"Our passion for categorization, life neatly fitted into pegs, has led to an unforeseen, paradoxical distress; confusion, a breakdown of meaning. Those categories which were meant to define and control the world for us have boomeranged us into chaos; in which limbo we whirl, clutching the straws of our definitions."

-James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son

[Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons]

“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little coarse and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice? Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble.” 

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Shirtless Mark Twain

                                Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, 1883. 
                                (Public domain image Courtesy of NPR)
                                 
 Just because.

James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket (PBS Documentary)

A truly beautiful revolutionary spirit, James Baldwin has been a powerful inspiration to me and many others.  Here is a recent PBS documentary about his life and work.