MY
My Chapbook4/28/2024 I wrote this because so much of who I am came from Uncle Moe. He was a human being, and he struggled with his demons, but he never bled or made anyone hurt because of them. he had a gentleness, sensitivity, and empathy that Drew people to him. I've written about him in Prior books, but for one chap book I wanted him to have the center.
I was homeless from 7 until around the end of 8. My mother didn't know if my grandmother was Friend or Foe in her struggles with my father, and we went from place to place between downtown the East Side in Lakewood. when my grandmother found out she got my Uncle Milton To beat the crap out of him, Then took my mother and I in as her Reclamation project. I've written about big mama and Mama and will continue to until the day they put me in the ground. Yet I owe so much to Uncle Moe, My grandaddy and their brothers at the VFW, Caberros and Elks Club. They showed me what black men can be. they treated being a black man as a Stern and Noble discipline, They were warriors for their families their communities and had a strong sense of pride. After 16, I didn’t see them altogether because they found out the frightening stuff that my father was doing to me. It took me a while to understand that they werent in my life anymore because they felt shame or contempt for me, but because they seriously couldn't be around my father without blowing his head off. My grandfather, in coming back to my life in my early 20’s, told me how much their choice had tortured them; how I was their good little soldier, their man-man, and how it haunted each of them to see what he subsequently did to my Grandmother and myself. . I wrote this chapbook to set my grandfather, Vollife Johnson, free from that pain. I wrote this chapbook to set Moses Williams. Herman Grimes, and Milton Grimes free. My book will be in my bio. If you like it, a Venmo donation of 5 would be valued. @Robert-Lashley-1
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I have nothing but an avalanche of gratitude to Ingraham for distributing the second printing of copies for I Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer. I also want to thank Marena for having faith in me in this project; and for Conn Buckley for being a brilliant editor through all of this.
I am so grateful for the people who nearly bougt us out. Thank you to the bookstores: Village Books Left Bank Books Elliot Bay Books Third Place Books Parable KIngs Books Orca Books Nook And Cranny Books: Lost Avenue Books: In the meantime, if you haven't picked up a copy, or want to give a gift to a friend. Here is the link https://demersalpublishing.com/9798988180906 and here are some of the reviews! "Phenomenal!" — EJ Koh, Author of The Liberators "A complex and compelling coming-apart-of-age story" — New Books Network "An author who knows the territory he maps" — Steve Potter, Raven Chronicle Press “A select few writers can take you on a journey where there is no air in the atmosphere; however, those writers make you forget you need to breathe through passages written in a profoundly emotional essence where the writer's metaphors rise like roots to keep the reader on life supporting drugs. Robert Lashley pens a bottomless soul. Once you open this book, Robert grabs your attention and chains greatness between each line, each chapter in an unfettered rawness that allows us to see beyond our imagination. ‘I Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer.’ The old Stevie Wonder line from a song of pain and loss - Robert Lashley has brought that into the feeling of survival amongst a wide range of men and women breathing amongst gangsters to educators - street and from the halls of higher learning. Robert Lashley is the painter of words. We are observers as he takes us to a literary stratosphere with fierce and sincere pain but ironic- hilarious obscene, and tender times. I say we stay tuned for more to come from Robert Lashley's greatness.” — Alvin L.A. Horn, NAACP Image Award Nominee, Essence Magazine and USA-TODAY best-selling author, 2012 Billboard Spoken Word Award Winner “Taking on those Hotep to Frantz Fanon to Judith Butler to Gloria Naylor all in the Tacoma ghetto. There is no one writing like Robert Lashley and he may have enough Baldwin in him to save us all.” — Paul E Nelson, Poet, Interviewer, and Author of A Time Before Slaughter: Featuring Pig War & Other Songs of Cascadia “Vital to contemporary literature, a poetic history of a rapidly changing place, a celebration of Black lives lived, and a tour de force critique of the exclusionary literary canon that seeks to marginalize art crafted outside white privilege and the ivory tower.” — Carol Guess, author of Doll Studies: Forensics and Girl Zoo "Albert and the other characters in Lashley’s novel ring as true as those in his poems. The conceit of letter-writing is delivered with an earnestness that elicits empathy. Albert’s voice blends street talk and literary references with a bit of endearing nerd-speak. [...] This slim volume is a fairly quick read, but it will move you and challenge you." — Neil Mckay, Cascadia Daily News "A striking and poignant perspective on contemporary America [...] will undoubtedly become a significant part of the African American literary canon." — Alassane Abdoulaye Dia, Ph.D., Western Washington University April 26th, 20244/26/2024 I don't know what the fuck i'm doing on social media, but I really want to do it with you. Thank you for reading. More content to come!
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