When Jeff and Martha visited I took them on
an art tour of Highway 30A. We visited Woodie Long’s
Gallery of Art in
Billie and Justin Gaffrey’s gallery in
Hula Girl Gallery, with pottery by Dwight the Potter and broken glass
by Phil Kiser. Bayou Art and Antiques in Hogtown Bayou.
Who’s the chainsaw sculptor at the bridge across
going to
and Dread Clampitt at The Red Bar and Sundog Books and Records.
Eileen West still had a gallery in
Washboard
had Toulouse Women Gallery in Point Washington.
Margo Russell: Recent Works on Paper.
Bryan Hand did album covers and posters for Dread Clampitt.
Dawn Anderson did their photography. Shelly Swanger.
She shot musicians and artists. Craftsmen.
A lot to see. A lot to know about. I submitted an article to
The Beachcomber on Mexican Ex Voto art and the editor wrote,
“Are these your own words?” in the margin. No, they are the dictionary’s.
A promising career, nipped in the bud. I withdrew my article. I knew
I would be crossways with the bossman. In fact, that’s why
I didn’t major in English, or Creative Writing, or Journalism.
I had my own ideas about writing and they didn’t jibe with
the received tradition. The conventional wisdom.
They jarred. They were discordant.
Too piercing, man. Too high of a pitch.
Your prose is too prolix. It flows.
It cascades. It rains. It pours.
When it’s humid salt cakes up.
If they tell you different
they are lying.
