BOLDLY SPEAKING
Now, about this "incarnation of James Baldwin" business... Although I am at the same time honored and intrigued by the thought, it is virtually impossible for me to be his physical incarnation. I'll let you in on a secret: I was born way before Mr. Baldwin passed away (December 1987). On the other hand, 1988 was the year when I started "taking my poetry seriously," so if there is such a thing as poetic incarnation, I'll take Wayman's insinuations anytime! Besides, the incarnation theory would be a neat response to the question I get all the time: "How did you ever come to an idea to write that poem 'if I were a Black Man, would you take my pain seriously then?"
By the way, for all you uncool cats who don't know who James Baldwin is, check the libraries and the Internet for info. And for all you cool cats, please let me know if you have a copy of Mr. Baldwin's book "Jimmy's Blues." I'd like to borrow it sometime. (Gotta do my research, ya know!)
On a different note, I have no idea who Billy Dean is although it may sound as though he knows me. (He almost fooled me, too!) And although I liked his poem, NO, I did not follow him anywhere. True, recently I followed somebody else, and some of the verses there pretty much describe what happened, but his name is definitely NOT Billy Dean. And he is not the type who'd kiss and tell anyway.
Jelena
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