( “Embracing the Whole of Life” digital painting of James Baldwin by Aberjhani ©2024 modeled after original photography by Sedat Pakay ) The centennial celebration of the birth of author-activist James Baldwin in 2024 offers a unique opportunity for educators, students, advocates, and various groups to delve into the profound sociopolitical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of Baldwin's life and work. Of particular use in this endeavor may be this observation made by author-poet-artist Aberjhani: Please CLICK HERE FOR FULL FREE ACCESS to read entire article .

                           (digital art graphic courtesy of Bright Skylark Literary Productions) One of the greatest triumphs of the human spirit is the ability to exercise gratitude in the face of grievous adversity. Cultivation of a sense of gratitude under any conditions is advantageous in general because it tames impulses toward delusion-inducing arrogance, soul-numbing indifference, and corruptive malice. During this National Poetry Month 2013 , I have found myself considering all the reasons I am grateful for the presence of poetry in my life and in this world. Among those reasons is the fact that there was a time, in years not so long ago, when I struggled inside a kind of “dark night of the soul”––one that in many ways appeared to reflect an eclipse of the world’s collective soul–– and it was the voices of living poets that called to me from unknown distances and took it upon themselves through th...