Randy Ford runs a cultural center and is a playwright out of Tucson. I gave a reading at El Ojito ( www.elojitosprings.com) of The i Tetralogy and Randy put a copy up for sale which was kind of him. And I thought that was the end of it.
Apparently not. I urge you to visit http://thebrainpan.wordpress.com. When I came across the site I thought it was a review of the book by Randy. It is and it is not. The cover has swastikas on it and a Jewish star. The thought police did not like the swastikas. I will not tamper with Randy’s prose so read about it.
One reader of my short story collection and a blogger wrote to me about this: …”I just read the article at brainpan and, wow, it’s ridiculous. But, on the other hand…maybe it will draw some attention to your book. Banned books often end up up classics, so negative attention can be good in the long run. But, wow. The cover illustrates the concept of Nazi intent perfectly, in my mind. The objective was to eradicate Jews, after all. A crunched Jewish star surrounded by swastikas makes complete sense. The only thing offensive about it is that such a horror occurred.”
I think I have to share Randy’s emails to me. At brainpan read the comments and you will see my first white heat commentary. After that, I told randy to ask me in to El Elojito this coming Monday to do a reading from my new book as Randy informed me he has moved to new quarters; I also suggested that we schedule a reading of the Tetralogy for September that would be better publicized. My background requires confrontation.
E-mail: “…Since your reading, I have displayed your book at El Ojito and still do. One of our supporters tried to pressure me into removing the book because “it was horrible” or something of the sort. A ciustomer called the police because of the book’s cover (I’m sure he never read it) and reported it as a ‘hate crime.’ The police came, but nothing came of that. At the same time I had an art piece on display with a swastika on it…somehow it was attached to our current president (I forget how), and a contractor of public-funded service in which El Ojito was entitled refused to provide those services as long as I had swastikas in the place…your book and the art piece. I refused to bend and never received the services. In dollars and cents I don’t know how much that cost me. I’m sure it would’ve helped but 4th Avenue was not the right location for us. Come check out our place on 6th Avenue. Our book nook has never really taken off. Hopefully some day it will.
I think you wrote a brilliant book. I read it on the job. Randy.”
E-mail: “I just remembered that I failed to tell you that your book has generated many conversations at El Elojito. At some point we felt the need to put a sign up that said ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ or some such thing. I’m not sure that was necessary but we did it. Good night. Randy”
Tucscon. Borat once visited a saloon in Tucson in an early TV episode before he got really famous. And in that amalgam of eastern accent and extraneous idiom, he began to sing. If I remember correctly the song had this title –“Let us throw the Jew into the well.” Within five minutes he had the crowd singing along — only Borat. And how telling. Now trhat I have smeared Tucson, let me go on. Philip Roth recently published a book that had a swastika on it and in 1960 (!) only years after the war William Shirer published his Rise and Fall of the Third Reich in brown cover and white swastika emblazoned in the center of the design. I usually do not explain why I do things, much less why I write things. I have little patience for the thought police.
However, citizens, for that honorable and courageous Randy Ford who I had no abiding connection to until this past day or so — but I do now, email him your thoughts.
As for me, I can more than handle it. It is not for nothing that the first association I had for all this was Shadrach, Meschach and Abendigo. And they came out alive and untouched!
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