. Most of them think that their history begins and ends with slavery, wrote Patterson and Ayi.

 

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

By Jacques Fleury

 The Haitian Firefly Speaks

 

     With all that we have been through this year:  celebrating the second year of America’s first Black President and some wondering if they made the right choice; the announcement of the impending end of the war in Iraq; and last but not least, the floundering economy; which had some losing their jobs and homes and those who hitherto never thought they would be homeless in their lifetimes, found themselves succumbing to the dire economy and facing homelessness for the first time.  Yet still I, like you, am dreaming of a white Christmas and most definitely ready to put 2010 behind me because “‘tis the season to be jolly!”

     Soon, the  snow will cascade  from the December sky and it will lend on my waiting face like a lingering winter kiss, adorning trees that sparkle with shimmering lights with branches that seemingly spread like open arms as if to beckon blessings from above. And I, subdued with holiday cheer and even a little bit of jeer, recall memories of doves and wondering if the world will ever succumb to peace and love. So I began to ponder about what Christmas really means, at least to me.

     I am not here to harangue you on the true meaning of Christmas, I am simply offering my understanding of this most wondrous time of year and you may or may not identify with me but hopefully you will. You see Christmas to me is about more than just ceremony. It is about more than the money we spend to impress our loved ones and desperately hoping that this will make them happy. Christmas to me is about celebrating life, family, and community. It’s about enjoying one another’s company and appreciating each other’s humanity. And by humanity I mean both positive and negative characteristics that make us all who we are.  Anyone can love someone who loves you back, but the real challenge is to love someone who hates your guts.

     Some of us may not be aware of this, but often our love is conditional. And I include myself in this category. How many times have you find yourself falling out of love with someone because you suddenly discover that they are (taking a deep breath) “human” and therefore “broken?”  We are all broken pearls along the road. I’ll give you a near perfect example, I say near perfect because I’ve finally come to realize that as long as I remain a human being, I will never experience this great illusion of perfection. I once thought that my mother’s love was “perfect.” She herself claims that she had me because she wanted someone to love completely and who will love her back completely. But in her then youthful innocence, she did not foresee that her love for me would eventually be tested. The same thing applies to me; I did not foresee that my love for her would be tested in return. Ultimately time proved to be the great enemy of complacency. My mom, whom I saw as the greatest thing since the invention of the internet, became suddenly “human” and essentially imperfect when she, in anger over something I’ve done, used words as sharp as a newly sharpened #2 pencil with the intent to cut deep into my heart and psyche. And I, in overwhelming shock over her hurtful and abusive words, return the favor with even greater intensity then she. The whole ordeal was no flower arrangement and that’s for sure. It was that day that I realized that if my own mother, who claimed to love me more than her own life, could inflict such hurt upon me, than I reasoned that anyone else could do the same and again, myself included. It was during this dire revelation that I discovered human imperfection to negate any prior illusions of “human perfection” which fundamentally is an oxymoron.  It was because of that incident that I reasoned to look to someone greater than my mighty mother for unrestricted love. It was at that time that I gleefully looked to Jesus Christ for eternal and unconditional love.

     This brings me to speculating about the true meaning of Christmas. I truly believe that we can all find happiness with one another, granted that we do this one thing: learning to accept one another because of our humanity and not in spite of it. I know that a lot of you have different conceptions about religion and the whole idea of who God . I am not saying that my God is necessarily your God.  My main concern is that you believe in something…anything. For I truly believe that believing in anything will fill you will hope since hope is the light that consumes all darkness.

     Growing up in Haiti, in the middle Port-au-Prince city, I remember when the Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier government used to have Christmas for the kids in the Haitian White House. I remember the first time I heard of Santa Clause, except in Haiti, he is called “Papa Noel.” I remember being in total awe of Papa Noel. I thought that he was this magical being who was going to rescue me from the ills and perils of my childhood. I grew up with an abusive alcoholic stepfather. I remember the day my mom told me that she was going to marry him, I felt like the floor suddenly and violently collapsed right from under me. And I knew right then that my hitherto magical childhood was over. I even stopped believing in Papa Noel and my gained a premature mature composure and shaking my head in perceived adult mentality where I saw other kids fall over themselves to get to Papa Noel. But now, all these years later, I am trying to rekindle my fascination with the holiday season. As I walk around town at night, I bask in the glitter of the glimmering trees and exuberant smiles on the people’s faces and I start thinking about what Christmas really means.      

     The true meaning of Christmas for me is essentially love yourself and one another as you are; knowing that you and your life are “perfect” in the eyes of God. The true meaning of Christmas is not about out doing your neighbor’s Christmas decorations, or buying the most expensive gift for your loved ones. At the threat of getting too syrupy, the true meaning of Christmas should be about lending a smile to someone who bears a frown, offering a hug to someone in tears and providing food and shelter to someone in need. The true meaning of Christmas is about seeing one another as family and not as enemies. Don’t let the melanin in your neighbor’s skin determine whether or not he/she is worthy of your respect. Don’t let the size of your bank account or family breeding determine your worth or your neighbor’s worth. The true meaning of Christmas is seeing one another as ONE in the eyes of God.  The true meaning of Christmas is about celebrating our legacies not deficiencies; it’s about fraternity and diversity not hostility and bigotry; collaboration not division; it’s about being giving, joyful, and thankful for what we have and not what we don’t have. Finally, it’s about the beauty and miracle of creation: the birth of Jesus Christ.

     Even I struggle with these issues every day, so I speak from experience. I come face to face with anger and prejudice constantly, partly due to negative societal conditioning. But I constantly aim to eschew negative thought patterns to reflect a healthier approach. I use the following mantra: “Be a source of love and light in the face of prejudice and hatred.” And only then will you finally learn the true meaning of Christmas.  Joeux Noel et Bonne Anne a tous (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All)!

Jacques Fleury is a Poet, Author & Columnist. His book: “Sparks in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue, A Poetic Memoir” about life in Haiti & America was featured in the Boston Globe. Sample or buy the book at: www.lulu.com. 20% of proceeds will go to Haiti charity Partners in Health. For personal appearances or comments contact Jacques at: [email protected].

 

 

Haiti: Post-Quake, Needs Still Great

By Jacques Fleury

The Haitian Firefly Speaks

 

 

     In the aftermath of one of the biggest tragedies in Haiti—a country already known for persistent political unrest and economic depravity—the country is still maligned with the lack of subsistence to meet basic human needs. Long after the multi-media coverage of the January 12^th earthquake has ceased and Haiti’s fifteen minutes of fame appears to have faded, one thing remains the same: the resilient and perpetual thriving spirit of the Haitian people.

       I interviewed my cousin Betty, who recently came to America for a month of respite and reflection after the catastrophe in Haiti. She looked surprisingly well adjusted and at times even jovial and comical. Her spirit reflects that of the people in Haiti as they strive to return back to a normal life. Although I am painfully aware that the term “normal” in this context may take different meanings giving the dire conditions the people have to endure in the poorest country in the western hemisphere. However, as a Haitian man myself, I know that the Haitian people have always been spiritually prosperous. I love America and feel very fortunate to be here, however in
America much emphasis is bestowed on financial prosperity. A large number of people in this country live beyond their means just to keep up appearances and convey a façade of financial security when often the true reality denotes a much more humble economic situation.

 

     “The people’s spirits remains high,” Cousin Betty said, “women are still getting their hair and nails done and going on with life as usual.” She also mentioned that people are still having “Rarras.” A Rarra is when a bunch of people take to the streets dancing with drums, and other Haitian musical instruments and as they go through the neighborhoods other people join them. This is something I experienced myself having grown up in Haiti for the first thirteen years of my life before I came to America. Although the Haitian people have always maintained an attitude of “Joix De Vivre” which is French for “Joy of Life”, the world and particularly the American people and news media has just beginning to recognize the undying fire that is the Haitian spirit. In the darkness of times, it’s a guarantee that you will see a Haitian dancing on a cloud. I recently saw journalists and celebrities, who after coming back from visiting Haiti; speak emphatically of the Haitian people’s positive and mirthful dispositions.

 

     “While it looked like life resumed on the streets, the trip was sobering for me,” said Bill Lin, Director of Corporate Contributions for Johnson & Johnson  who recently went to Leogane, Haiti, which is a city west of Port-au-Prince and at the epicenter of the Jan. 12^th earthquake. Lin was interviewed by Melissa Waggenspack in an article on the internet where she emphasizes the pressing needs of the Haitian people. Lin goes on to say that “So many people are displaced and are still living in tent cities. The need for housing is so tremendous.” When asked about the health concerns of the Haitian people, Lin responded “Hurricane season began on June 1^st, presenting a new threat to those who are still living in tent cities…there is a great concern over the spread of waterborne disease…that is why, in Haiti, Johnson & Johnson is providing more assistance for housing than we have during previous disaster relief efforts.”

     When I asked Cousin Betty about how she experienced the earthquake and the ensuing aftermath she had this to say “I was at home when the quake hit. Our house shook but did not fall. However because of the anticipation of aftermaths, we were forced to sleep on a football field for 4 to 5 days. Then we returned back to our own yard to sleep in tents. Today, we still sleep in tents just to be on the cautious side but during the day, we stay in the house. Although now, we keep the doors open incase we need to exit the house in case of aftershocks.”

     Regarding American aid to post-quake Haiti cousin Betty said, “American aid helped provide first-aid to those under debris, there were a lot of amputees, there were 2,000 amputees in a two month period.” And regarding donation monies, she said that the people are very frustrated because even though they are getting all this money in earthquake relief aid, as usual there is no account of where the money is going. She also said that “most of the money goes to non-profits like Habitat for Humanity, but actual help is slow in progression.”

      In an article by Maria Sacchetti of the Boston Globe, she writes about how in Petionville, Haiti, a once prosperous suburb of Port-au-Prince, people are sleeping in rat infested tents  with “reeking latrines” and also how basic human needs like food and water is still scarce. She describes a situation when the water ran out: “In scorching heat, a group of angry parents…marched to the winding road above the camp armed with empty containers, a sawed-off garden hose and pans. They busted open an exposed pipe and collected the water that gushed from it.”

      “There is not much help,” Sacchetti writes quoting Benice George, a 50-year-old construction worker, cradling his 1-year-old son. He ended up using the water he collected earlier to cook spaghetti on a campfire, his family’s only meal for the day, “We’re not living like human beings,” Benice said. In terms of the donated monies and what has been done so far in Haiti, she wrote: “Across the Caribbean nation, less than 4 percent of the debris has been cleared since the powerful… earthquake and some 1.6 million people are living in tent camps in the middle of hurricane season, despite 1.8 billion in earthquake aid according to U.S. government and United Nations figures.”

      The current crisis in Haiti is finally catapulting its glaring political maladies into view for the whole world to see. For years not much has been done to intercept the corruption that has plagued the Haitian government and its people. At times, America has either looked the other way, except when intervening has been mostly in their best interest.

 

     “Paul Farmer, founder of Boston-based Partners in Health (PIH) and a deputy special envoy for the United Nations, recently told a congressional panel that less than 3 percent of aid has gone directly to the Haitian government, and urged lawmakers to increase such disbursement,” writes Sacchetti. And when it comes to America’s complex and often problematic relationship with Haiti, Sacchetti writes, “ In the past [Paul Farmer] said, US and other policies have sometimes bypassed Haiti’s leadership, weakening it and contributing in part to the crisis today.”

      Another problem that plagues Haiti’s recovery efforts is that most countries have failed to deliver on Haiti aid pledges as reported by CNN.com. International donors promised $5.3 billion after the earthquake; only four countries have distributed any money at all, less than 2 percent of the money that’s been promised has been delivered, the U.S. pledged more than $1 billion and distributed nothing with the money tied up in the congressional appropriations process.

     Although much haven’t been done in terms of helping earthquake victims meet basic human needs like permanent housing, food and water, there is a glimmer of hope for the children of Haiti is the form of the Life is Good Kids Foundation (LIGKF).

     “The Life is Good Kids Foundation is working with Haitian childcare providers to make sure that nothing destroys the joy, playfulness and optimism of the children,” says head playmaker and chief executive officer Steven Gross. “Sadly, the children of Haiti will need to overcome many opticals and when you face those opticals with optimism, you’re more likely going to be able to figure out creative solutions.” He also spoke of a group of people called “Guerye Jwa” which is Creole for “Joy Worriers.”

     “The Guerye Jwa are going to tent cities in Port-au-Prince and they are playing with the children in a very intentional way and the children come to life when the Guerye Jwa come to town.” When I asked him how LIGKF is funded, he said, “All of the work in Haiti is funded by the Life is Good Kids Foundation through the sales of a special Haiti T-Shirt with the Haitian flag and Life is Good character holding the flag.” You can help by purchasing a T-Shirt on their website at www.lifeisgood.com.

     Haiti is a country that has been victimized for years, however its people refuse to become victims. Haitians have contributed greatly to America and at one time even provided the U.S. monetary assistance during America’s revolutionary war. The Haitian people that live here in America are mostly hard-working, law abiding people. Most of the men and women work as health care paraprofessionals and professionals as Doctors, Nurses and Nurse’s Aids taking care of America’s elderly population and a plethora work as cab drivers getting the people of America from point A to point B. Now, Haiti and its people need help more than ever before. One way you can help is by joining the Annual Urban Walk for Haiti which happens in late March or early April. I happen to be the Official Poet and Publicity Agent for the walk which was intended to raise monies for PIH, a ubiquitous organization spearheaded by Harvard University Professor Dr. Paul Farmer as mentioned earlier, designed to help third world countries like Haiti meet basic human needs but particularly it helps build schools and hospitals in poverty stricken nations like Lima, Peru and Haiti.

     So help keep the spirit of the Haitian people strong. If you’ve always wanted to make a difference in someone’s else’s life than a way to help Haiti is to participate in the upcoming Urban Walk for Haiti in the Spring of 2011.  The adage “Think globally, act locally” seems fitting in this instance. For more information or to make donations visit www.Partnersinhealth.org  and www.walkforhaiti.org.

 

Jacques Fleury is a Poet, Author and Columnist; his book “Sparks in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue, A Poetic Memoir” about life in Haiti & America was featured in the Boston Globe. Sample or buy the book at: www.lulu.com. 20% of proceeds will go to Haiti charity Partners in Health. For personal appearances or comments contact Jacques at: [email protected].

 

 

    

Local Community to Walk for Haiti

The Haitian Firefly Speaks

  

by Jacques Fleury, The Haitian Fire Fly

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said: “Life’s most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” So let’s take a moment to remember the less fortunate and, instead of accumulating more “stuff” that we don’t really need, work to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti who have been deeply affected by the tragic earthquake on January 12. We should take advantage of opportunities to reach out in solidarity to those suffering in developing countries, such as Haiti. You have the perfect opportunity to do so on Saturday, March 27th through the Seventh Annual Urban Walk for Haiti in Cambridge.

 

The event is co-sponsored by the Urban Walk for Haiti Committee and the Cambridge Mayor’s office to support the Boston-based organization, Partners In Health (PIH), which provides education and health care to the people of Haiti.

 

Aside from the short and scenic three-mile walk, perfect for people of all ages, the event includes a Haitian market place and quality Haitian entertainment; this year we will feature an all-female Haitian music ensemble, ZiliMisik, along with Haitian drumming, a Haitian choir, dance, food, a few speakers and poetry from my book Sparks in the Dark. There will also be a speech by a surprise guest from Partners In Health.

The Walk proceeds will be used to fund the construction and maintenance of schools this year in response to the devastating earthquake on January 12.  In the past, the Walk has supplied medicine, improved water and food programs and helped raise the standard of living. In the past six years, the Walk has raised nearly $250,000 dollars.

The Rise and Fall of Haiti

The Rise and Fall of Haiti

By Jacques Fleury: The Haitian Fire Fly

Jacque Fleury is a Poet, Author and Writer. His book “Sparks in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue, A Poetic Memoir” about life in Haiti & America was featured in the Boston Globe. Sample or buy the book at www.lulu.com .20% of proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Haiti charity Partners In Health. For personal appearances or comments, contact Jacques at: [email protected].

 

     “ ‘History is the memory of states’, wrote Henry Kissinger in his book A World Restored in which he proceeded to tell the history of 19^th century Europe from the point of view of the leaders of Austria and England, ignoring the millions who suffered from those state men’s policies.”

     The aforementioned excerpt is from Howard Zinn’s revolutionary book:  A People’s History of the United States. It depicts U.S. history from the point of view of the common man. His method of operation is in direct correlation to what I’m about to do: tell you Haiti’s history from my point of view. History is not necessarily or essentially “the memory of states” as Kissinger puts it. It is the narrative of the people whose lives were impacted, fragmented or altogether destroyed by intransigent politics and capricious foreign policies of dominant powers.

     First and foremost, I want to outline Haiti’s historical chronology; thus giving you a theoretical basis from which you can begin to undergo a more comprehensive understanding of the country’s history and its present state of political and environmental instability.

     In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the island and named it Hispaniola. Taino-Arawak Indians, who referred to their homeland as “Hayti” or “Mountainous Land”, originally inhabited the island.  In 1697 slaves were sent to Haiti. The island was cherished by European powers for its natural resources, including cocoa, cotton and sugar cane. And so the French shipped in thousands of slaves mainly from West Africa to harvest the crops. In 1804 after a slave rebellion led by a man named Boukman in 1791, Haiti became the first black independent state under General Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared himself Emperor.  America feared that the slave rebellion in Haiti would ignite anti-slavery insurgents in the southern U.S. states. Perhaps this is one of the reasons America’s relationship with Haiti is strained to this day.  In 1844, after decades of strife and multiple rulers, the island was split into two nations: Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

     In 1915, U.S. marines occupied Haiti to [supposedly] calm a state of anarchy.  The Americans improved the infrastructure while helping to create the Haitian armed forces. In 1957 a reign of terror began when Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier seizes power. His son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier then just 18 years old, took over in 1971, continuing his father’s legacy of tyranny. In 1986, a rebellion ignited. As protests gathered steam, the U.S. arranged exile in France for Baby Doc and his family. In 1990, after decades of dictatorship, former Roman Catholic Priest Jean-Bernard Aristide, becomes Haiti’s first freely elected leader. In 1991, after a military incursion, Aristide is ousted and is forced to seek exile in the U.S. The coup ignited a mass exodus with more than 40, 000 Haitians rescued by the U.S. coast guard during a twelve-month period. In 1996 Rene Preval becomes president.

     In 2000 Aristide is elected once again. In 2004 political violence plagues the Haitian capital, with accusations of a fraudulent election looming, a few weeks after Haiti celebrates in 200^th anniversary, a rebel movement usurps control and Aristide is forced into exile again. Deadly floods leave 2,000 dead and causing deforestation. In 2006 Preval is elected in the first election since Aristide was overthrown in 2004. In 2008 food prices in Haiti aggrandized as they have elsewhere in the world but the situation on the island was exacerbated since most Haitians only live on $2.00 dollars per day. Also deadly hurricanes left 23, 000 homes destroyed, many dead and 70 percent of the nation’s crops wiped out.  In 2010, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 ambushed Port-au-Prince, collapsing buildings with 100,000 thousand estimated dead. World Vision—an organization that has worked in Haiti for thirty years—makes an expedited trip to the island rushing emergency supplies to the survivors.

     A great man once said, “Life’s most important question is: What are you doing for somebody else?” Dr. Paul Farmer, a Harvard Professor and anthropologist, is an avid supporter of Haiti. He became involved with the country when he went on a school trip as an undergraduate student at Duke. Today, he spearheads the now ubiquitous Boston-based organization Partners In Health (P.I.H), devoted to aiding third world countries like Haiti. Farmer is known for his support of a Preferential Option for the Poor, a central precept of Liberation Theology. His approach to practice in Haiti, Peru and Russia has its basis in ethnographic analysis—the science that studies and compares human cultures—and real world practicality. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Could Cure the World by Tracy Kidder details Farmer’s work in Haiti and abroad. I have been a part of P.I.H. since I was bestowed with the honor of being the Official Poet and Publicity Coordinator for the Annual Urban Walk for Haiti, which raises monies for P.I.H.

      In Haiti, it was common knowledge that one’s own friends could be bribed as spies and government informants. Their jobs were to safeguard the brutal reigning regime by turning in anyone whom they considered subversive. Under the Haitian weather, the wind in the trees often swirled about all the fetid feeling of death and despair. However, contrary to what the American news media has imprinted as fact in the heads of people across the world, Haiti has more dimensions than poor, poorer and poorest.

     There are three classes of people: the bourgeoisie, the middle class and then the poor. I was part of the middle class. Both my parents owned property in Port-au-Prince and my father was a Tailor and mercantile entrepreneur. My mother was a housewife and landlord with a degree in cosmetology and the culinary arts. I attended an exclusive private school near the Haitian palace called Frere Andre (Brother Andre). It was there that I leaned how not to think for myself through blatant memorization of pedantic texts and taking dictations to prepare me for the dictatorship of the ruling class. Today, however, my childhood home is a trumpeting pile of dilapidated earthquake muddy putty. My families are all alive but some are displaced and expectedly traumatized, as am I. But Haiti is more than just doom and gloom.

     I remember staring in stupor the dance of the Caribbean wind over the azure sea, the deep green elegance of the palms, picnic by moonlight and sweet memories of mangoes. Purple butterflies, a visual feast of dancing loveliness, under the flowery spring sun. The joyous sounds of laughter resounding from the young as they run about playing hide and seek during blackouts.  But unfortunately, there also lied in the sea a maelstrom of fear, violence, misery and poverty, which most can barely swim out of, while the orchestrating powers that ensnare them stand by cross armed and snarling. But one day, it is my fervent hope that Haitian children will wake up to shiny silver mornings and hummingbirds singing, promising freedom, serenity and prosperity.

     We lived in a world dominated by the hetero sexist macho male culture. However my mother Marie-Evelyne Toussaint, who bears the same name as Haitian rebel fighter Toussaint L’ouverture, was and still is iconoclastic in that she dared to be a leader for her family when most women were subjected to being simply subservient to the men. Since we were considered middle class, she became caught up in the gaudy accoutrements of upward mobility, so when the Haitian economy began to plunge, threatening our lifestyle, we all came to America.  She related to me that under the Duvalier dictatorship, tourism in Haiti flourished from the 1950’s all the way up to 1986, practically ending with the Baby Doc mutiny. Foreign groups like Arabs, Lebanese, and even Chinese exiled from their respective countries lived and built businesses in Haiti. Also Haiti’s number one tourist attraction, La Citadelle Laferriere, built on mountains overlooking Port-au-Prince 17 miles south of the city of Cap Haitien by Henry Christopher—a general in the Haitian army—has walls 130 feet high is the largest fortress in the Americas and was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a world history site in 1982. It was built to keep the newly independent nation from French incursions, which never materialized.

     Haitians in American are for the most part hard working honest and joyous intelligent people. Most of the women work as Certified Nursing Assistants in Nursing Home facilities, caring for America’s elderly population and a plethora of men work as cab drivers. Large majorities also attend college to become doctors, lawyers, engineers and nurses. Both the men and women pursue the American Dream by buying cars and houses, sometimes working two to three jobs. I too am living my version of the American dream by graduating from college with honors (Phi Beta Kappa) and publishing my first autobiography of prose and poetry aptly titled Sparks in the Dark, which was featured in the Boston Globe. Yet still, there seems to be an undercurrent of fear and hatred towards the Haitian population here in the States. Maybe its because the conscientious and resultant collaboration of the “Have Nots” that often instigate the principal fears and resistance of the “Haves”, since the rich want to remain rich and in control. Robert Lawless, quoted in Farmer’s book The Uses of Haiti, asserts “Haitians are the immigrants Americans love to fear and hate.” But why, I ask of you?  Which leads me to ponder, is hate and prejudice ever truly justified?

     “Why should we care about Haiti?” writes politico and M.I.T professor Noam Chomsky in the introduction to Farmer’s book The Uses of Haiti. “…we are the richest and most powerful country in the world, while Haiti is at the opposite extreme of human existence: miserable, horrifying, black, ugly. We may pity Haitians and other backwards people who have, unaccountably, failed to achieve our nobility and wealth, and we may even try to lend a hand, out of humanitarian impulse. But responsibility stops there.” I once heard the adage “If your neighbors bed is on fire, wet yours.” As we know tragedy affects all of us, having experienced hurricane Katrina, and 9/11. In relation to American occupation of Haiti, Chomsky goes on to say,  “In a situation of domination and occupation, the occupier… has to justify what it’s doing. There is only once way to do it—become a racist. You have to blame the victim. Once you’ve become a raving racist in self defense, you’ve lost your capacity to understand what’s [really] happening.” In other words, it’s like putting someone’s eyes out and then accusing them of being blind. America’s exploitation of Haiti, it’s support of the Duvaliers and the military for the repression of the Haitian people and expedient U.S. foreign policies and an ongoing debate about Haitian asylum seekers, are all impediments to the progression of the Haitian nation. It seems like light skinned immigrants like Cubans and Mexicans get asylum, why not Haitians?

     Like Martin Luther King Jr., I too have a dream that one day Haiti will rise again and re-claim its former beauty, it’s glory days of rampant tourism and finally stand on sturdy economic and political grounds. I urge you to make this dream of a better Haiti a reality by contacting your local red cross, Partners In Health or visit the website: www.walkforhaiti.org .

Jacque Fleury is a Poet, Author and Writer. His book “Sparks in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue, A Poetic Memoir” about life in Haiti & America was featured in the Boston Globe. Sample or buy the book at www.lulu.com .20% of proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Haiti charity Partners In Health. For personal appearances or comments, contact Jacques at: [email protected].

 

 

Elements of Good Fiction: "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

The Spiritual Life:

A Column by Jacques Fleury:

The Haitian Firefly

Elements of Good Fiction: “Their Eyes Were Watching God”

“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they

come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. Now, women forget all the things they don’t want to remember and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly.”

So begins Zora Neal Hurston’s epic story about an emotional and spiritual journey of self-discovery. Through my incessant study of literature and the craft of writing, I have learned that what grabs a reader right from the onset of a story is by having a fully formed voice and vision that prepares us to go along for the ride; that we will be transported elsewhere to another reality.

In honor of Black History Month, the historical inauguration of America’s first Black President and Valentine’s Day, I’ve decided to offer a dichotomous exploration of variant thematic ideologies of love and Black literary contributions to American culture and “Their Eyes Were Watching God” allows me to do just that.

“A graduate of Barnard…, Zora Neal Hurston published seven books—four novels, two books of folklore, and an autobiography—more than fifty shorter works between the middle of the Harlem Renaissance and the end of the Korean War, when she was the dominant Black woman writer in the United States. The dark obscurity in which her career than lapsed reflects her staunchly independent political stances rather than any deficiency of craft and vision,” writes Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in the afterward to Their Eyes.

Hurston, whose life spanned between the year 1891 and 1960, was a novelist, folklorist and anthropologist. Her fictional and factual writings of Black Heritage remain second to none. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” is Hurston’s most highly praised novel and is considered a classic among the best of Black literature.

The Abyss: A Garden of Eden in Cambridge

  The Spiritual Life: A Column By Jacques Fleury: The Haitian Firefly

Once upon a sunny day, I was strolling along my merry way… With autumn colors lighting up my path, the gentle breeze breathing kisses into my ears as I strolled along smiling through my fears. And then I came upon this gate, adorned with words encouraging me to accept my fate, giving me something to celebrate. It said “Your secret is that this powerless overwhelmed feeling is just a dream…Today is the day you awake… When you cross into the Abyss, with no path in sight, fearing one small change in your life may exhaust you entirely. When you believe and dare to proceed, your feet will find ground, new strength, more change and calm shores on the other side.” And so I entered and then my journey began.

The following interview is with Johnny Monsarraton, the creator and founder of this awesome place he refers to as “a little shrine that’s looks a little like a Tibetan prayer wheel. It’s all at 123 Elm Street, Somerville MA, near the Porter Square subway stop.”

The Alewife: Tell me a bit more about who you are and what you do and how you do it. Elaborate on your life journey of self-discovery.

Johnny: I grew up in Massachusetts and was raised to believe in Big Projects. So in school I was always running student clubs – even playing the college mascot, the MIT Beaver -- and followed that up by starting a videogames company, Turbine, that’s now the largest in New England. Along the way I learned a lot about life through my own problems. Most people follow their heart in love and their gut instinct for everything else. But I know my heart has led me astray and the head is much better at complex problems. So I recommend using your head, make a list, make a plan, work it out and don’t give in to wishful thinking like “Maybe if I do nothing, it will get better”.

TA: Why, when and how did you create and construct the concept for The Abyss? And where did you get the quote by the entrance?

Johnny: When I decided to turn my garden into a Big Project, I thought why not make it interactive? Why not include some of my life philosophy? I wrote the opening quote to inspire people to take action. The biggest obstacle to happiness is our fear of the future and this causes us to procrastinate on making the changes in our life we so desperately want. Basically, it’s a garden. People enter and leave a card with a question in a submission box. I write an answer on the back of the card, and all the cards get posted in the garden in a little shrine that’s looks a little like a Tibetan prayer wheel. It’s all at 123 Elm Street, Somerville MA, near the Porter Square subway stop.

Dare to Dream: From Factory worker to Best Selling Author

The Spiritual Life:

A Column by Jacques Fleury: The Haitian Firefly

An Interview with Pulitzer Prize Finalist Poet, Author, Playwright:

Afaa Michael Weaver

The Alewife: Tell me about your background,,where you grew up, where you schooled and how your environment helped shape your present identity?

Afaa: I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, grew up there, and lived there until I was thirty-three years old.  When I was in the first grade, my parents bought a row house in East Baltimore, and I lived on that side of town until I left.  Historically, the West Side was the home of the older and more middle class black families.  There is a kind of rivalry.  East Baltimore was the home of newer southerners from Virginia and the Carolinas.  I am used to a mixture of urban and rural, and when you ask about environment, I tend to think of physical setting, as in urban design.  So I would say that I live in Somerville because it is closer to an urban/rural feel in life.  Now as to my identity, I would not identify myself as a Somerville resident.  Identity is shaped by many things, as I see it, most principally the experience of the “I” or ego as we travel in life.  So I would have to move into the realm of my environment as the fuller range of experience in my life.  I worked in factories in Baltimore as a semi-skilled laborer for fifteen years.  I am male. I write poetry.  I am the descendant of Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans.  I am heterosexual.  I do Taijiquan.  I speak, read, and write Chinese on an intermediate level and am always studying.  I have traveled behind the Iron Curtain.  I am a Bagel Bard.  Making the connections between those things and a little black boy in East Baltimore is something I leave you to ponder.

TA:  How were you affected by issues of Race and Class growing up and how did that hinder or alter your future, positive or negative?

Afaa: The Baltimore of my childhood was the segregated South.  I had no intimate contact with white people until I was shipped out to a white junior high school in 1963 as part of Civil Rights and integration.  It was a trauma I am only now beginning to name and have yet to fully gauge.  Children like me were little soldiers in the Civil Rights movement.  Some of us have done well but at significant cost to our health.  We were marched out into a space that was new to everyone.  My parents never finished high school, and my dad’s family were sharecroppers, which was the culture that replaced slavery.  They wanted the best for us, and I was the oldest child.  I had to get out there and kill this lion that was living in the midst of America’s social reality.  Instead of killing it, I have had to convince it that it is really a big kitty kat. 

A Light In the Woods: My Spiritual Journey

The Spiritual Life:

A Column by Jacques Fleury: The Haitian Firefly

[Jacques Fleury is a writer and author living in Cambridge, MA. For comments or story ideas, contact him at: [email protected].]

“There is pleasure in the pathless woods/There is rapture on the lonely shore/There is society where none intrudes/By the deep sea and music in its roar/I love not man the less/ But Nature more…” muses the philosopher Lord Byron about the importance of connecting with our natural world and I couldn’t agree more. Bonjour everyone! I’m baaack…

I left on a quest for self-discovery, to find meaning in what I previously thought was meaningless. I did this because I felt that I had reached a spiritual impasse and was therefore unable to continue to offer you my humble wisdom. Well, after taking profound internal stock of myself and my life thus far while vacationing both emotionally and physically, I have returned to you with new insights that I think you will most likely find both engaging and thought provoking. I took two vacations, one on the cape in Hyannis and the other in Meredith New Hampshire while participating in a spiritual retreat at the Geneva Point Center.

Taking Care of Yourself: Mind, Body, Spirit, Part III

The Spiritual Life:

A Column by Jacques Fleury: The Haitian Firefly

     In my previous articles, I addressed the issues of taking care of our bodies and our minds. For the body, my suggestions were learning to respect and love our bodies as it is right now before we can expect it to corporate with any significant changes we’d like to make to it, particularly when it comes to loosing weight. For the mind, I expressed my acute awareness about how technology is obliterating other pre-technological methods of ways to entertain and educate our selves, like reading, writing, attending live events and, dare I say it, talking to one another face to face and technology free. Now, I want to talk about taking care of our spirits.

     Spirituality can mean many things to many people. However, one must not confuse spirituality with religion. Religion usually means belonging to a church and practicing certain religious rituals usually on a regular basis. It also means belonging to a certain religious denomination like Catholic, Muslim or Jewish. Spirituality on the other hand tends to lean more on the liberal side. An atheist or agnostic can both be “spiritual.”

     Spirituality to me equates with doing what makes you come alive! What makes you get up in the morning. The reasons you do the things you do. Connecting to some greater energy both in and outside of your self. For example, I love, love to dance. And I love, love, love to write. When I do either of these things, every fiber of my being comes alive. I often feel possessed by a gigantic force, energy fields beyond my imagination and understanding. An energy that inspires me to do what makes me come alive and hopefully motivate others to do the same by living my life as an example. But spirituality to me means more than my love of dancing and writing.

     Spirituality to me means spreading the light, either by being the candle or the mirror that reflects it, as said by philosopher Edith Wharton. Spirituality to me means learning who you are through personal reflection, paying meticulous attention to your internal voice telling you what it needs to be healthy, spirituality is learning to love and respect yourself for who you are and not for whom you wish you were, it’s learning to make friends with your imperfections and eccentricities, spirituality is not allowing someone else to define you as a human being but being confident enough to stand up for yourself and what you believe in. You may have heard of this omnipotent saying “If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything." Spirituality is thinking outside of yourself to reach out to others in need even when you are experiencing life’s atrocities yourself, it is about being observant and aware of your surroundings, being in and enjoying the moment, its about taking risks and overcoming the fear and anxiety that keep you from enjoying life to the fullest, it’s about graduating from merely thinking about doing something you’ve always wanted to do, to actually doing it, spirituality is about living your life with no worries or regret, it’s about believing that you are not alone in this world, believing in a higher power, believing in anything other than just yourself.

     For example, I once thought that I was alone in this world; that everything and anything fell on my shoulders and only I had the ability to make something happen. I tell you those were not the most affable years of my life, they were the most difficult. It was only when I turned my life over to God that I began to live life with less and less fear, anxiety and worry about my present and future.

     My life as it is right now, is the most spiritual its ever been. I am just beginning to learn to be comfortable in my own skin, loving and respecting my self just as I am while still knowing that until the time of my death, there will always be room for improvement. I am finally doing what I’ve always wanted to do with my life which was to be a professional writer. I am about to incorporate another aspect of my life that has been neglected which is to travel and read more. My heightened spirituality had taught me that the only way I can attract someone in my life that would give me love and respect is after I’ve learned to give it to myself. I’ve learned that in every relationship, never to give more than you are getting. I have learned that once you aspire to be as healthy as possible, mind, body and spirit; only then will you attract someone with similar traits into your life.

     I once quoted Oprah Winfrey on the subject of self care, she said “Take care of yourself, and there is more of you to give.” My new found spirituality has also taught me to go with the flow, as cliché as it may sound. I have always quoted the Pulitzer prize winning author Toni Morrison (Beloved, The Bluest Eye) as saying “If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it.” So ride the winds of life as far and as high as you can go, your spirit with thank you for it.

Jacques Fleury is an author and freelance writer living in Cambridge. His book "Sparks in the Dark" is availlable through The Minuteman Library Network in Massachusetts and at WarblerBooks.com. Contact him at: [email protected]!

Taking care of yourself: Mind, body, spirit Part II

The Spiritual Life: A Column by Jacques Fleury, The Haitian Firefly

[Jacques Fleury is a local writer and author living in Cambridge. For story ideas or comments, contact him at: [email protected]!]

In my previous article, I talked about New Year resolutions and how that they are sometimes unrealistic. The particular resolution I addressed was taking better care of our bodies by learning to accept our bodies in its present condition before we can aspire to make it better. I know that in America the phrase “I am trying to loose weight” is quite literally an American mantra. However, our bodies are just one of the sums of our parts. It is imperative that we also focus on the other components like our mind. In an age when we are drowning in neo-technological novelties like the cell phone, the ipod and the internet, we often find ourselves completely distracted and overwhelmed by things supposedly designed to make our lives easier. However, we often find that these supposed “must haves” tend to complicate matters, not simplify them. One of the other intrusive and persistent distractions our mind must also contend with is mind-numbing reality TV. Now I won’t be a hypocrite and tell you that I have miraculously prevailed over these things and have been able to nurture my mind with more productive and intellectually interactive pursuits like reading and writing. I too struggle with the age of over abundance of technology and reality TV. I too have found myself watching way too many episodes of “American Idol” or “America’s Next Top Model.” So I know first hand of which I speak, as usual.

Taking Care of Yourself: New Year Resolution Blues

The Spiritual Life: A Column by Jacques Fleury: The Haitian Firefly

New Year resolution blues

Well folks, the holiday dramatics are over and a new year has landed upon us like a proud and hopeful eagle, as we begin to make promises to ourselves for the rest of the year.

However, I know that I have made promises to myself that I was unable to keep and I’m almost certain that you too will succumb to a similar fate. But I am not here to tell you that your New Year resolutions are doomed to failure, I just want you to be realistic about them.

Let’s start with the most ubiquitous New Year resolution of all: to loose weight. Most of you probably have this at the top of your list. I know I do.

Jacques Fleury

For those of us who are over weight, reaching this goal means more than words can say. I mean, who wouldn’t like to get rid of those love handles that we find not so “lovable” anymore because they are waging a war against our waist lines and yes our love lives as well.

Our fat is getting in the way of us feeling good about our bodies and ourselves as individuals. Our fat are eroding our self confidence and staining our auras, thus making it very hard to attract the right person in our lives when it comes to our romantic pursuits.

So what are we doing wrong when it comes to achieving this seemingly realistic goal to loose weight? The answer is that we are often not realistic about the way we go about reaching this goal.

The Haitian Firefly

Jacques Fleury writes:

Allo et Bonjour All. Its mr.fly fabulous! The REAL me this time. I got my email back with yahoo's help! THey helped change my password so that i could access my email. i was the victim of a scam! and so were most of my freinds and business associates.

i am ok and still in cambridge, mass living a fabulous life among artists. i would never put such a financial strain on my friends and coleagues. but merci for your persistent support and prayers. i got so many concerned calls and one of my friends from hungary actually sent the scammers $2000 bucks american money on my behalf!

I'm hoping he was the only one! I felt angry at myself for being so naive thus making me an easy target. My biggest fault is having too much faith in the good side of humanity. so i feel really blessed to see how many people were concerned about me during this identity theft. Thank you all so much for hanging in there with me.

So Beware of this scam artists. THe way they got me was pretending to be yahoo personnel asking for my yahoo id and password to "update" my membership! One of my friends already contacted me because she received the same email. The way i got through this was imploying prayer, even for the scammers, that they should feel the need to comit this crime against humanity. So BeWArE! and merci beaucoups to all for your loving support!

peace and love saved this most unfabulous moment in my life,

mr. fly fabulous still standing and humble before God.

[This is the scam e-mail that went out. Many of Jacques friends were fooled, but we know how many books he is selling, so when we got it we knew it had to be a hoax.--Editor.]

How are you? hope every thing is ok ? Just wanted to seek your help on something very important, you are the only person i could reach at this point, and i hope you going to come to my aid. because something very terrible is happening to me now,i need a favour from you now,I had a trip to the United Kingdom on some works.

Unfortunately for me all my money got stolen at the hotel where i lodged along with all my belongings also with my passport ,and since then i have been without any money i am even oweing the hotel here thats why my telephone service is dissconnected so i have only access to emails for now because my mobile can't work here, so i didnt get it along, please i need you to lend me about $1,850 Dollars so i can make arrangements and return back please,i have spoken to the embassy here but they are not responding to the matter effectively, I would return the money back to you as soon as i get home, I am so confused right now.

I have made enquiries and was able to find out that you can have money sent to me through a service called Western Union Money Transfer. Please i will be waiting to hear from you as soon as possible. And please scan and attach the copy of the Western Union Money transfer to me or you can put it in writing by sending me all the informations you used in making the payment via western union to able me collect the money down here.

Thank You..
Mr jacques fleury

A column by Jacques Fleury: The Haitian Firefly

Dare to dream: From factory worker to best-selling author

Afaa Michael Weaver

Poet, playwright Afaa Michael Weaver is a marvelous wonder. His presence commands respect and dignity, and he exudes grace and serenity as he writes his way into history, detailing his remarkable journey out of poverty. I met him when he rolled into the Out of the Blue Art Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts like a docile cyclone to feature his poetry at the Open Bark series that host performance artists every Saturday at 8pm. His down to earth approach was an instant winner with the audience. His voice boomed around the room like rolling thunder and caressed the ears like the fingers of warm honey, such sweet melody.  Having grown –up in Baltimore, poetry from one of his best selling books “Talisman” (i.e. “The Bra”) is infused with deceptively simple verses and are at times both poignant and funny as he tells his story from the point of view of a young vulnerable black boy becoming a successful Black man in the midst of racial disharmony that to this day, continues to divide this country. He has authored and edited numerous books and has received countless honors and was considered for the Pulitzer Prize, which is the highest honor to bestow upon an author. He is currently a Professor at Simmons College and gives readings in and outside of the U.S. He is a towering talent with a FABULOUS life philosophy and after months of trying, I was finally able to get his attention long enough to conduct the following interview. 

The Alewife: Tell me about your background, where you grew up, where you schooled and how your environment helped shape your present identity?

Afaa: I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, grew up there, and lived there until I was thirty-three years old.  My parents bought a row house in East Baltimore, and I lived on that side of town until I left.  Historically, the West Side was the home of the older and more middle class black families.  There is a kind of rivalry.  East Baltimore was the home of newer southerners from Virginia and the Carolinas.  I am used to a mixture of urban and rural. So I would say that I live in Somerville because it is closer to an urban/rural feel in life.  Now as to my identity, I would not identify myself as a Somerville resident.  Identity is shaped by many things, as I see it, most principally the experience of the “I” or ego as we travel in life.  So I would have to move into the realm of my environment as the fuller range of experience in my life.  I worked in factories in Baltimore as a laborer for fifteen years.  I am the descendant of Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans.  I do Taijiquan (Cosmos Kungfu).  I speak, read, and write Chinese on an intermediate level and am always studying.  I have traveled behind the Iron Curtain.  I am a Bagel Bard (a gathering of poets who meet in the Cambridge/Somerville area).  Making the connections between those things and a little black boy in East Baltimore is something I leave you to ponder.

TA: how did issues of Race and Class growing up affect you? 

Afaa: The Baltimore of my childhood was the segregated South.  I had no intimate contact with white people until I was shipped out to a white junior high school in 1963 as part of Civil Rights and integration.  It was a trauma I am only now beginning to name and have yet to fully gauge.  Children like me were little soldiers in the Civil Rights movement.  Some of us have done well but at significant cost to our health.  We were marched out into a space that was new to everyone.  My parents never finished high school, and my dad’s family was sharecroppers, which was the culture that replaced slavery.  They wanted the best for us, and I was the oldest child.  I had to get out there and kill this lion that was living in the midst of America’s social reality.  Instead of killing it, I have had to convince it that it is really a big kitty cat.

TA: Who are your influences?  

Afaa: My first anthology was The Poetry of the Negro, edited by Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps, and so those poets, many of them from the Harlem Renaissance were among my early models.  I was very fascinated with T.S. Eliot, especially “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”  His melodic way with language impressed and moved me.  I met Lucille Clifton in 1978, and she encouraged me in a big way.  She told me to buy X.J. Kennedy’s An Introduction to Poetry.  That was when it was in its 2nd edition.  I still use that book for teaching.  John Ciardi’s How Does a Poem Mean is another book I bought and studied at Lucille’s recommendation.

TA:  I heard that you are a Pulitzer Prize nominee? Is that true? And for what piece of writing were you nominated and when were you nominated?

Afaa: Several of my books were nominated for the Pulitzer. Tons of books are nominated each year.  The significant news is that Timber and Prayer, my fifth book, was seriously considered for the 1996 Pulitzer Prize.   There were less than a handful of books on the table in the final round, and Timber and Prayer was one of them. 

TA: Is there anything else you wish to address?

Afaa: Address?  Well, I would like to tell some of these fame hungry poets that the literary life is not about counting points and running around the country and the world giving readings and having name recognition.  That’s a somewhat vulgar way of approaching the literary life.  Take time to live and explore your life in deep ways, integrate your art with your life and stop looking at things the way traders do on Wall Street at the end of the day. My wish in life is to realize life as a drop in the ocean, to come to understand and realize life so I can experience it with the rest of humanity in the harmonic of the way an ocean is, calm at time, cresting to waves and tsunamis at other times, warming itself under the sun or cooling under the moon, tickling the life of all that is and beyond it, living on the earth like a slap or a warm caress…all in love. Thank you so much for this opportunity! 

For more information, please visit Afaa’s blog at: http://eastbaltimoremuse.blogspot.com/

Out of the Blue to host Firefly launch

by Neil W. McCabe

 Out of the Blue Gallery hosts a Book and CD release party June 16 for "Sparks in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue,' Jacques Fleury's second collection of poetry and its companion CD of Haitian folks songs.

Fleury, known as "The Haitian Firefly," hosts the CCTV program "Dreamweavers" and is a regular contributor to Spare Change and The Alewife.

The party runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will have food, fun and a who's who of the local poetry community coming together to support Fleury's lastest triumph.

The gallery is located at 106 Prospect St. across from the Whole Foods supermarket. For more information call (617) 354-5287. There is a $5 door charge.

Poetry Tyrant reviews The Haitian Firefly's collection

A review by Doug Holder, the founding publisher of The Ibettson Street Press

Sparks in the Dark: Lighter Shade Of Blue.  A Poetic Memoir. Jacques Fleury. “The Haitian Firefly” $12.   Contact: [email protected]

Jacques Fleury writes that he was born with a humongous head. He reflects: “When my mom was birthing me, I was told that she ran out of the hospital just as I was coming out of the darkness of her womb, valiantly striving to reach the light. So just as I was coming out she made a giant leap for ‘pain kind’ out of bed and bolted out of the door and caught a cab home.”

Jacques Fleury

To this day Fleury has a dramatic head both physically and metaphorically. He often adorns it with large hats and outrageous sunglasses that he wears in the dead-of-night. He is an exotic even in Cambridge’s teeming and diverse Central Square. And so is his writing. His poetry is not sedate and understated, but much like a lush, colorful, exotic plume; at times gaudy and blinding, and for the most part joyful in spite of the pain he has suffered in his 30- something years.

Fleury was born in Haiti and is a working journalist, poet, columnist, and community TV host. His first full poetry collection: “Sparks in the Dark…” is large, ambitious, and covers a lot of ground.

It’s hard being a Blackman, much less a Haitian Blackman in a white society. Fleury rages against this inequity in his poem: “Unrequited Rage:”

“How dare you judge me/ my color does not define me/ you should be appalled for Dissing me! / unleash your dirty heart/ you will find me!... / I am only a mere man pregnant with error/ a walking Disaster!!!/ So use me like a mirror, / if you want to see the reflection of your Brother!!!/

And Fleury knows that the “womb makes the man,” and he urges mothers to treat their children well, or else it’s a short passage to a worldly hell, in his poem:

“Women! Women From Your Wombs!”

“Women! Women from your wombs/ you gonna yell to break the spell/ women! Women from your wombs/ you too one day/ face drooping dripping down in the dumps/ with creases like beaten down leather/ established breasts hardened, eager and perky/ like the buds of spring./ swollen like balloons since in your mouth men/ blow bubbles…/ since from your wombs babies are born/ bearing your sins/ and looked down as / fools for sucking in anger/and resentment seeping from/ your congested chests/ have come into this world/ entangled in your mess.”

Fleury’s work is provocative and evocative, but at times it needs pruning, because it grows like wild jungle vegetation. Of course that might be the point.

Doug Holder

The Haitian Firefly by Jacques Fleury

A walk for Haiti’s poorest

We must take advantage of opportunities to land a hand to help pull Third World countries like Haiti out of misery and such opportunity has arrived in the form of The Fourth Annual Urban Walk for Haiti!

Haiti is not too unfamiliar with being in the spotlight.  And it’s usually for something scandalous that is often infused with an undercurrent of negativity. 

Jacques Fleury

With its political travails and social and economic unrest, the American news media just can’t seem to get enough of Haiti’s calamities.  You must have heard the popular adage “No news is good news.”  Well it does not have to be true today, because, for a change, there’s good news about Haiti and Dr. Paul Farmer.

"Dr. Farmer is known for his support of a Preferential Option for the Poor, a central Tenet of Liberation Theology,” said Karen Fritsche, the publicity coordinator for the walk.

“His approach to practice in Haiti, Peru and Russia has its basis in ethnographic analysis and real world practicality.  Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Could Cure the World by Tracy Kidder details Farmer’s work in Haiti and abroad," she said.

The ubiquitous Dr. Paul Farmer is an avid supporter of Haiti and he wears many hats.  He is a Harvard University professor, a practicing physician, author and founder of Partners in Health.

PIH is a Boston based organization that supports in part Dr. Farmer’s hospital in Haiti, which is free to all patients.

Come celebrate the music, dance lessons, poetic and musical performances, and crafts at the pre-walk party at St. Paul’s Parish here in Cambridge. 

Come and familiarize yourself with an unfamiliar country. The walk March 31 at 29 Mt. Auburn St. and registration is between 12 p.m. and 12:30 p.m.

It’s a three-mile walk along the scenic Charles River. I am a walker and looking for sponsors, just write “sponsoring Jacques Fleury” when writing your checks from $5 dollars and up to: Partners In Health, 641 Huntington Ave. 1st Floor, Boston, MA. 02115.

For more information on becoming a walker or a sponsor, please call (617) 432-5256 or visit: urbanwalkforhaiti.org.

Karen Fritsche, a retired French teacher from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, told me how the walk for Haiti begun involving one of her former students. 

The Haitian Firefly

The Somerville News Writers Festival Returns to JimmyTingle's

by Jacques Fleury

The literary world is alive and well indeed. Sunday fourth annual Somerville News Writer’s Festival hosted by Jimmy Tingle and sponsored by The Somerville News, Grub Street Writers and Porter Square Books will revisit Tingle's to wow us with the best of the best in the world of poetry and prose.  The event has also been held at the ubiquitous Somerville Theatre in the past.

Timothy Gager and Doug Holder co-founded the festival and have been coordinating the festival since it’s inception back in 2003.

Jacques Fleury, the Haitian Firefly

Gager said, "I hoped that this event would encourage more people to do larger events like this. I’m optimistic that it will be influential to other series.”

The festival has attracted a plethora of distinguished writers such as Pulitzer Prize winners Robert Olen Butler and Franz Wright last year.  And this year the feature is Nick Flynn among 11 other writers.  Flynn will read from his book “Another [expletive] Night in Suck City.”  A critically acclaimed memoir that is being adapted for the big screen by writer-director Paul Weitz, whose previous credits include “About a Boy”, “American Pie,” and “In Good Company.”

The other writers reading in this event are as follows. First for the fiction category are: Steve Almond, Michael McGlone, Christoper Castellani, Lisa Carver and Timothy Gager.

For the poetry category: Hugh Fox, David Levitt, Marc Wildershien, Marc Goldfinger, Joana Nealon, and Doug Holder.

The featured musical performer will be Meg Hutchinson, who won many Boston awards for her debut album “Against the Grey.”

“I have worked or read with many of them in the past,” Gager said.

Heinrich brings his energy 'Out of the Blue' Gallery

by Jacques Fleury: The Haitian Firefly

Photographer-at-large Jon Heinrich is brave enough to expose his heart to us through his artistry.  His “Sky Energy to Earth Collection” currently hangs,  amongst other colorful gems, at the Out of the Blue Gallery, a venue known to bring affordable art from around the world and into the hands of the local community.

The exhibit is scheduled to run through Sept. 10, but his work will still be available continually at the gallery.

Heinrich is an amazing artist of the highest magnitude.  His photography often resembles paintings.  The photographs he takes of nature and earth dwellers are captivating!  They show beauty in it’s most simplest form, but if you look closer, you will see the intricate complexities of the heart’s eyes.

Jon Heinrich

His photographs dress up our eyes with earthly elegance; from mountains to fountains, from animals to modern marvels. 

For example a piece he calls “white mountain rainbow”, which he photographed in Hawaii, depicts a rainbow penetrating a concentrated puff of clouds with blue sky hovering just above it all thus reaching a crescendo of spectacular proportions!  Heinrich inspires us to want to preserve what beauty we have left. 

Since the planet seems to be in a slow erosion process.  His art transcends the bleak and the ordinary to reveal something we all live for: HOPE!  With his artistry, Heinrich takes us on a journey of self discovery. 

Since in art, we often see ourselves and our own yearnings for unmitigated beauty, our own yearnings for something more.  Heinrich gives us that something more.

The Haitian Firefly

Television Star Rex Trailer Lowers his “Boom” in Boston!

By Jacques Fleury: The Haitian Firefly

Boston’s beloved cowboy and pioneer of children’s television Rex Trailer has re-emerged with the poise and grace of television royalty to take us back to a time of sheer innocence and crystallized beauty.

Jacques Fleury

He was in town to screen “Rex Trailer’s Boomtown,” a documentary made about him and to celebrate the 50th anniversary reunion tour since his show debuted in 1956.

The ubiquitous Rex Trailer is no stranger to many in this town. He once starred in a children’s show called “Rex Trailer’s Boomtown” which premiered on WBZ-TV Channel 4 on April 28, 1956.

A pletho ra of people grew up watching his show including famous Television personalities the caliber of Jay Leno of “The Tonight Show,” Tom Bergeron of “America’s Funniest Videos”, and even popular Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino!

The event took place at Davis Square's Jimmy Tingle’s OFF BROADWAY Theater July 19 with host and comedian Jimmy Tingle, who coincidentally appeared on “Boomtown” as a boy.

Rex Trailer Alewife Photo by Jon Heinrich

The reunion was intended to re-unite Mr. Trailer with his fans, provide opportunities to take pictures and purchase memorabilia with a Texas Bar-B-Q compliments of “Redbones.

Other “Boomtown” cast members like Bill O’Brien, “Sergeant Billy”, Lou Ciarfella, “Chief Black Eagle”, and Sam Donato, “Uncle Sam” were present.

Michael Bavaro, a childhood fan of Mr. Trailer’s, is the director of the documentary film about the television icon which aired as a broadcast special on CBS-4 Boston on June 18.

“I knew if I interviewed enough fans, I could complete the story of ‘Boomtown’ with still photos and all the salvaged footage I could find” said Bavaro.

“As word got out about the project, more and more people wanted to be involved and more footage began to surface. This movie has allowed me to relive a time in my life that wasn’t available at the video store,” he said.

A column by the Haitian Firefly

Local Community to Walk for Haiti

Haiti is not too unfamiliar with being in the spotlight.  And it’s usually for something scandalous that is often infused with an undercurrent of negativity.  With its political travails and social and economic unrest, the American news media just can’t seem to get enough of Haiti’s calamities.  You must have heard the popular adage “No news is good news.” 

Well it does not have to be true today, because, for a change, there’s good news about Haiti!

Most people have either heard of or know the world-renowned Dr. Paul Farmer personally.  But to those of you who don’t know this miraculous and inspirational soul, you are in for a treat!

The ubiquitous Dr. Farmer wears many hats.

Haitian Firefly: We need Black History Month

by Jacques Fleury

IN THE MIDST OF NATURAL DISASTERS like hurricane Katrina, the recent tsunami and devastating mudslides, the world seem to be navigating pandemonium!  People, at first glance, appear to come together to offer succor to one another during these times of crisis.  Subsequently breaking apart once the disaster is perceived to be over.

This ideology is loosely related to a day or a month (Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month) dedicated to honor and celebrate the richness of our history, where people appear to come together for a brief moment of celebration and fellowship only to retreat and return to their respective places in society once the day or the month is over.  And this needs to stop!!!

In this attention deficit disordered world, we need to try to focus our awareness on respecting each other by continually commemorating one another’s long legacies and continuous contributions to modern society.

We need to understand that Black History Month is not just about Black history.  It is about American History within the context of African-American contributions to the U.S. population.

The Haitian Firefly: Fund human needs not war

A column by Haitian poet Jacques Fleury

As both a consumer and current student of Human Services, I was searching for answers to the “human needs” funding crisis.   I inadvertently stumbled onto a flyer calling for ending the Iraqi war and to instead fund programs that will essentially enhance human lives by fulfilling the U.S. population’s human needs. 

It raises the question that: “How many more billions will be looted from vital social needs such as jobs…healthcare…and social security?”

What is Human Services?  It is a collaborative interaction between human service providers and human service consumers, for the purpose of helping individuals and families live productive lives, by responding to their immediate human needs. 

In responding to human needs, society has constructed six different kinds of action plans: mutual-aid, charity-philanthropy, public welfare, social insurance, social services, and universal provisions.

The English Poor laws of 1601 was considered “the first milestone” and served as the foundation of the social welfare system.  It helped paved the way for the Social Security Act of 1935, whose ideology helped to impact social welfare in present day society. 

Phillippe Pinel and Dorothea Dix were both pioneers in advocating against the brutal treatment and for the moral treatment of the mentally ill—which included using kindness but firmness and a pleasant therapeutic atmosphere to encourage relative recovery from mental illness. 

Hurricane Katrina is a perfect example of how ill equipped the U.S. government is to the human needs crisis, particularly to under-funded social insurance programs like Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and social welfare programs like Social Security Income (SSI). 

My hope in writing this article is to raise awareness, educate and empower human service consumers with my own personal reflection and insight on the mental health system in America.

Have you ever felt judged because of a real or perceived disability?  Have your community caused you to feel ashamed, anxious or depressed because you are collecting social security? 

If so, you are not alone.