Will Dockery

See also Will Dockery (1865-1936)

"Nothing unreal exists." -Kiri-kin-tha (First Law of Metaphysics)

Will Dockery (born May 7, 1958) is an American poet, minicomic artist, performance poet, and singer-songwriter.

Shadowville Speedway audio


 * "In my opinion Will Dockery is easily one of the most authentic American poets around. A real coffeehouse poet who is not scared of mingling some real American elements such as country music into his poetry." ~Martijn Benders


 * "...The Shadowville All-Stars and their insane menagerie of pickers, strummers, drummers, bangers, trumpeters, trombonists, chanters, singers, freaks, faux-Indian dancers [...] colorful costumed cacophony of chaos that rolled from the [...] stage out to the performance area and up the hill to the kitchen and on out over the pond before it dissipated into the ether…”~Katy Clyde, ChattyHoochee Mama


 * "Will Dockery's voice is unique and fantastic to me in a Spacerock context, some ambient type Spacerock is a riff that builds and changes sometime ever so slightly and is hypnotic. Psychedelic/Spacerock is not for everyone, Will always picks up on the flow of the song and slowly changes with us and spews a poetic beat vibe to it. The T.O.T.M. (Theatre Of The Mind) album will be a acquired taste, kinda like an Alien stew with weird stuff in it and unrecognizable shapes and textures. Or like a Alien child coming out of a human and the suprised looks on the family and medical staff as they realize that this ain't no ordinary baby. Basically this album is for the Lava lamp and the Colorwheels..." ~Brian Fowler


 * "...eclectic, imagery-laden, neo-beatific poems. Chain-smoking, spontaneously gesturing towards make-believe objects and addressing imaginary characters [...] gravel-throated limp, a rolling, bluesy romp in the swamp [...] pool halls, bridges, tragedies, lost love, relationships. " ~Larry Caddell, Columbus Community News (Jul 29, 2006)





May 1958
Gone Too Far / Will Dockery-Brian Mallard-Jack Snipe


 * May 1
 * Arturo Frondizi becomes President of Argentina. Aad33.jpg
 * May 7 Will Dockery is born in La Grange, Georgia.
 * The Nordic Passport Union comes into force.
 * May 9 – Actor-singer Paul Robeson, whose passport has been reinstated, sings in a sold-out one-man recital at Carnegie Hall. The recital is such a success that Robeson gives another one at Carnegie Hall a few days later; but, after this, Robeson is seldom seen in public in the United States again. His Carnegie Hall concerts are later released on records and on CD. Aad34.jpg
 * May 10 – Interviewed in the Chave d'Ouro café, when asked about his rival António de Oliveira Salazar, Humberto Delgado utters one of the most famous comments in Portuguese political history: "Obviamente, demito-o! (Obviously, I'll sack him!)".
 * May 12 – A formal North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement is signed between the United States and Canada.
 * May 13
 * French Algerian protesters seize government offices in Algiers, leading to a military coup.
 * During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard M. Nixon's car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
 * May 15 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3. Aad35.jpg
 * MGM's Gigi opens in New York City, beginning its run in the U.S. after being shown at the Cannes film festival. The last of the great MGM musicals, it will become a huge critical and box office success and win nine Academy Awards including Best Picture. Gigi is Lerner and Loewe's first musical written especially for film, and is deliberately written in a style evoking the team's My Fair Lady, which was still playing on Broadway at the time and could not be filmed yet.
 * May 18 – An F-104 Starfighter sets a world speed record of 1404.19 mi/h.
 * May 20 – Fulgencio Batista's government launches a counteroffensive against Castro's rebels.
 * May 21 – United Kingdom Postmaster General Ernest Marples announces that from December, Subscriber Trunk Dialling will be introduced in the Bristol area.
 * May 23 – Explorer 1 ceases transmission.
 * May 30 – The bodies of unidentified United States soldiers killed in action during World War II and the Korean War are buried at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.

The Life and Times of William Dockery
‎"I know that my true friend will appear after my death, and my sweetheart died before I was born." -Tanaka Katsumi (via Harlan Ellison)



Youth and Early Influences
The son of, a World War II and Korean War veteran, later a Howard bus and taxicab driver, and Mildred Whitley, William Abraham Dockery was born in La Grange, Georgia. LaGrange is a city in Troup County, Georgia, United States. It is named after the country estate near Paris of the Marquis de La Fayette, who visited the area in 1825. Dockery would visit La Grange frequently during childhood, being the home of his maternal grandparents. He lived in Columbus, Georgia, 40 miles south of LaGrange.



Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which had a 2011 estimated population of 301,439, according to the US Census. It joins with the Auburn, Alabama metropolitan area to form the Columbus, Georgia-Auburn, Alabama Combined Statistical Area, which had a 2011 estimated population of 466,089. It is the third largest city and fourth largest metropolitan area in the state, and also the 123rd largest city in the United States. Columbus lies 100 miles (160 km) south of Atlanta. Fort Benning, a major employer, is located south of the city in Chattahoochee County. The city is home to museums and other tourism sites. The area is served by the Columbus Airport. The current mayor is Teresa Tomlinson, who was elected in November 2010. The city was ranked number 4 on the 100 Best U.S. Cities to live by Best Life Magazine.



Both areas, La Grange and Columbus, along with surrounding and connecting areas, meld into the alternate universe of Shadowville in his various works of art.



Will Dockery started playing music in 1961, when he got his first guitar a Huckleberry Finn plastic wind-up.. This early phase in music was cut short, though, when he smashed the guitar over the head of his father, who was napping. He remembers he was emulating a scene he'd seen on an episode of the television series Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman or another of the many television series of the western genre popular in that era.

"Yes, maybe I need to reword that story... I was so young I can hardly remember it happening. It probably wasn't as funny when it happened as the later stories told about it... I wish I could find the actual television scene or movie scene that inspired this, possibly Bonanza or Gunsmoke, which were on the air around the time I was born and in my early childhood."

The thing about movies that a young child may not understand (me) is that everything is fake on there, and the guitar was probably balsa wood or other substance meant to crumble easily. A good example of why children should be monitored about what television they are allowed to watch... at least dumb kids like I was.

Hank Williams was an early hero, especially after watching Your Cheatin' Heart, the 1964 film of Hank Williams' life story with George Hamilton playing Williams. This led to Young Dockery to learn more about Hank Williams. Hank Williams September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953), born Hiram King Williams, was an American singer-songwriter and musician regarded as one of the most important country music artists of all time. Williams recorded 35 singles (five released posthumously) that would place in the Top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, including 11 that ranked number one.

One of Dockery's most vivid childhood memories was the sight of his powerful and stoic father in tears at the final scene of the Hank Williams movie, when Williams was revealed to have passed away in the back seat of the automobile that was transporting him to his next gig.



Young Dockery attended Waverly Terrace Elementary school, where he won first prize in kindergarden in a school-wide competition for a crayon drawing of a witch, obviously influenced by his early exposure to comic books and film noir, which everything on television resembled in the pre-color era of the 1960s.

The next year, in May of 1965, his family moved to the east side of Columbus, where he attended Edgewood Elementary school. There, he wrote his first poetry, influenced by reading Edgar Allan Poe and combining that with ideas influenced by popular music such as The Beatles.



Ed Sullivan & The Beatles on the TV next door

I love the Beatles too. Wish I'd have thought of that one. Thanks, George. Good times. Good lord, that is a great one, George... and time for a shout out across time and miles I've mulled for many years: Tina and Candace Cadenhead (ya'll who watched Ed Sullivan with me one night about 47 years ago), if either of you see this, yes I still remember!

Let's talk of Michelangelo...

On them {Tina & Candace), The Beatles, Edgewood Park, and other things.

Still looking for Candace and Tina (Tina seems to have worked in a carnival in the 1970s? Refs needed), for some updates and memories, and just because I wonder where they ever wound up, going from just outside my window to... not there.

I have faith in the powers of Google, and so it goes.



As the story goes, Dockery mowed grass for three weeks, skipped the Comic Books and other essentials to save the cash for a copy of the Talisman of K-Mart, The White Album, where under those whitewashed covers, was sure to lurk the wisdom from Liverpool poets that would light the way for a, what... nine year old child.



Everything from Dylan's Mister Jones to cursing Edgar Allen Poe to avoiding Sexy Sadie and other alternate universe icons waited within, just please pass those things by, or they'll make you cry... they'll make you blue:

Lennon asked Shotton about a playground nursery rhyme they sang as children. Shotton remembered: "Yellow matter custard, green slop pie,


 * All mixed together with a dead dog's eye,
 * Slap it on a butty, ten foot thick,
 * Then wash it all down with a cup of cold sick."

Because he was, we all are, you and I Am the Walrus... Goo Goo, doll



Carver High and Dan Barfield
In Fall of 1973 Will Dockery was bussed to Carver High School, a tough ghetto school which was actually the perfect setting for his wanna-be Beatnik hipster pretentions and goals. Goats Head Soup was at the top of the charts and an older girl told another person that he looked like "Mott The Hoope" so he started wearing sunglasses and grew his hair out into a giant 'fro.

During this school year Dockery began reading Jack Kerouac, along with the brilliantly written Kerouac biography written by Ann Charters[[, still probably the best, most readable biography on Kerouac yet, even though at least a dozen are now on the shelves, starting his lifelong habit of reading these books over and over, and any [[Beat Generation writers in any way related:



"Jean-Louis 'Jack' Kerouac ( or ; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American poet and novelist. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic spirituality, jazz, promiscuity, Buddhism, drugs, poverty, and travel. His writings have inspired other writers, including Ken Kesey, Bob Dylan, Richard Brautigan, and Thomas Pynchon. Critics of his work have labeled it 'slapdash', 'grossly sentimental', and 'immoral'. Kerouac became an underground celebrity and, with other beats, a progenitor of the Hippie movement, although he remained antagonistic toward it. Since his death Kerouac's literary prestige has grown and several previously unseen works have been published. All of his books are in print today, among them: On the Road, Doctor Sax, The Dharma Bums, Mexico City Blues, The Subterraneans, Desolation Angels, Visions of Cody and Big Sur."

This was before the later resurgences of Kerouac interest that seems to happen every few years. Kerouac had been dead just four years and pretty much every one of his books were then out of print, actually On the Road and Dharma Bums were the only two available on amass scale, as Signet paperbacks these two books could be found in almost any well stocked book store. Charters' biography had just been published in hardcover and paperback, and was fairly easy to find, as well, and the writing style of Charters was excellent, he story of Jack and his comrades was an adventure of it's own.

I Know It's Only Rock-N-Roll But I Like It


At the end of 1973, Bob Dylan came back into the public eye with his return before the flood with The Band, and another long term observation began. Not long after that, Rock And Roll Animal from Lou Reed formed yet another giant influence that lasts 40 years later into modern times, perhaps now more than ever in Will Dockery's work.

Bob Dylan came to Columbus, Georgia for the first and last time for a performance on October 30th 1997, which set the entire local poetry, music and arts community on fire, and set the influence of Folk Rock music and Folk Art culture in stone with local workers and to this day this genre dominates the culture of the Columbus-Phenix City scenes.

Columbus, Georgia setlist of Bob Dylan concert of October 30, 1997 at Columbus Civic Center.

Maggie's Farm Lay, Lady, Lay Cold Irons Bound You're A Big Girl Now Can't Wait Silvio Cocaine Blues (acoustic) Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (acoustic) 'Til I Fell In Love With You Not Dark Yet Highway 61 Revisited (encore)

Like A Rolling Stone It Ain't Me, Babe (acoustic) Love Sick Rainy Day Women #12 & 35



In 1975, Will Dockery's first in-person teacher, with specific truths to tell and life lessons, and similar goals, only a decade on, and regrets of The 'Nam behind him, came new English teacher Dan Barfield, real life Hipster novelist-painter-poet.

I have often been asked by fans and groupies for the influences that have shaped my "philosophy of poetry." I rattle off a few well known names and a few well known "schools" of poetics which seems to satisfy them, mostly the basics, my infamous heroes of the Beat Generation, Kerouac, Ginsberg, Corso & so on, as well as the obvious poets such as Arthur Rimbaud, Dylan Thomas, The truth is....I don't have a "philosophy of poetry", nothing quite as pretentious as that. My poetry grows out of living & the lives (such as Dan Barfield who taught me to think on my feet & record what I see) & philosophies of life from the experiences of the life that I live and have lived, and, by reflection and action/reaction - call/response, those of my friends & others close to me. Yes, I had read "about" these & other artists putting this on-the-street method & so-called "philosophy" somehow to use in their art, be it painting, poetry or song, it was when I met Dan Barfield (first as my English teacher in 1975, although he'd say we studied /together/) that I learned when the art is action oriented, there's no amount of academia that can provide the education that getting down in the field and living to tell of it can give you. As a recommendation then, of Dan Barfield, there's unlikely to be anyone I'd rate higher as a walking, talking personal "philosopher of poetry" for me... in Shadowville, such moments & figures are all-too rare.



During the 1970s and 1980s, the poetry was written and published at an untrackable level (High water marks bein a lost 1974 poetry novel called Whiz Kid that Dockery gave to a girl he thought he loved and told her to burn... which she did. All that he or anyone else can remember about that writing was that it was something like Bob Dylan's Tarantuala, but with personal details, plot and references who knows, maybe somewhere out there Gina Childs still has it in her box, where she keeps her, 'poetry and stuff'? and stacks of poetry glued into blank books, and yet another Book Movie named Ersatz Glass And Pieces of the Dawn ("two guys who drive off to live with the Lizard People..." -Dan Barfield) which does exist in tiny hand printing, the big Underwood typed manuscript also given to a girl Dockery did and still does love, again with directions to 'burn this', which she apparently did.), while in real life Dockery married Kathy Strickland with whom he had two children, Clay Dockery in 1978 and Sarah Milam in 1986.





And does this mean there is a clear divide between the point where the 1970s end and the 1980s begin? There was supposed to be, and if there isn't, then we go out of our way to make one.

Besides the fact that 1978 was a year filled with possibilites that only slightly were panned out, that 1979 was a dismal year of wrong moves and pain, and backstepping in many ways that may define Will Dockery's basically defeat-filled life, and then the bright glimmers of light, the possibilities that Atlanta offered, and were just, yet again, almost cracked, grasped, nailed... Alas, that's the pattern, right down to the present day. Take what we can get offer what we can, it is all defined by the losses, the... Magic And Loss, I reckon.

But, that's jumping ahead a bit, since it took a while to get to that 'happily ever after' moment, and the one after that, and the one after that, as we ask...

"What is Art, Jean-Luc Godard?"



Meeting P.D. Wilson in 1977
Will Dockery met his long-time cohort, collaborator and friend Paul D. Wilson in 1977 when they both worked together at the Granny Annie's Cafeteria, a converted International House of Pancakes next door to the Springer Opera House in downtown Columbus, Georgia. The Springer Opera House is of interest to genral poetry study, a historic live performance theater located in Downtown Columbus, Georgia. First opened February 21, 1871, the theater was named the State Theatre of Georgia by Governor Jimmy Carter for its 100th anniversary season, a designation made permanent by the 1992 state legislature. The Springer has hosted legendary performers such as Edwin Booth, Ethel Barrymore, Agnes de Mille, bandleader John Phillip Sousa, and writer/poets Truman Capote and Oscar Wilde.



P.D. Wilson is a Reclusive creator of minicomics, music, and art, Paul D. Wilson, a.k.a. pd wilson, a.k.a. User:pdwilson is perhaps best known for his work on the notorious minicomic series published in the mid- and late-1980's under a variety of pen names and aliases. Many of the musical works created by Wilson with various levels of involvement by Dockery include...
 * Waterworlds a saxophone and synth collaboration with Bey of the A Posse and The Atlanta Arts Exchange, 1987.
 * The Installation, 1985 compositions with Jim Pontius, George Buck, Tito Wals and E. Fennimore at the Demon House in Atlanta, Georgia.
 * Riley Country a 1988 Country Punk experiment.
 * Red Carpet Inn 1987 collaboration with Carol Horn.
 * Exile in the House of the King a lost work from 1978 of folk rock compositions, where Greybeard Cavalier, a song later adapted by the Shadowville All-Stars first appeared.
 * Raw Silk A 1980 collection of electric guitar and saxophone compositions recorded in Phenix City, Alabama on an antique reel-to-reel tape deck.
 * Mar-zi-pan 1983 saxophone, flute, guitar and vocal compostions.
 * 2002 compositions with the hell-thunk band Burger God, led by punk poet Elka Bong.
 * Current era work includes various blues, folk, and jazz works, among them the Shadowville Installation project beginning in 2007, and a book entitled Boundaries, and reportedly, a collection of cover tunes, including 'Round Midnight by Thelonius Monk.



"I think I had it as 'N!' or 'n!' - that might also be pronounced as 'N-bang' nowadays, though, so I think it might be best to go w/ >spelling it out: 'N Factorial' - note that 'factorial' is probably the most commonly given example of a 'recursive algorithm' -P.D. Wilson, 2008 Factorial"

The Atlanta Years (1980-1983)
Fireworks shook the street

Multicolored spiderwebs

Rattled Shadowville

changed the world forever.

Country doctor's job

Mixing medicine with words

Lead from gold

there and back again.

With horse nor hound

I run through streets alone

Blindly through this dream.

-Will Dockery

The time in Atlanta, Georgia really began for Will Dockery on a wild Outlaw Country crossed with the dark side of the Beat Generation style night, on the Eve of July 4th 1980, although of course the 'big city' of Atlanta had always allured and repelled the long haired country boy with stars in his eyes and dreams in his head... truly almost "Billy the Kid Meets Dracula" indeed, as one fair weather friend of the era observed that night of drinks, drugs and explosions of jealousy, frustration and and pure old fashioned "Three Sheets in the Wind" manifested, and, as we shall see become a Vicious Circle, will change Will Dockery's world forever... until the next time.



Atlanta (, stressed, locally ) is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia, with an estimated 2011 population of 432,427. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to 5,457,831 people and the ninth largest metropolitan area in the United States. Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County.

Manifested destiny a manifesto and a part

All the actors still agree that ever had a heart.

Hazel knew the karma, she kept it in a bottle

Black tooth mojo marked index cards

Bundles over the side of Dillingham Bridge

Splashing as ripples reflect from the stars.

Shadowville, Shadowville Speedway

Riding slow down a one way street

Shadowville, Shadowville Speedway

Don't look back, don't admit defeat.

-Will Dockery Atlanta was established in 1837 at the intersection of two railroad lines, and the city rose from the ashes of the Civil War to become a national center of commerce. In the decades following the Civil Rights Movement, during which the city earned a reputation as "too busy to hate" for the progressive views of its citizens and leaders, Atlanta attained international prominence. Atlanta is the primary transportation hub of the Southeastern United States, via highway, railroad, and air, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being the world's busiest airport since 1998.



Will Dockery's first real contact with Atlanta was through his cousin Freddie Whitley, who lived there during the Hotlanta era of the 1970s, an would bring back stories of the amazing adventures to be had there during this time of interesting investigations, and from travelling with his father to the Veteran's Administration Hospital out in Decatur, Georgia, which is actually just more Atlanta. These events were in the three or four years before the actual, lietral move directly to Midtown Atlanta right in the center of the action, right into the center of 1980.



Will Dockery, musing on the Atlanta, Georgia era from Summer of 1980 to Spring of 1983:

So much of our old early 1980s Atlanta world is just gone, buried... A recent trip to Atlanta, and bemoaning my old stomping grounds of the early 1980s being paved over with buildings led me to discover the past of that area, Piedmont Road: "...My memories of the area are from around the 1979-84 time period when I lived and worked near there, worked at Carolina Lumber & Supply a bit to the south of this area, on Plaster Bridge Road, and the memories are very vivid. At that time, the Atlanta Flea Market was there, in a building that looked like it was once a department store, although I reckon it could have been the former location of Hastings Nursery, which by that time was located out Lindberg Drive at the corner of Cheshire Bridge Road, a few blocks to the east of Piedmont Road, across from the Varisty Jr. Next to the Flea Market on one side was Shoney's (the caving in building can still be seen there today), and across the street, across Lindberg, from the Flea Market was (in 1979-80) the empty building that once was a Copperfield's nightclub.

Across from there was the small strip that housed Ken's Tavern and Moonshadow Saloon, a couple of hopping nightspots for us working class types of the early 1980s. Past that going up Piedmont, and across from the fairly huge Flea Market space was a Sizzling Steaks, and a Zesto's, which, amazingly, is also still in the same spot. Then Broadview Plaza, which was anchored by K-Mart, Picadilly Cafe, and the Screening Room Theaters mentioned earlier. What isn't mentioned is that before becoming movie theaters, the location was the Great Southeastern Music Hall, where many great rock, pop and country acts performed... including the Sex Pistols with their American debut shows! Piedmont Drive-In was before all this by over a decade, and it was forgotten by the time I arrived..."

Lost Atlanta, Broadview area

Way before all this and that, the Indians ran the trails that became Atlanta streets. I kid you not. Prior to the arrival of European settlers in north Georgia, Creek and Cherokee Indians inhabited the area. Standing Peachtree, a Creek village located where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, was the closest Indian settlement to what is now Atlanta.



The bridge over Peachtree Creek on Peachtree Road was crossed many times by Will Dockery, almost always on foot during the Atlanta years, walking to and from whatever glittering destination awaited him in the seemingly endless adventure in Atlanta, but I digress... on one side of the bridge was Peaches Records, which was gone and demolished not long before Docker's arrival, but thought of almost every passing, wondering where the slabs of sidewalk all the rock stars had put their handprints into the concrete went. On the other, north side of the bridge was Oxford Books in several incarnations over the years, before going under suddenly after the owner's money snafus did his book selling mecca in.



Cheshire Bridge Road in Song and Story
Cheshire Bridge Road

Early Sunday morning walking with you

on Cheshire Bridge Road

passing sound of radio.

Gee, I think it'd be nice

to have a couple of cups of coffee with you

and watch morning come.

Walking on Cheshire Bridge Road

early Sunday morning with you

barefoot in the dew.

Sunlight burns away until the fog is gone

and brings in the dawn.

Every time I see your face

it reminds me of music.

Every time I see your face

across that bar.

Early Sunday morning walking with you

down Cheshire Bridge Road

passing sound of radio.

Still would like to have

a couple of cups of coffee with you

and watch morning come.

-Will Dockery (words)/ Geno Woolfolk & Henry Conley (music) [http://www.myspace.com/genewoolfolkjrmusic/music/songs/cheshire-bridge-road-dockery-vocal-66805188 Written by Will Dockery, Henry Conley & Geno Woolfolk]

Actually, as I recall it, back in the early Eighties, when I lived near there and the time period this song refers to, there wasn't any strip clubs on Cheshire Bridge Road.

There was the original Johnny's Pizza near the start of the road, on the Piedmont Road side, a big, all ages kind of new wave disco named Numbers up the street from there, across the street was the Colanade Diner, great caferteria "Morrison's" type place, a motel next to that.

On down the road was New Baby Products, which is still there, I think, and then the bridge and railroad tracks I used to travel a lot, led to Piedmont Road, then over to Peachtree Road, and on to Howell Mill Road beyond that, an eventually over the Chattahoochee River, headed to Alabama.

Across the bridge on Cheshire Bridge Road was an industrial park of some sort down in a hole on the left side of the road, later became a recording studio down there, if my memory serves me well, possible a famous one, I'll have to verify, as that may be over on Monroe Drive.



After that on the right side of the road was the old Poster Hut, which seemed old even then, a sort of "Head Shop", actually that was what it was, though I hardly ever had time to stop there.

Next up might be where you're thinking, back when I was there the first clud seems to have been a gay clud, "Crazy Ray's" I seem to think it was, that later became... the name escapes me exactly right now offhand, but it was like "Inferno" or "Desecration", with a spooky looking bat logo, this was in later years late 1980s-1990 "Insurrection", no, it'll come to me soon, probably as soon as I post this. Around the corner from there was the club I often visited, which was related to the Witchburner's Bar on Buford Highway, this one went through a few names, for a while was Hot Line, which was all about having phones on the bar and booths, and folks could call each other from across the bar. I met my old friend Tina Infantino (now Hodges) there, still friends thirty years later.



Then around the bend coming close to Lindberg Drive Cheshire Bridge Road gets "busy", with Waffle House, Dunk N Dine, Happy Herman's Deli, gas stations, and in the back of another building, the infamous Sweet Gum Head, which was a glitter-glam rocker gay bar... Sid Vicious famously hung out there when the Sex Pistols made their Atlanta debut up the road at Broadview Plazz, the great Southeastern Music Hall on Piedmonth Road in, 1977 I think it was.

Sweet Gum Head photos from Cheshire Bridge Road

Then up on Lindberg was varsity Jr., Churches Chicken across the street, the corner where the Flower Girl sold her flowers to the passing traffic, across from there a movie theatre, next to that Farmer John's all-you-can-eat Schmorgasbourd...

Then Cheshire Bridge Road winds on up to Buford Highway, where it changes names, if my memory serves me well.



As for the Cheshire Bridge Road History, way before Will Dockery's time there... here's an excerpt from History

Captain Hezekiah Cheshire and his wife Sarah moved to the area that is now Atlanta in 1838. Captain Cheshire built his house on a hilltop overlooking Peachtree Creek to the North and his vast farm/estate stretching to the West. The bridge over Peachtree Creek was Cheshire’s Bridge and so that was what it came to be called.

Captain Cheshire’s son, Napoleon, lived in the hilltop house on Cheshire Bridge Road after he fought in the Confederate War and he and his family continued to run the farm late into the 1800’s. Napoleon’s two daughters continued to live in the house into the 1930’s.

By the 1870s the triangle of Piedmont/Cheshire Bridge/ Lindbergh Road was turning from large farms into smaller residential lots with a large chunk of commercial activity on all boundaries. We were becoming residential and the farmland was being pushed to the north of us. Cheshire Bridge Road became the path out of town into the farm country.

In the 1930’s life began to change even more dramatically for our neighborhood when the Buford Highway was developed. This new artery opened Cheshire Bridge Road to the north and accelerated the commercial and industrial development all along the road. In 1938, final construction was completed that widened Cheshire Bridge from two lanes to four lanes to connect with the Buford Highway. After the Buford Highway was built, Cheshire Bridge Road became a through street to the north and changed from fashionably residential to commercial.

1982 and the Ayn Rand Influence
"I first read Ayn Rand back in 1982, and was floored and enthralled by the adventures and thoughts of the iconic characters of The Fountainhead... Howard Roark, the ultimate spokesman for Creator's Rights, Dominique Franken the strong-willed and elusive Muse, Elsworth Tooey the borrower and colaborator, and so on and on. And all of these statements by Paul Ryan, I can agree with and chuckle at the irony of roads not taken... Still fascinating and complicated influence, Ayn Rand. Like Paul Ryan, I can say the same as he dows about the influence of Ayn Rand on my life and art. A couple of quick quotes from Ayn Rand herself (or rather Howard Roark in The Fountainhead) that made me set the book down and say "Yeah..." and move forward as a creator myself, immediately typing up and self-publishing my first chapbook of poems, my First poetic /skyline/... Red Zeros, in the Summer of 1983.", says Will Dockery on this early crossroad in his poetic and working life.



The Fountainhead

"The creator originates... The creator faces nature alone. The basic need of the creator is independence. The reasoning mind cannot work under any form of compulsion. It cannot be curbed, sacrificed or subordinated to any consideration whatsoever. It demands total independence in function and in motive. To a creator, all relations with men are secondary... one cannot give that which has not been created. Creation comes before distribution—or there will be nothing to distribute. The need of the creator comes before the need of any possible beneficiary. Yet we are taught to admire the second-hander who dispenses gifts he has not produced above the man who made the gifts possible. We praise an act of charity. We shrug at an act of achievement." -Ayn Rand

The Origins of Shadowville
When the mill shut down

we hit the pavement with a thud

then we got up and kept walking.

Some to the workhouse

some to the poorhouse

some to the whorehouse

and the grave.

-Will Dockery, "Under the Radar"



Starting in late 1983, Will Dockery began working at the former Jordan Mill, called officially at the time Cartersville Spinning Mill, and for the rest of the decade and into the next Dockery was involved in that uniquely self contained world of Millrats and that Deep South working class milleu, and the decade long experience has placed the stamp of Southern Gothic Noir on all his work since in one way or another. This could be what Shadowville really is, or was.

As detailed in Wikipedia, the life of the Mill worker goes back to an earlier time, and when Will Dockery entered this world in his imagination he felt a linage that reaches back to the Shakepearean archtypes, like The Globe, where all the world truly seems a stage.

Verily, the tradition and lifestyle is most direct, indeed, as Lou Reed once said:

"'Passion--REALISM--realism was the key. The records were letters. Real letters from me to certain other people.' -Lou Reed, 1975"

The Upper Priory Cotton Mill, opened in Birmingham, England in the summer of 1741, was the world's first cotton mill. Established by Lewis Paul and John Wyatt in a former warehouse in the Upper Priory, near Paul's house in Old Square, it used the roller spinning machinery that they had developed and that had been patented by Paul in 1738, that for the first time enabled the spinning of cotton "without the aid of human fingers". Wyatt had realised that this machinery would enable several machines to be powered from a single source of power: forseeing the development of the factory system, he envisaged "a kind of mill, with wheels turned either by horses, water or wind."



The mill consisted of fifty spindles, turned by "two asses walking around an axis" and was tended initially by ten women. Contemporary observers make it clear that the machine was fundamentally effective, and hopes for the venture were initially very high. James wrote to Warren in July 1740: "Yesterday we went to see Mr. Paul's machine, which gave us all entire satisfaction both in regard to the carding and spinning. You have nothing to do but to get a purchaser for your grant; the sight of the thing is demonstration enough. I am certain that if Paul could begin with £10,000 he must or at least might get more money in twenty years than the City of London is worth." By 1743, however, the Upper Priory Mill was almost derelict.

Just 40 years later, James Watt markets his rotary-motion steam engine in the same city. The earlier steam engine's vertical movement was ideal for operating water pumps but the new engine could be adapted to drive all sorts of machinery. Richard Arkwright pioneered its use in his cotton mills and within 15 years there were 500+ Boulton & Watt steam engines in British factories and mines.

In 1758, Paul and Wyatt improved their Roller Spinning machine and took out a second patent. Richard Arkwright later used this as the model for his water frame.



The English cotton mill, which emerged as an entity in 1771, went through many changes before the last one was constructed in 1929. It had a worldwide influence on the design of mills, and changed over time. The architectural development of the cotton mill was linked to the development of the machinery which it contained, the power unit that drove it, and the financial instruments used for its construction. In Lancashire, England, the industry was horizontally integrated, with carding and spinning only in southeast Lancashire, whereas weaving was more evenly spread but more concentrated to the north and west of the county. In the USA in Pennsylvania, the process was mostly vertically integrated and led to combined mills where carding, spinning and weaving took place in the same mill. Mills were also used for finishing such as bleaching and printing.



"'When I worked for Cartersville Spinning Mill from October 1983 to September 1990, 7 years, I found myself doing almost everything... elevator operator, booker, records keeper, diplomat, and still managed to create huge volumes of poetry, art, songs and comix during my decade there.' -Will Dockery"

The mill worker's life truly is an alternate world, one that is brought home in various degrees, but some levels and relationships would never happen or survive outside the the fences and gates, the painted over windows, the melodrama and sheer time, sweat, even blood and tears, and the colorful, bizarre and endearing characters that half a lifetime a day is spent with, in 12 hour shifts.

Being a longtime Jack Kerouac fan and student, Dockery was also amused often at ancient clanging machinery branded as "Made in Lowell", and that Columbus, Georgia itself was once known as "The Lowell of the South", Lowell Massachusetts being Jack Kerouac's home town.

Her creep crawls

the narrow stairway

of the Candlelight Motel

to watch for her

from a window.

Rethinking

his infatuation

but clinging

to his vision of her

as the red lipped stranger.

-Will Dockery

In 1814 the Boston Manufacturing Company of New England established a "fully integrated" mill on the Charles River at Waltham, Massachusetts. Despite the ban on exporting technology from the UK, one of its proprietors, Francis Cabot Lowell, had travelled to Manchester to study the mill system, and he memorised some of its details. In the same year, Paul Moody built the first successful power loom in the US. Moody used a system of overhead pulleys and leather belting, rather than bevel gearing, to power his machines. The group devised the Waltham System of working, which was duplicated at Lowell, Massachusetts and several other new cities throughout the state. Mill girls, some as young as ten, were paid less than men, but received a fixed wage for their 73 hour week. They lived in company-owned boarding houses, and attended churches supported by the companies.

1814 was also the year of the Battle of Horseshoe bend, pretty much the beginning of the end of the Creek Nation in Alabama. Will Dockery being partly of Creek descent and also Irish, the main race of the settlers of early Alamaba and Georgia, lost much of his heritage and actual family during the Creek War, on both sides of the conflict.

The Battle of Horseshoe Bend (also known as Tohopeka, Cholocco Litabixbee or The Horseshoe), was fought during the War of 1812 in central Alabama. On March 27, 1814, United States forces and Indian allies under Major General Andrew Jackson defeated the Red Sticks, a part of the Creek Indian tribe who opposed American expansion, effectively ending the Creek War.

The battle is considered part of the War of 1812. The Creek Indians of Georgia and Alabama had become divided into two factions: the Upper Creeks (or Red Sticks), a majority who opposed the American expansion and sided with the British and Spanish during the War of 1812, and the Lower Creek, who were more assimilated, had a stronger relationship with the US Indian Agent Benjamin Hawkins, and sought to remain on good terms with the Americans.

The Shawnee leader Tecumseh went to Creek and other Southeast Indian towns in 1811–12 to recruit warriors to join his war against American encroachment. The Red Sticks, young men who wanted to revive traditional religious and cultural practices, were already forming, resisting assimilation. They began to raid American frontier settlements. When the Lower Creek helped United States forces capture and punish leading raiders, they were punished by the Red Sticks.

In 1813, militia troops intercepted a Red Stick party returning from obtaining arms in Pensacola. While they were looting the material, the Red Sticks returned and defeated them, at what became known as the Battle of Burnt Corn. Red Sticks raiding of enemy settlements continued, and in August 1813 they attacked Fort Mims in retaliation for the Burnt Corn attack. After that massacre, frontier settlers appealed to the government for help.

As Federal forces were devoted to the War of 1812, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama organized militias that were commanded by Colonel Andrew Jackson, together with Lower Creek and Cherokee allies, to go against the Red Sticks. Jackson and his forces won the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814.

Horseshoe Bend was the major battle of the Creek War, in which Andrew Jackson sought to "clear" Alabama for American settlement. Colonel Jackson commanded an army of West Tennessee militia, which he had turned into a well-trained fighting force. Added to the militia units was the 39th United States Infantry and about 600 Cherokee, Choctaw and Lower Creek fighting against the Red Stick Creek.

After leaving Fort Williams in the spring of 1814, Jackson's army cut its way through the forest to within 6 miles (10 km) of Chief Menawa's Red Stick camp of Tohopeka, near a bend in the Tallapoosa River, called "Horseshoe Bend," in central Alabama, 12 mi east of what is now Alexander City. Jackson sent General John Coffee with the mounted infantry and the Indian allies south across the river to surround the Red Sticks' camp, while Jackson stayed with the rest of the 2,000 infantry north of the camp.

On March 27, 1814, General Andrew Jackson led troops consisting of 2,600 American soldiers, 500 Cherokee, and 100 Lower Creek allies up a steep hill near Tohopeka, Alabama. From this vantage point, Jackson would begin his attack on a Red Stick Creek fortification. At 6:30am, he split his troops and sent roughly 1300 men to cross the Tallapoosa River and surround the Creek village. Then, at 10:30 a.m., Jackson's remaining troops began an artillery barrage which consisted of two cannons firing for about two hours. Little damage was caused to the Red Sticks or their 400 yard long log-and-dirt fortifications. In fact, Jackson was quite impressed with the measures the Red Sticks took to protect their position. As he later wrote:

It is impossible to conceive a situation more eligible for defence than the one they had chosen and the skill which they manifested in their breastwork was really astonishing. It extended across the point in such a direction as that a force approaching would be exposed to a double fire, while they lay entirely safe behind it. It would have been impossible to have raked it with cannon to any advantage even if we had had possession of one extremity.

Soon, Jackson ordered a bayonet charge. The 39th U.S. Infantry, led by Colonel John Williams, charged the breastworks defending the camp and caught the Red Sticks in hand-to-hand combat. Sam Houston (the future statesman and politician) served as a third lieutenant in Jackson's army. Houston was one of the first to make it over the log barricade alive and received a wound from a Creek arrow that troubled him the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, the rest of Jackson's troops, under the command of General John Coffee, had successfully crossed the river and surrounded the encampment. They joined the fight and gave Jackson a great advantage. The Creek warriors refused to surrender, though, and the battle lasted for more than five hours. At the end, roughly 800 of the 1000 Red Stick warriors present at the battle were killed. In contrast, Jackson lost fewer than 50 men during the fight and reported 154 wounded.

Chief Menawa was severely wounded but survived; he led about 200 of the original 1,000 warriors across the river and into safety among the Seminole tribe in Spanish Florida.

On August 9, 1814, Andrew Jackson forced the Creek to sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson. The Creek Nation was forced to cede 23 e6acre&mdash;half of central Alabama and part of southern Georgia&mdash;to the United States government; this included territory of the Lower Creek, who had been allies of the United States. Jackson had determined the areas from his sense of security needs. Of the 23 e6acre Jackson forced the Creek to cede 1.9 e6acre, which was claimed by the Cherokee Nation, which had also allied with the United States. Jackson was promoted to Major General after getting agreement to the treaty.

This victory, along with that at the Battle of New Orleans, greatly contributed to Jackson's national reputation and his popularity. He was well known when he ran successfully for president in 1828.

The battlefield is preserved in the Horseshoe Bend National Military Park.



Two currently active battalions of the Regular Army (2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 7th Infantry Regiment) perpetuate the lineage of the old 39th Infantry Regiment, which fought at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

In fiction, Eric Flint has written a series of alternative history novels, Trail of Glory, that begin with the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. In Flint's version, Houston is only lightly wounded in the battle. He is breveted to captain by Jackson and sent to Washington to help negotiate a peaceful settlement between the United States and the Cherokee, Creek and other Southeastern tribes. He arrives in Washington shortly after the Battle of Bladensburg, where he rallies defeated US troops and organizes black teamsters into an ad-hoc artillery force to successfully defend the Capitol building and prevent the British from burning Washington.



Back to the history of the Millrat Culture, in the 1840s George Henry Corliss of Providence, Rhode Island improved the reliability of Stationary steam engines. He replaced slide valves with valves which used cams. These Corliss valves were more efficient, and more reliable than their predecessors. Initially, steam engines pumped water into a nearby reservoir which powered the water wheel, but were later used as the mill's primary power source. The Corliss valve was adopted in the UK, where in 1868 more than 60 mill engines were fitted with them.



Into the Deep South the ancient Culture of the Millrat spread...

"'Every now and then this Confederate stuff comes up, and so I refer, again and again, to a history book available at the Bradley Library that nails the situation in terms that for some reason nobody much wants to discuss. In fact it won't be surprising if this post is ignored... again. The book is 'Rich Man's War: Class, Caste, and Confederate Defeat in the Lower Chattahoochee Valley' By David Williams. And, yes, it wasn't so much 'white or black' in the South back then, it was whether you were 'rich or poor'. Now why is that just not surprising to me, ever? This is running long but click the link and see the way the plantation owners manipulated the situation, and I'll see if I can excerpt some key bit, time & interest permitting. This is some fascinating, heavy reading...'-Will Dockery"

Rich Man's War

David George  wrote: > In alt.arts.poetry.comments: > > > it won't be a stylish venue > > but the work will be fresh and genu > > > and you'll look neat upon the seat > > as the bowl quickly fills with ... . > > David George, gotta run for a while put wanted to add this before I > go, while I have it on copy-paste mode: > > http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.dylan/msg/b3d95326d4cfcb5a?h... > Again, I'll point out that it goes deeper than "White vs. Black" on > racism, but really racism was manufatured, a fakery, created by the > rich plantation owners of the South in the years just before the Civil > War, to keep poor whites & black slaves from forming a possible, & > natural, solidarity. While racism thrived afterwards, the whole issue > is a matter of the hate being a /manipulation/ of the rich > intellectuals against the naive poor people. This book, "Rich Man's > War", makes it all very clear, from somewhat censored historical > facts: "Rich Man's War: > Class, Caste, and Confederate Defeat in the Lower > Chattahoochee Valley > By David Williams > Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1998. $34.95 > > Reviewed by Thandeka > > The importance of David Williams's new book, Rich > Man's War: Class, Caste, and Confederate Defeat in the > Lower Chattahoochee Valley, cannot be overestimated. > > [...] > > Williams accomplishes this stunning feat by studying > the socioeconomic factors in the South that led first > to the Civil War and then to the defeat of the > Confederacy, focusing primarily on the thriving > industrial center of Columbus, Georgia, and its > surrounding area, which by 1860 was producing almost a > quarter million cotton bales annually. During the > war, this area became a center for war-related > industries because it was deep in the southern > heartland, far from major theaters of combat; had rail > connections to every major city in the South; and was > at the head of navigation on the Chattahoochee River. > Williams, who grew up in the area, uses photographs > and family history in the book, as well as archival > material. The result is a vivid depiction of the life > and times of a people who called the Civil War "a rich > man's war and a poor man's fight." > > Williams begins by retelling how the southern planter > class created the white race for purposes of class > exploitation. Until then in Colonial America, > people's race was defined by their class, and there > was no distinction in law or custom between European > and African servants, all of whom were known as > "slaves." Not surprisingly, these bondservants lived, > loved, worked, and rebelled against their upper-class > oppressors together. > > [...] > > But under the planters' new race laws, race was > defined by genealogy. Masters and servants who could > claim that all their ancestors came from Europe became > members of the white race. In truth, of course, the > "poor whites" continued to be viewed as an alien race > by the elite. As one Georgia planter wrote a friend, > "Not one in ten [poor whites] is. . . . a whit > superior to a negro." Privately called "white trash" > by the elite, the poor whites were publicly embraced > as racial kin by the planters, 3.7 percent of the > population who owned 58 percent of the region's slaves > and were dead set on keeping their exploited workers > divided by racial contempt. Because the antebellum > South's pervasive class exploitation depended on > fabricated white racial pride, any challenge to racial > solidarity among whites threatened to reveal the > hidden class system. Here lay the path to revolution. > > Thus it's not surprising that writer Hinton Rowan > Helper's 1857 book The Impending Crisis of the South, > which exposed the race-class link, was publicly > burned; a Methodist minister spent a year in jail for > simply owning it; and three Southerners were hanged > for reading it. Here is some of what Helper said: > "The lords of the lash are not only absolute masters > of the blacks. . . . but they are also the oracles and > arbiters of all nonslaveholding whites, whose freedom > is merely nominal, and whose unparalleled illiteracy > and degradation is purposely and fiendishly > perpetuated." According to Williams, this work sold > more copies than any other nonfiction book of the era > and was called by one historian "the most important > single book, in terms of its political impact, that > has ever been published in the United States." > > [...] > > Having set the scene, Williams gives his account of > how most poorer southern whites dealt with the "rich > man's war." He begins this section of the book by > reminding us that Georgia's very decision to secede > from the Union was never put to a popular vote. > Rather, it was made by secession delegates, 87 percent > of them slaveholders in a state where only 37 percent > of the electorate owned slaves. These delegates knew > better than to heed antisecessionist delegates' plea > to submit the decision to the electorate for final > determination. After all, more than half the South's > white population, three-quarters of whom owned no > slaves, opposed secession. > > Next Williams details the Confed-eracy's corrupt > impressment system. Georgia was one of the first > Confederate states to legislate the right to > confiscate, or impress, private property for the war. > Not surprisingly, corruption ran rampant among > impressment officers, of whom one Georgian said, "They > devastate the country as much as the enemy." Another > Georgian predicted that the widespread corruption > would "ultimately alienate the affections of the > people from the government." It did. > > [...] > > To add insult to injury, planters continued growing > cotton (rather than food) and traded with the North as > poorer whites and the army faced starvation. Williams > also tells us that all too often, funds that should > have been distributed to indigent families wound up in > the pockets of corrupt officials. Not surprisingly, > by 1863, food riots were breaking out all over the > South, led by the starving wives left behind as their > starving husbands, sons, and fathers died for the rich > men and their slaves. > > And always, the racial degradation of the poor white > continued. As Williams reminds us, most of the South's > higher-ranking officers came from the slaveholding > class and treated those under their command like > slaves. One soldier thus complained in a letter home, > "A soldier is worse than any negro on [the] > Chattahoochee river. He has no privileges whatever. > He is under worse task-masters than any negro." > Soldiers were also punished like slaves, says > Williams: "whipped, tied up by the thumbs, bucked and > gagged, branded, or even shot." > > [...] > > Thus did the desertions begin. By September 1864, two > thirds of Confederate soldiers were absent without > leave. One hundred thousand went over to serve in the > Union armies. Thousands more formed anti-Confederate > guerrilla bands, of which one historian wrote that > they were "no longer committed to the Confederacy, not > quite committed to the Union that supplied them arms > and supplies, but fully committed to survival." These > bands, Williams tells us, "raided plantations, > attacked army supply depots, and drove off impressment > and conscription officers. . . . One Confederate > loyalist, a veteran of the Virginia campaigns, said he > felt more uneasy at home than he ever did when he > followed Stonewall Jackson against the Yankees." > > Meanwhile, Williams writes, "One prominent antiwar > resident of Barbour County held a dinner honoring > fifty-seven local deserters. Though a subpoena was > issued against the host, the sheriff refused to > deliver it." The draft was by now difficult to > enforce, nor did disgrace attach to either desertion > or evasion. Indeed, Williams concludes that the > Confederacy would have collapsed from within if there > hadn't been a Union victory. > > [...] > > ...the bands of poorer Southern whites who organized > against the Confederacy and who indeed were abused and > exploited by their overlords, first as wage-slaves and > then as canon fodder. Sadly, these Confederate > deserters never understood that not even the one thing > they held onto as their own—their self-image as > whites—actually belonged to them. Rather it was one > among many means used by rich men to exploit them. > > The Rev. Thandeka is associate professor of theology > and culture at Meadville/Lombard Theological School.

This relates in so many ways, worth a repost.



Following the American Civil War, mills grew larger. They started to be built in the southern states of South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi, where cheap labour and plentiful water power made operations profitable. Cotton could be processed into fabric where it grew, saving transportation costs. These were usually combination mills, (spinning and weaving) that were water powered and used a slow burn design technique. They used a belt and pulley drive system, and the heavier ring frames rather than mules. At this point they only spun and wove coarse counts. The mills were mainly in open country and mill towns were formed to support them.New England mills found it increasingly difficult to compete, and as in Lancashire, went into gradual decline until finally bankrupted during the Great Depression. Cotton mills and their owners dominated the economy and politics of the Piedmont well into the 20th century.

In 1929, for the first time there were more spindles in the USA than in The UK. In 1972, India had greater spindleage than the USA, and it was in turn surpassed by China in 1977.

The situation of Unions and Union "agitators" was a minor one by the 1980s, as every now and then some folks from a Union would stand outside the gates and try to hand of literature... which the Supervisors told employees before clocking out to ignore these folks, do not accept any of the flyers, with the hint that dire results such as termination could follow.



When Will Dockery, along with Tom Snelling, John E. Jones and Paul D. Wilson founded a local Arts Collective for a time known as 'New Garde' and Dockery began Self-publishing his long running Zine, Shaman Newspaper, he found out personally that because of the fear among the Company of Union infiltration that officially, /no/ written literature was allowed inside the Mill, including newspapers, magazines or books, but self made works such as the many zines, Chapbooks, Mini-Comics, et cetera that Dockery had been making for years, and that was being read and enjoyed by the workers in the Mill, was a definte and particular no-no.

One morning before quitting time, Dockery was called into the office of Personell Director Pat Patson, who had a copy of Shaman Newspaper on her desk, saying this had been found in one of the break areas, and that while it was "nice work" and all, there were strict rules against such material being distributed inside the Mill... off the property of course, he could do as he pleased.

This was an unfortunate setback for much of Dockery's local audience, although his nationwide distribution was pretty wide through the Zinester network through snail mail, most of the people he knew at the Mill were almost strictly seen at the Mill, and though pretty close in that setting, most he never saw when not on the job.



Also, Dockery didn't realize that just 50 years before, actual violence would have been an option against his actions, like the events of 1935 in La Grange, Georgia:

Anyone read this book yet?

[Legacy in LaGrange

Sounds almost as explosive as the Big Eddy Club book or Wicked City by Ace Atkins.

Yes, I was born and spent much of my early days in LaGrange, and though I'd heard of the Union and Mill problems from my grandparents, they never let on things were that bad in 1935. Now this was just a few years after the Great Depression began, so I wonder if the events were just swallowed in with the rest of the miserable times that era seems to abound with. Just shows how lucky those of my generation are to have missed madness like all that: "LaGrange, GA - 1935 - Three little boys sit on the curb, sad, confused, wondering where they will sleep tonight. All of their worldly possessions lie strewn about on the sidewalk. Georgia National Guardsmen have just evicted the boys' families from their mill-owned homes. When Callaway Mills employees went on strike, Governor Talmadge declared martial law in LaGrange. Soldiers patrol the streets and tell neighbors not to talk to one another -- and they mean business. A large machine gun sits in the middle of the mill village, at the front gate of Unity Mill.

A few blocks away, on Park Avenue, a fight breaks out between soldiers and mill workers. After the soldiers deliver a fatal blow to the head of a WWI veteran, they arrest the others and transport them to a military internment camp in Atlanta. Meanwhile, in Germany, Nazi newspapers celebrate the Georgia state militia's successful union busting, calling it a sign of fascism's coming global triumph..."



Thus, Will Dockery's time in the world of the Mills and the ancient, rude yet eloquent culture was in the sharp decline, the Gotterdammerung of King Cotton, and the sounds and visions, the patterns and relationships reflected this, as he often wondered just how long he could be pain so relatively well just to ride an elevator from first to second floor from Dusk to Dawn, drinking coffee, drawing comic strips, and writing poetry.

About exactly seven years, that's how long.

In a taxi watching a sporting house

Beside a Linwood vacant lot

Silverdollar moon portspotting

Constellation like a sailor's knot.

The sky was black, ink and glitter in the night

Train whine saxophone out beyond the light.

I'm in love with a ghost blue turns to grey

Put a pyramid on my head to take my pain away.

Shadowville, Shadowville Speedway

Riding slow down a one way street.

-Will Dockery



Minicomics, Chapbooks and Zines


Also during this time he created hundreds of hand made, unpublished minicomics, which included over 500 issues of the adventure serial Uncle Jim, Uncle Jim Comics and Stories had a spinoff comic strip called Tonight Show Starring Uncle Jim, which filled many episodes in which guest hosts filled in for Uncle Jim in a parody of Johnny Carson's television series of the time. In May of 1970 Dockery made his return to music, performing a cover of the Tiny Tim song Tiptoe Through the Tulips.

From The Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999 Entry on Will Dockery



DOCKERY, WILL [small press]

Name and vital stats DOCKERY, WILLIAM (publisher; editor; writer; artist) RICK HOWE Covers (pen/) 1991 > 91 CROSS CURRENTS~ (pen/) 1991 > 91

WILLIAM DOCKERY DEMON HOUSE THEATRE~ (publ/ed/wr/pen/ink/) c1990 > 90 GEON~ (publ/ed/wr/pen/ink/) c1990

"The Who's Who of American Comic Books is a database designed to document the careers of people who have contributed to or supported the publication of original material in U.S. comic books in the years 1928-99. It is not a checklist, but rather a resume of a person's creative career. Each resume covers not only a person's comics career, but as much information as could be located about his/her other creative and professional work in advertising, prose, TV, animation, syndication, and other sister fields and professions. The scope of the Who's Who includes anyone known to have contributed directly to or supported the field of original U.S. comic books..." -Jerry Bails

Partial List of Minicomics

 * Uncle Jim's Comics and Stories (1969-1970) unpublished minicomic.
 * Various unpublished comic strips including Splut, Virtue Peak, Vulture's Beak, The Assemblers and Tonight Show Starring Uncle Jim (1967-1970)
 * Terror Time (1970-1974) unpublished horror anthology minicomic.
 * Le Glass Dildo (1978) mixture of minicomic and poetry.
 * The Torchbearers (1979-1980)
 * Shaman Newspaper (1984-1996) minicomic anthology
 * Demon House Theatre (1985-1988)
 * River Mutants (1985-1988)



Founding the Small Press League in 1987
Minicomics Co-Ops: The United Fanzine Organization, or UFO, is a co-operative of minicomic creators that has existed since about 1968. The group was created by Carl Gafford as an entity for trading and promoting small press comics and fanzines. Gafford was the publisher of a comic called Minotaur. The original name of the group was Blue Plaque Publications, or the BPP for short. Among its earliest members were Chuck Robinson II (publisher of Comique), Dwight Decker (True Fan Adventure Theatre), Ed Romero (Realm), and Gordon Matthews (Coffinworm).

The BPP was the first small press minicomics co-op. The term co-op has often been confused with Amateur Press Associations or APAs. The difference is that an APA is helmed by a central mailer, to whom the members send copies of their publications. The central mailer then compiles all the books into one large volume, which is then mailed out to the membership in apazines. Some APAs are still active, and some are published as virtual "e-zines," distributed on the internet.

In a co-op, however, there is no central mailer; the members distribute their own works, and are linked by a group newsletter, a group symbol that appears on each member work, and a group checklist in every member zine. The UFO's monthly newsletter, reproduced by ditto, mimeo, photocopying, or later by offset printing, was known as Tetragrammaton Fragments.

The original BPP disbanded in early 1972, but was revived later that same year by Steve Keeter, who had been the last of the original members voted in before its collapse. During Keeter's tenure as chairman, the name was changed to the UFO, and a new constitution was adopted. Notable members during this second phase of UFO history included Jim Main, Kurt Erichsen, Larry Johnson, Don Fortier, and Rod Snyder. For a short time, The Comics Journal, one of the most prominent and highest-circulation 'zines of the day, was also a member.



When the UFO again disbanded during the early 1980s, it was revived yet again by Jim Main. The group has continued ever since, and many of the finest publishers in the comics small press have been, and continue to be members. Chairmen have included J. Kevin Carrier, Nik Dirga, Sam Gafford, John Yeo Jr., Bob Elinskas, Jason DeGroot, and Nic Carcieri. Longtime small-press cartoonist/self-publisher Steve Shipley succeeded Carcieri as Chairman in November 2010. The current UFO Chairman is Rob Imes, editor/publisher of the fanzine Ditkomania.



There have been a number of other co-ops created over the years, including the SPS, or Small Press Syndicate, the SPL (Small Press League), founded in 1986 by Liam Brooks, Andrew Roller, Will Dockery, David Cushman and Rick Howe. Pizazz, the Self Publisher Association (SPA), founded by Ian Shires, and a new group, sporting the original BPP name, that was begun by Jim Main and Steve Keeter in 1999. While each of these groups has its own distinctive character, they all follow the basic co-op format that was established by Carl Gafford decades ago.



As Poetry Editor
I was published in the 1995 Poet's Market hardback ISBN Q-89879-677-6 Reference Poetry (and other years but I don't have those volumes on my knee), Page 248, with a verse from one of my poems as an example of the type of poetry the Publisher was looking for, as "William Dockery", still a few months away from officially becoming "Will" in Summer 1995, and also was listed as Editor of the publication. Google Books does have a scan of the entry: 1995 Poet's Market: Where & How to Publish Your Poetry - Page 248 books.google.com/books?isbn=0898796776 Christine Martin - 1994 - Snippet view - More editions As a sample the publisher selected these lines by William Dockery: Sassanna was painting the back porch, in the early afternoon. ... Sample postpaid: $1 US or free for a SASE from William Dockery at his address above ("greeting card SASE...)-Will Dockery These works continue to the present day in various forms and formats.

The 1990s, Poetry Readings and Video appearances
"...And I go home having lost her love. And write this book." -Jack Kerouac

Planting plum trees-

Pops was squatting patting the dirt,

from a long row of small plum trees.

Slowly carefully patting the dirt around them,

like he used to do when he was alive.

-Will Dockery



The 1990s began with sadness, as "Pops", Kelly Dockery, Will's father, passed away on February 6th 1990, after long illnesses and tragic loss of his once almost superhuman powers.

Later in the year 1990, the old Jordan Mill suddenly shut down, ending Dockery's job that had lasted almost a decade.



The 1990s were a productive and evolutionary time for Will Dockery, as he moved forward from in print potery through Small Press, mail order poetry Chapbooks and quiet family life to the world of Poetry Readings, Open Mics and Performance poetry.

"...Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and tradition transmitted orally from one generation to another.The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants. In this way, it is possible for a society to transmit oral history, oral literature, oral law and other knowledges across generations without a writing system." (from Wikipedia)

Shadowville's Open Mic Tradition, 1995-2005

Poetry history 1990s

I first attended a Shadowville open mic/poetry reading in Summer 1995, after Todd Speser of 'Bizarre Earth' finally talked me into getting up onstage at The Loft poetry reading. This was a shaky time for me, coming off ten years of a very private domestic situation, and the only place to find Will Dockery poetry was in chapbooks and zines... I hadn't done a reading in years, 1983 to be exact, and Hell yeah I had some jitters. Drank a pitchur of 'Killian's Red' and watched the poets.

Man, I thought, Shadowville is *loaded* with great poets... and socomfortable with the stage, each with their own moves, not a onestammering and shy:

Brad Smith, brilliant and sharp, fast and cutting, he carried a torch for Frank O'Hara.

Frank Saunders: Big burly with a heart of gold, poet of politically correct agendas, and one of my best friends almost instantly.

Shawn Bernard of Leominster, MA... Beat, Beat, Beat, tie-dye and Phish. Jim Morrison swagger and more sexual favors offered to him than he had hours in the day to oblige.

Donnie Strickland, the first of a long line of excellent poets from nearby Fort Benning, Georgia... deployed to some hot spot of the day and never seen again.

Sandra Pollack (her real name!) Older den mother of the poets, flowing gentle and sweet poems. Beat me in the "Poet Of The Year" citywide vote from 'Playgrounds Magazine' in 1997, and deservedly so... as Colin Ward says, if the *people* like it, it *must* be poetry. I won it in 1998, btw.

And so on, I'll get to the others, just as great and beloved, shortly.

But... then... there's Nita Gale, on the stage, dressed in red with a big hat, gold hair swirling, blue eyes stabbing, with a poem that set scenes in a cornfield, a transcendent consciousness expanding performance.

Yep. Nita was the bomb (as the young folks in the 1990s used to say), and most likely still may be. Anyhow, long story short, I got up and read some poems.



Talk about the oral tradition of poetry!

Dockery went in to his files, archives, and so on, to find a lyric post for "Under The Radar" for The Shadowville All-Stars show, and to place chord tabs to... and find that he had never written down the actual words of the song as the band performs it.



Performance poetry is not solely a postmodern phenomenon. It begins with the performance of oral poems in pre-literate societies. By definition, these poems were transmitted orally from performer to performer and were constructed using devices such as repetition, alliteration, rhyme and kennings to facilitate memorization and recall. The performer "composed" the poem from memory, using the version they had learned as a kind of mental template. This process allowed the performer to add their own flavor to the poem in question, although fidelity to the traditional versions of the poems was generally favored.

"Actually I've had both feet smashed in terrible disaters over the years, and get a bit of ache on damp winter days... Bishop: a limp can be turned into a swagger with the right pre-publicity. Set up a 'Poetry Night' at the cafe you've written about with you as 'master of ceremonies', put out a Chapbook of poems, and watch the young folks flock to this event. All you really have to do is set it up and then sit at a back booth with a sign up list and a cup of joe... you'll be famous around town in short order, and the limp will be percieved as a swagger.' -Will Dockery, How to start a Poetry Reading"



Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than print distribution, and that is exactly the meaning it had for this point in the life of Will Dockery, as he moved more and more away from print forms to oral tradition of the spoken, and laater, musical Word Jazz.

Many hours of this was documented, as Will Dockery and other poetry and music friends and comrades were a part of documentary film-makers George Sulzbach and Truman Bentley, Jr.'s multi-part video cassette observation of the poets, artists and oddballs of Columbus, Georgia from the years 1996-2000. These have not been transferred to DVD and were out-of-print until recently.

One Day In Shadowville #1 (the epic movie), are the first three parts of the footage converted to digital, and available on YouTube, thus far starring Will Dockery, Bodeen, Rick Howe and George Sulzbach during a day in Shadowville, 1996.

In these hundreds of hours of episodes are 1990s open mic & poetry readings, and many current and long gone members of the local scene, performance video & documentary interviews to be added in the months to come in 2013.

The Return of Dan Barfield


Dan Barfield returned on the scene in the mid-1990s, after over a decade of separation from Dockery, after the events of July 4th 1980. They picked up their friendship without skipping a beat, as if the 15 year gap had never happened, or at least hadn't really been that many years. Time being what it, is, it probably wasn't, anyhow.

As Dan Barfield describes his life and art, and in so doing sets the bar for his students, Will Dockery among them:

The Art of Dan Barfield

I have often been asked by critics and students for the influences that have shaped my "philosophy of art." I rattle off a few well known names and a few well known "schools" of art which seems to satisfy them.The truth is....I don't have a philosophy of art. My paintings grow out of my philosophy of life and from the experiences of the life that I live and have lived since childhood.

I grew up along the east coast between Savannah, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida, when that coast was still wild and undeveloped. School was a prison for me, a thing to be endured only long enough to escape into the birdsong silence and deep shadows of the woods and river swamps, or the sun washed marshes and sea islands of the coast.

Then, as all teen-agers must, there came a time when I rebelled against this life. I left this life behind and went to art school and college. I embraced any road, any thought, any philosophy that took me away from that "old life" which seemed somehow dull and meaningless. I learned all of the names and catch phrases of the intellectual artist, embraced all of the currently popular "schools," and lived the life of "artist as rock-and roll star." And I did it well, getting my undergraduate degree in art from Columbus State, and my Master of Fine Art from Savannah College of art and Design, showing in Europe and America,wearing the laurels of success, never allowing myself to admit that I was lying to myself and living someone else's life.

Then a major event in my life took place in which I lost everything. I was living in my car with no home, eating at the Saint Francis mission in St. Augustine, Florida, and being forced to rethink my life........In retrospect it is the best thing that could have happened to me. I returned to the beauty and basic truths of my childhood. I again embraced the beaauty of the earth and the joy of being alive and free. This is where these paintings are born.

This is my personal favorite series. I have attempted to reach deep into the human psyche here and create paintings that will be recognized across all cultures and times. To this end I have worked flat with no attempt to make them appear as anything except flat paintings on flat surfaces. There is no attempt at perspective or depth; often there is no foreground, middleground, or background. The colors are vivid and bright, the flora and fauna would never be recognized by science, the fruits and flowers would never be found in a florist or grocer....I hope that they are universal symbols of that which they represent.

The observer will notice at once the power and importance of the sun symbol. Actually the sun was usually the first thing painted and the rest of the painting grew up around it. Those who have lived in the tropics will understand this, as the sun is the ruler of the day and of all life.

The ruler of all life ....It has been suggested that the sun is a "god" symbol in these paintings, and I am comfortable with that. (Note that I have said a 'god symbol,' not a god....a symbol only.) The sun is the source of all life as all energy comes from the sun...we are of the sun, we eat the sun when we eat vegetables, or the meat that feeds on the vegetation.

Others have found a "Christian" image in the three "Ancestral Figures" that stand guard with spears and huge erections over this fecund paradise.(I have to admit that these figures are stolen from Australian rock paintings and modified to suit my needs.)

I think I have said enough about these paintings now. I have a tendency to get long winded and I would not want to color your perceptions. And after all, art does not take place in the paint or on the wall; art does not take place in the mind of the artists;...art takes place in the interaction between the viewer and the painting. Art is a different experience for each of us, modified or enhanced by our own unique experiences.

What can one say about these paintings? These are scenes that I have stumbled across from the Low Country of South Carolina to the provinces of the Philippines. Shrimp boats of the South Carolina and Georgia coast, a lighthouse somewhere on the Golden Isles of Georgia; a mother and daughter in Costa Rica, two young Filipino girls with the family's carabao...other images of other times and places...

Oil on canvas; simple, but I enjoy the discipline needed to render a sceene that exists on the outside of my mind....simple beauty of a simple life.

I hope that you, the viewer, enjoy them, that you are sensitive to the beauty of them, and that they bring you happiness.

And as the wise man asked... is there no truth in beauty? -Dan Barfield

The story of the "dead bodies in the old house" made local headlines, and even a cheap paperback book collection:

What's the Number for 911?: America's Wackiest 911 - Page 105 - Google Books Result books.google.com/books?isbn=0740700324 Leland Gregory - 2000 - Technology & Engineering It turned out to be a work of art called "Vietnam" by artist Dan Barfield. The work consisted of barbed wire and Barbie dolls burned with a blowtorch "He hates..."

What's the Number for 911?: America's Wackiest 911 - Page 105



"'DURING the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. I know not how it was — but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit. I say insufferable; for the feeling was unrelieved by any of that half-pleasurable, because poetic, sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible.' -Edgar Allan Poe"

In A Dream I Saved You

Barfield's art almost got Dockery arrested a few years ago, a nosy peeping tom thought Dockery had "dead bodies" stashed in the backroom:

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (GA) July 13, 1997 Section: LOCAL Edition: FIRST Page: B1 HOW GROSS THY ART By Tim Chitwood

Apparently it was all just a big misunderstanding.

The misunderstanding led to a 911 call about a decomposing body in an old house M***** S*****'s husband R****** owns at 2113 **th St. in Columbus. That led to the discovery that it wasn't a body after all, but artwork made of barbed wire and blowtorched Barbie dolls. But it sure looked like a body to police. And it looked like a body to paramedics. And it definitely looked like a body to Danny W****.

Danny is a real estate agent who with M***** went to look at the house July 2. He wanted to buy it and fix it up. It needs fixing up. The roof leaks in places and some of the floor's rotting. The S**** now live on F**** Drive and use the **th Street house for storage. M*****'s son Will Dockery lets friends -- artists, poets and madmen, Will says -- store their work there.

Among those artists is Dan Barfield, who has a concept piece called "Vietnam, part of which the veteran made of melted Barbie dolls. ("He hates Barbies, says his wife Judy.) It now lies on the floor among other stuff stored in the dark, northwest bedroom of the ##th Street house. To someone who didn't know what it was, it might look like a rib cage and sternum atop decayed matter.

That's what it looked like to Danny W**** when he walked into that musty room, first staring up at the rafters. Then he looked down. Then he froze. Then he ran.

He wasn't sure what he saw. Maybe a body. Maybe it was sealed with wax, which trapped the odor. Maybe this was a bizarre ritual. Maybe he didn't want to know.

M***** followed Danny as he dashed outside, where he tried to make a call on his cell phone. She told him not to. According to her, she told him he'd just seen some artwork. According to Danny, she never said that; she just said they didn't need the police coming there.

This did not sound reassuring. Danny had to make that call. Now don't call the police, M***** said again. She says she also told Danny her son Will had a bad temper, and he wouldn't like Danny calling the police.

She says Danny replied that the police wouldn't do anything to her; she wasn't involved. That's true, she said (she wasn't involved in storing the art), but the police needn't be bothered.

M***** claims Danny then offered her $13,000 for the house, then said it needed so much work the most he could give her was $10,000.

Danny maintains all M***** did was tell him no one should call the police.

The next day, someone called the police.

About 10:30 a.m., police and paramedics rushed to the house, unboarded a door to get in and examined what they, too, thought was a decaying body, oddly odorless. Then they poked it and figured out it wasn't. It was such a weird story, the Ledger-Enquirer ran it on the front page July 4.

That's how M****** learned police had broken into the house. She was perturbed. She blamed Danny.

Danny won't say he called police, but admits he told someone what he thought he saw. Stan Swiney of the 911 center says the call reportedly came from a Billy Hanson. (No Billy Hanson listed in the Columbus telephone directory was involved; I called.)

The 911 report said someone saw the alleged corpse through a window. That's difficult: The room's dark; the window's dirty; the art's hard to see.

The artist, Dan Barfield, says it's funny Danny W**** would be frightened, because the real estate agent stopped by a few months ago when Dan was moving art into the house, and this piece was out on the lawn at the time. The artist claims the agent told him a decayed body was found in the house once.

Danny says that's outrageous: He has never met Dan Barfield. "I would remember that, he says.

Danny says he just wanted to buy the house to help clean up the neighborhood, where he owns other property. ``As far as I'm concerned now, they couldn't give it to me, he says.

Perhaps it will remain the house of scary art, where once people thought they saw a dead body.

But didn't.

How Gross Thy Art?



As the 1990s wore on, Dockery became more and more recognized as a poet, and performed in approximately 1000 Poetry Readings and Open Mics.

Manifested destiny a manifesto and a part

All the actors still agree that ever had a heart.

Hazel knew the karma, she kept it in a bottle

Black tooth mojo marked index cards

Bundles over the side of Dillingham Bridge

Splashing as ripples reflect from the stars.

Shadowville, Shadowville Speedway

Riding slow down a one way street

Shadowville, Shadowville Speedway

Don't look back, don't admit defeat.

-Will Dockery In 1998, he won the Perky Award for best Poet in Columbus, Georgia, an annual "Best Of" poll held by Playgrounds Magazine in those years.



While remembering the early days of what I consider the early, and greatest in some ways, art-music-poetry scene in 1995-97. It looked that perhaps anything was possible from the opening chords and verses of the Columbus-Phenix City scene, not just music, but poetry, art... ideas. Since not only was there the early, frantic moments of a "music scene", meaning music created in, from, and sometimes about the Columbus-Phenix City area, our music, but also a fairly complex network of poets, and yet another spiraling group of artists... and Will Dockery walked into that surprising world sometime early in 1995, when, insane as it may sound now, The Loft held a weekly poetry reading, and even more insane seeming, the place was packed out loaded with people, not only just poets but an audience. But that's a story, maybe a novel, for another time. What this post is about is...



While remembering the early days, Dockery decided to Google some of the names from this aspect of the Columbus-Phenix City music-art-poetry scene, some names remain current here, in fact draw the connection between the poetry scene with the music scene stronger than previously considered or stated, Jon Saunders, his brother Frank Saunders, Jack Snipe, Heath Williamson, Henry F Conley, Rebbeca Wright-Harris, Brian Fowler and others I will remember later, founders of the "Columbus music scene" were also involved with the poetry scene. Others, such as Sean Bernard, Sandra Pollock, Donnie Strickland, Lisa Scarborough, Karen Keller, Nita Gale, Eric Duckworth, Brad Smith are no longer seen on Broadway, The Loft, or anywhere else around town... so Dockery did a quick Google and this is the first entry I've found, so far, so it is a start, the earlier search for Military poet Don Strickland.

Don Strickland poetry

Will Dockery knew Donnie Strickland way back in the 1990s, and was pleased to happen across some of his poetry just by chance.

Saint Augustine, Florida
In checking the map for the distance between Saint Augustine, Florisa and Columbus, Georgia, I start at Mulvey Street, where I lived in 1999, here's the link... I'm thinking of retracing my favorite steps down there, here...

Saint Augustine map

Well, when I left Saint Augustine it was supposed to be for just a couple of weeks! That turned into a year, and then a decade... someday, maybe, but I understand from friends I know down there that many of the places I loved have been changed and built over, but I want to see that for myself. Only a little over four hours drive from here, I've never managed to have the opportunity to return at all. Someday, at least to visit and see what remains that I remember...

Influences of Harlan Ellison (Part One)
"I was drafted in March of 1957 and wrote the bulk of the book (Web Of The City) while undergoing the horrors of Ranger basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. After a full day, from damn near dawn till well after dusk, marching, drilling, crawling on my belly across infiltration courses, jumping off static-line towers, learning to carve people with bayonets and break their bodies with judo and other unpleasant martial arts, our company would be fed and then hustled to the barracks, where the crazed killers who were my fellow troupers would clean their weapons, spit-shine their boots, and then collapse across their bunks to the sleep of the tormented. I, on the other hand, would take a wooden plank, my Olympia typewriter, and my box of manuscript and blank paper, and would go into the head (that's the toilet to you civilized folks), place the board across my lap as I sat on one of the potties, and I would write (Web Of The City)..." -Harlan Ellison, introduction to "Web Of The City"

One of the biggest lifelong influences on Will Dockery, in both his life and work, has been Harlan Ellison.

Harlan Jay Ellison (born May 27, 1934) is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.

His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media. He was editor and anthologist for two ground-breaking science fiction anthologies, Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions. Ellison has won numerous awards including multiple Hugos, Nebulas and Edgars.

From the genius of Harlan Ellison's writings and concepts, to his ferocious championing of creative rights, intellectual property, to his spot on and hilarious Black Humor, such as Ellison's own self-parody.

At Stephen King's request, Ellison provided a description of himself and his writing in Danse Macabre. "My work is foursquare for chaos. I spend my life personally, and my work professionally, keeping the soup boiling. Gadfly is what they call you when you are no longer dangerous; I much prefer troublemaker, malcontent, desperado. I see myself as a combination of Zorro and Jiminy Cricket. My stories go out from here and raise hell. From time to time some denigrater or critic with umbrage will say of my work, `He only wrote that to shock.' I smile and nod. Precisely."



An example of the extreme subtle finesse of these self parody shenanigans from Ellison:

"I know that my true friend will appear after my death, and my sweetheart died before I was born." -Tanaka Katsumi (via Harlan Ellison)

Harlan Ellison, Stalking The Nightmare (pg. 45, 5th sentence)

This was written (or published) around 1982, and up to my quoting it I had found no use of it at all on the internet, through Google searches. Now, suddenly, the entire line has turned up in a poem by Katsumi Tanaka... in fact, the very first entry for the phrase is attributed not to Ellison, but to this other poet:

Poet

Here (for educational, example & other fair use purposes) is the poem by Katsumi Tanaka that uses (what I assume is) H.E.'s memorable phrase:

The Poem

Chance Encounter

HALLEY'S COMET appeared in 1910(And I was born in the following year):Its period being seventy-six years and seven days,It is due to reappear in 1986So I read, and my heart sunk.It is unlikely that I shall ever see that starAnd probably that is the case with human encounters.An understanding mind one meets as seldom,And an undistracted love one wins as rarely.I know that my true friend will appear after my death,And my sweetheart died before I was born. -Katsumi Tanaka

I'll be looking into this interesting development in-depth today... does anyone have any information on the poet Katsumi Tanaka and his/her relationship to Harlan Ellison, if any, or any other comments on this situation?

Already, I have a response!

From: Cryptoengineer Your google-fu is weak, grasshopper. The poem appears in

Poem

'Poetry of Living Japan' which was published in 1957. The intro states: KATSUMI TANAKA (b. 1911) He read Oriental history at Tokyo University. His first book 'was a translation of IS Tovalis, Blue Flowers. He is now a teacher and lives in Osaka.' Other sources indicate he died in 1992. pt

And, perhaps, the final word on the subject:

In my copy of "Stalking the Nightmare" (Phantasia Press, book club edition)in the story "Grail", the line is clearly attributed to "Tanaka Katsumi".The relevant section reads:

>Years later, when he was near death, Christopher Caperton wrote the >answer to the search for True Love in his journal. He wrote it simply, >as a quotation from the Japanese poet Tanaka Katsumi. >>What he wrote was this: >>"I know that my true friend will appear after my death, and my >sweetheart died before I was born." I'm not sure where the confusion lies. Tanaka was, no doubt, just one of the thousands of writers whom Ellison has read and remembered.

Captain Infinity: In my copy of "Stalking the Nightmare" (Phantasia Press, book club edition)in the story "Grail", the line is clearly attributed to "Tanaka Katsumi".The relevant section reads:>Years later, when he was near death, Christopher Caperton wrote the >answer to the search for True Love in his journal. He wrote it simply, >as a quotation from the Japanese poet Tanaka Katsumi. >>What he wrote was this: >>"I know that my true friend will appear after my death, and my >sweetheart died before I was born."I'm not sure where the confusion lies. Tanaka was, no doubt, just one ofthe thousands of writers whom Ellison has read and remembered.

Interview with Will Dockery 1996


Psychedelic Whirlwind an interview with Will Dockery by Frank Saunders

Screenshot of "Poet's Corner Profile featuring William Dockery" Will Dockery is one of the most interesting people I know. It's a pleasure to call him my friend. He nearly defies description. The closest I've come to an accurate description of Will is this poem I wrote: Psychedelic Whirlwind Prowling about like a psychedlic cheetah Roving Reporter of seamless nights. -F.S. FS: Where and when were you born? WD: La Grange Georgia, 1958. FS: Who's been your biggest influence in writing poetry? WD: Alec Lawson. (laughing) At this moment he's a big influence on me. FS: (laughing) Really? WD: I don't know if this is going to work now. FS: Maybe not. WD: Let's try outside. behind the Loft.* WD: I think the Southern South of the Sixties influenced me the most. I don't think that Paul Westerberg show is sold out. FS: You think I could get tickets? Margie: I might have to work. Alec: Blow it off. FS: Sounds good to me. WD: I gotta get a bead on this interview. Westerberg is a big influence. Let's step back here (pointing to the courtyard). Here is where I get most of my thoughts. FS: Okay, where were we? WD: You were asking me about my influences and I was gonna say Kerouac and The Beats but they weren't around then. so I'd have to say Popeye and Hank Williams. FS: (big laughs and astonishment) What? WD: Yeah, the '60s Popeye and Hank Williams. FS: Well yes I loved the '60s Popeye, and Hank Williams is the greatest songwriter ever. WD: They were a big influence. And who was the guy that played Hank Williams? George Hamilton? George Hamilton playing Hank Williams impersonating Popeye. But I consider myself a Southern poet. FS: What started your writing? WD: I would read Poe in Jr. High. I also used to draw a lot of comic strips when I worked at Cartersville Spinning Mill in Jordan City. Then I broke my wrist and George Bush got elected and the mill seemed to shut down simultaneously. It adds to the Gestalt of the Will Dockery experience.* WD: The great songwriters of the 80's Patti Smith, Paul Westerberg and now Pavement influence me a lot. Paul Westerberg has a great line [In Can't Hardly Wait] "Jesus rides beside me and never buys any smokes." FS: Yeah, I love that line. WD: ...He rhymes words that other people haven't before. I can't think of any now. FS: It's rare that you hear rhymes no one has used before. WD: I attempted some Burroughs cut up work. I haven't done any lately. My scissors are kind of dull. FS: Some of your lines seem disconnected like that but they work. WD: Well one time a man was reading over at the Street Preacher's box Mark Coile gave us and it was really garbled. I could only make out a few words here and there - mostly unprintable here in Playgrounds... Hey look, somebody's socks. It's performance art of some kind, I'm sure. FS: A pair of dirty socks and a red solo cup. WD: You were talking about the drive between here and LaGrange. I remember making that drive when I was young and hearing "Riders on the Storm" on AM radio. The line "His brain is screaming like a toad." FS: Yeah, "Take a long holiday. Let your children play." WD: Yeah I used to get a lot of thoughts drivin' a delivery truck after the mill shut down. You get really close to God behind the wheel of an automobile. FS: I know I can't help but feel it then. Especially long drives. Speaking of which we are going to Paul Westerberg this weekend. WD: Yes that's kind of tragic though. I have an extra ticket because the person that I bought it for is... well she won't be going. FS: Well is there something you would like to say to her maybe in a veiled refernce perhaps? WD: You should have that in the interview where you ask me that. FS: Okay. WD: Okay, I know what to say. I've still got the ticket though the show's over. If you want the ticket - it's better than nothing. [from Playgrounds Magazine November 1996] Playgrounds Magazine
 * We leave Al's apartment and invite everyone down to the courtyard
 * We have an intellectual but irrelevant discussion about our politics.

Later Years


"A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that girl." -Everett Sloan in Citizen Kane.



Will Dockery currently resides in western central Georgia, pursuing his lifelong passions for art, music, poetry and performance art, recently appearing with Henry Conley and Gene Woolfolk at Pat's Place in Americus, Georgia June 14, 2008 and performing with the Shadowville All-Stars at music festivals such as Hogbottom and Doo-Nanny and on an annual basis putting on concerts for World AIDS Day in co-operation with local Columbus, Georgia politician Jeremy Hobbs since 2009.

A new collection of songs written with Henry F. Conley, Shadowville Speedway Blues was released on compact disc on April 18, 2009.



The Pizza Wars
Here's one of the posters I drew and designed for Parnello's Pizza, including the Tarzan Pizza, one of the special pies I created for the menu:

Parnello's Pizza flyer

"That's the secret (one of them) to getting orders for a Pizzeria, lots and lots of the flyers (posters). Parnell worked for Pizza Roma, doing everything in the kitchen, and was very good at it all, answering phones, taking orders, cooking, mixing the home made sauces, dough, everything was made from scratch. I told him that if he rented a small shop, bought a brick oven and printed a stack of flyers he could do what he was doing there and make all the money for himself. Soon after when he got mad at the (then) owner of Pizza Roma and quit, he called me, and asked me to join him. He offered me %30 of the profits to join him so I did. Immediately I began putting the Parnello's Pizza flyers on mailboxes, car windsheilds, apartment doors, in all hotel lobbies... and soon the phone started ringing, with orders! The first day with just a few hours and no prior publicity, we sold $175 of pizza. Not a lot but very significant to us that with just the effort made the orders beagn... and never stopped for a long time. We finally did close the shop, but I attribute that to the 'big chain' pizza joints underpricing us to a point we couldn't match. The $5 large pizzas were impossible for us to compete with, as ours we hand made from real quality ingredients, not 'pre-fab' like Dominos and the others, whi basically melt frozen pizzas shipped in from a factory. At Parnello's Pizza, we made the dough, and even hand tossed it up in the air like the old school pizza chefs. And our pizza sauce was a secret from the grandmother of Ben, from Sicily and Tunisia. And the saga continues..."

Yes, about the television commercial, it should have led to more... but like so many avenues, I shifted course and missed the moment. As I think back, within weeks of the commercial several other events came into play that just past that time that sent me onto a very different course, and a time period where I was very much out of the public eye, the music scene, and much of that on the level I could have been. I was called in by a friend to once again help him launch his pizza business on the southside of town, and for a long time that was my focus, except for some appearances at festivals I usually perform at annually, Hogbottom, Doo-Nanny, World AIDS Day. This time was spent with a skill I have in running a Pizzeria on all levels, from prepping, creating sauces, menu items, designing advertising, managing delivery, inventory, accounting. A non-chain pizzeria (a "Mom and Pop" place) is generally a 3-4 man opeartion, some days just as little as two of us running everything, sharing the cooking, waiting on customers, delivery, everything! Great fun, sometimes decent profits, but it takes over a life, from morning to morning thinking of the "pizza joint", sometimes even living there. Unfortunately, this attempt, like the others, failed... and failed to the point that I seem to have lost my interest in trying it again. It begins with a great surge, but in truth the key or "secret" to success is what is happening at Fort Benning, where the deliveries are mostly intended for. The planning was that all the wars were soon to end and all the soldiers would be coming home, thousands of them. But the war or "action" continued, in Afganistan, Iraq and elsewhere, as you know... and sales never spiked because of that, and we never made the profits we needed to get that dream completed.

"Wow, I see this message has expanded, and I've barely even begun to tell the 'Pizzeria' story, which to properly tell must go back to the early years of the 21st Century, and Pizza Roma... is it interesting enough to continue? Google 'Parnello's Pizza' (in quotes) for many slightly humorous stories of the Pizza adventures. Yes, I was involved in three different tries with the Pizzerias, and earlier this year Pasko got in touch that he was now making payments on the original now, Pizza Roma. I feel the urge to jump back in, yet also dread it, since I know it will 'take over' my life again... and I will kind of like that! I love the pizza business, the excitement of finding creative ways to make it work, very similar to the approach I have with my music. Very difficult to do both, I have learned!"

Parnello's images

Here is what I got when I Googled "Parnello's Pizza" on Images, it mixes all three failed Pizzerias in one, Pizza Roma (which still exists, always changing owners), Parnello's Pizza, and Capone's Pizzeria. There was a time, it was terrible but enjoyable at once, there were two of us left, this was at Capone's Pizzeria and the owner had actually left the country, he actually went to Italy to check on a possible wife there, and left his young son in control with the $$$ budget for one month. The son wasted the money he was supposed to give us when we needed it and we made the business work for a month on the previous day's profits. I rotated cooking, delivering and waiting on dine in customers with Carol, who later began buying the Pizza Roma this year. Yes, the pizza story is every bit as long and complicated as a Russian novel... maybe I should write it all down as fiction.

Clyde Baker Tribute at The Loft
Tribute to Clyde Baker, founder of The Flyin Scumbolis, and member of Glaz Wind. Singer/songwriter from the Columbus, Georgia / Phenix City, Alabama area who passed away in April of 2012. Taped at The Loft in Columbus, Georgia May, 2012. Artists include; Basil Fitzpatrick, Faye Fitzpatrick, Joe George, Gary Adkins, Richard Long, Henry Conley, Will Dockery, Joe McClure, Derundo Jenkins, and more. Produced by Rusty Wood for EATV 7

Basil Fitzpatrick of Artemis Records along with a dozen or so friends, including Will Dockery took the stage a while back performing in the the tribute show to their friend Clyde Baker, a singer-songwriter who suddenly passed away in April 2012:



"Seems To Be No Time", written by Basil Fitzpatrick originally sang by Clyde Baker, vocal interpretation by Will Dockery / "Bang A Gong" written by Marc Bolan, vocal by Will Dockery / "Nothing & Nothing" written by Clyde Baker, vocal Basil Fitzpatrick / "Tonight Is Mine" written by Clyde Baker, Vocal by Derundo Jenkins / "White Rabbit" written by Grace Slick, vocal by Gini Davidson / "Gloria" written by Van Morrison, vocal by Dan Davidson.

Auburn Football
No, nothing immediate, but was a lot of fun being in the big city again, found quite a few books I wanted/needed in the used shops, and some music... interestingly Auburn, Alabama was having a big football game at the Georgia Dome last night as well, which is sort of a coincidence, since the team, and their 1000s of fans, come from very near (20 miles) from the same area as I do. Not being a big football fan I had no idea this was happening last night, but was seeing Auburn banners and their colors, dark blue and orange usually with a tiger, all around the huge city last night. Finally I went into a little used record and CD shop I've shopped in for many years, and the clerk was watching the game, Auburn vs. Missouri I think it was, yelling and cheering. Luckily, he's an Auburn fan! then later in the night when I stopped by the Varsity Drive-In (look that up when you have the time, an Atlanta landmark, one of the last of the American greasy fast food places, where servers take orders at your car, unhealthy food but very tasty) and this was after the game, and the place was crowded with Auburn fans all dressed in the colors of Auburn, some even dressed like tigers... a fun night even more-so with the local connections as part of the scenery.

Freedom Fest at Woody's Roadhouse (2002)
Brian Fowler wrote in 2002 about the Freedom Fest, which was the seminal influence and template for many of the local Music Festivals, to come, not to mention led to sessions that founded the Shadowville All-Stars. In Brian Fowler's own words:

"...Well hello folks! We had the 1st Annual Freedom Festival at Woody's In Juniper Georgia. A amazing weekend w/ lots of old, and New friends. I am going to talk about it each night so you can get a idea of what happened. I am also making a freedom festival website so as the pics keep coming in, we can still add more and more. So if you took alot of pictures that night and want them seen in website, scan and send them to ***@aol.com . I will gladly put them in the website.




 * Day One: Freedom Log

The stage has been set, Shane Stubbs has put in a tremendous amount of work painting the club, setting up the booths and getting the kegs cold and ready for the masses. If you have not been to Woody's, it's this area best kept secret. But after the weekend, Woody's is firmly on the map as far as local music is concerned. Shane has volleyball, horseshoes, pool tables, glass blowers, dunking booths, insense makers etc and so on. We had talked about a festival and we figured we would give it a try. Henry Conley showed up and ran sound on the first night and was a lifesaver. I would like to thank him for his involvement and all his spirit and help which made it go so smooth. The tents were going up and the wood was being put together for the giant bonfire after nightfall. First up on the bill was MOONPROPHET. Moonprophet had Guy Fawlkes (Rick Dukes) on Guitars joined by Will Dockery, Austin Martin and some special guests Brian Follicle and John Joiner.



Guy Opened the show in a Hawkfeather mask and tore into "Allah" which is a brilliant piece of music, I ended up running up on stage and joined them, followed by Joiner. Moonprophet played a long set of psychedelic jams and then the stage was set for JONES AVE. Jones came on and did a hour set of songs from their album's "FOLK ART" and "IDIOT's VISION". As the day turned to night, SUPERCZAR came out. This music was harder and has a techno- psychedelic feel. They have a single coming out on Shut EYE records called House of No Windows. Mater Gabe Holland and Brian Follicle played a hour set and played songs from Gabe's album. Cd's were on sale from all the groups. The Jones Ave album is on sale at LINK ARTWORKS for those who did not get one from the show. SUPERCZAR will be starting on a new album being produced by "one night STAN STEPHENS".J JIMMY HOLLAND set in w/ both JONES AVE and SUPERCZAR and showed his master trumpet skills he was a big hit at the festival. After SUPERCZAR came HENRY CONNELY to close out the first night. We all ended up on stage till about 3:00 that morning. Henry played cuts from his great album, available from him or linox.com. One of my highlights was to see everyone getting along so well and enjoying the festival atmosphere. The wide open spaces at Woodie's was comfortable and the folks were very friendly. Great food and great times. People were wearing masks and having a laugh and not being too serious. Great night...




 * Day 2 (Saturday)

The first band up was one of my favorite bands around here called the "SLOTH BAND" I was happy to get one of their cd's and they ripped thru their set playing some originals and covers. Second up was a set from INNOCENT IVY. They played a long set of OZRIC/AMON DUUL type space rock that was good for a event like that. They did a good job and were interesting. After that JONES AVE hit the stage with LASZLO STAN a violinist from Transylvania. He is a one of the best violists you will ever hear. Master Gabe Holland played Congas w/ Dr. David Wisdo and Brian Follicle. We played some covers like "Rider's on the Storm" and "Lucky man" w/ Acoustic instruments mandolin, flutes, violins etc. Kinda like a Pearls before Swine meets Incredible String Band. We did a Hour set and rolled thru some album cuts and had a great time. The crowd was dancing and cutting up and everyone was having a blast. The massive p.a. HAYWIRE rolled out is impressive. They were helpful to all the bands and had an unmatched pro-attitude. We called Shane up and he proposed to Leigh and it was a great time. Haywire hit the stage and the dancing started again. Kenny Miller is incredible on percussion and he is an amazing entertainer, They know how to get a audience rocking out. If you have not seen HAYWIRE you need to.Tthey were really great. 2 drummers, 2 gtrs and a and a great bassist. HAYWIRE played a 2 1/2 hour show and gave the crowd all they could handle. Thanks so Much HAYWIRE for such a solid show. Alot of people made the FREEDOM FESTIVAL happen and alot of bands gave their time and efforts to make this work. Here is a list of the Bands and performers.

INNOCENT IVY THE GREAT AMERICAN SLOTH BAND MOON PROPHET JONES AVE WILL DOCKERY HENRY CONLEY HAYWIRE



”...I asked myself---"of all melancholy topics, what, according to the universal understanding of mankind, is the most melancholy?" Death was the obvious reply. "And when," I said, "is this most melancholy topic most poetical?" From what I have already explained at some length, the answer, here also, is obvious--"When it most closely allies itself to Beauty: the death, then, of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world--and equally is it beyond doubt that the lips best suited for such topic are those of a bereaved lover." -Edgar Allan Poe, 'The Philosophy of Composition', 1846

The Shadowville All-Stars


"'The Shadowville All-Stars provide the musical canvas for the word paintings of Will Dockery, the Poet Laureate of Shadowville. The group represents a vision for a multi-faceted arts ensemble shared by Dockery, Dennis Beck, a San Francisco Bay Area artist living in self-imposed exile in Radio-Free Georgia, and Gene Woolfolk, Jr., jazz-rock flautist and legendary bowling alley DJ. Individually, we are a dozen-or-so merry pranksters who rotate in and out of the lineup at different venues. Collectively we are The Shadowville All-Stars. Artists who share the stage with us in a live performance become Shadowville All-Stars forever. It's kind of like the Baseball Hall-of-Fame, only you can't kicked out for gambling...' -Dennis Beck"

The story of The Shadowville All-Stars is long and complicated enough to fill a book or two. The very core group was no doubt formed in 2006 by:

Dr. BONGO (Dennis Beck): Hawaiian Guitar, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Keyboard/Electronica. Dr. MAGNIFICO (Jordan Beck), Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Keyboard and Bass. Dr. POGO (John Phillips), Drums/Percussion, Keyboard, Bass.



Other members quickly followed, Brian Mallard, Gene Woolfolk, Jr., the late Sam Singer, Jim Mothershed, John Joiner and Gary Frankfurth being earliest additions.

Influences:Dick Dale and His Deltones, The Ventures, The Chantays, The Shadows, The Surfaris, The Trashmen, The Kingsmen, Echo and The Bunnymen, Buddy Holly and The Crickets, The Animals, The Doors, Santo and Johnny, El Santo, Los Straitjackets, The Ramones, Eric Von Zipper, Man or Astroman, Laika and The Cosmonauts, The Boss Martians, Rod Serling, The Belairs, The Hondells, The Neatbeats, Sandy Nelson, Jack Costanza, The Challengers, The Champs, The Lively Ones, The Mar-Kets, Ry Cooder, Eddie Cochran, Southern Culture on The Skids, Duane Eddy, Johnny Cash, Jan and Dean, Harry Dean Stanton, James Bond, Spies Who Surf, John Barry, The Manatees, The Aqua Velvets, The Duo-Tones, Teisco Del Rey, The Buena Vista Social Club, Huevos Rancheros Sounds Like: What underneath the Santa Cruz pier smells like. -Dennis Beck



Current roster for The Shadowville All-Stars as of April 2013 is Robert Wright, guitar, Brian Mallard, guitar, Jack Snipe, lead guitar, Link Dunlap, bass guitar, Kevin Harrison, drums, Gary Frankfurth, harmonica, keyboard and percussion and Patricia Suddeth, tambourine and backing vocals.

Rock-N-Roll Night
Rock-N-Roll Night / Dockery, Snipe & Mallard

Well you weren't even around in Don Bright's heyday... but you MIGHT have escaped his charms.

I was embarrassingly in love with one lady and was coming over to meet her, and she left me standing on the sidewalk for 20 minutes because Don Bright had showed up, out of the blue.

That's what "Rock-N-Roll Night" is about if you ever listened to the lyrics to that one.

The lyrics don't really capture the complex events of that night, that affair.

I didn't have a phone at that time and was using pay phones. I told her I'd be outside her place in 20 minutes, she was supposed to be looking out the 2nd floor window for me.

So I stood on the street for at least 20 minutes wondering where she was, to come down and let me in the building, couln't call or text with no phone, but it had only been 10-15 minutes, I was right on time like a good fool. This was right before Betty made her debut, by a month or so.

Anyway, finally I saw she just was not going to come to the window, wave and let me in. So I went back to 4th Avenue, the closest pay phone... called her, she answered... and was like, "Oh, you won't believe who was walking by and I've been talking to... Don Bright!" the story was he was just walking along and she invited him up to talk.

I said to myself, this is taking me right back to 1985, love and suffering for it, and I do not want to go back there. So I backed off and let Don have it, which he got and a month later that was over. She got Don, and lost me... for whatever that is worth.



Philosophy

 * Karma:"'Shannon, Brian﻿ & Stacey, no offense intended but this 'History repeats itself until the lesson is learned' concept always reminds me so clearly of a reincarnation discussion with a hippe Buddhist type friend of a couple years back. I had noticed that one of the big deals of re-incarnation was that once a person lives a perfect life, he/she goes to Nirvana and never returns. So I said I'd have to keep making mistakes because I like it HERE! This old world may not be perfect, but there's a slight chance it may be all we have...'"

Skalds and Odin's Mead bag
Excerpts from alt.magick.tyagi

"Vard-word; Laukr-bind, lock. This is Old Norse. The Old English meaning is true, though. They kept vard the same while somehow laukr was changed. This is how it was explained to me and a great deal of reading and research has proven it true so far. Will, the Norse bards were known as skalds, also..." -Joshua

Yes! The Skalds! I did a series of columns back in 1999, I don't think any got onto the internet, where I explored the world of the Vikings, Skalds, their connections with the Moors, and Celts, and other cool folks of that era... around 999, I think it was. The Skalds were a great group of Warrior Poets. I may have to go out to the shed and dig up the old issues of Playgrounds, since I haven't looked at them in years. The Norse poetic tradition is one of my favorites... Odin created the first poets when his Mead Bag sprung a leak while flying through outer space, and the dropplets that landed on the heads of humans below, made them poets. Years ago, I was waiting for one of the many announced meteor showers, that for some reason almost always come with cloud covered skies (has anyone else noticed this? My best Shooting Star sightings are always a lucky unexpected trea... almost never expected) and this strange heavy rain... I suppose it was sleet, well, of course it was... but it was... oddly... oily... this was in the late 1960s and near Fort Benning so it could have been almost anything... but... not long after that I picked up Edgar Allen Poe's poetry, and combined with comix and The Beatles and other alchemical brain shifts, began doing what is known as my poetry. Was I hit by Odin's Meadbag Spillage? I kind of like the thought... (Dec 17 2002)

Warlock" from the Old Norse "var'lokkur," : Spirit Song! Well, after a few hours of checking a couple of dozen sites, it turns out that my hunch was right: Warlock is a very appropriate name for a Metaphysical Poet... In the Norse, it was the word for: Spirit Song! It's pretty well known my affection for the Norse Gods, Balduur in particular... so it goes against the grain (the word Warlock came to be "bad" because the Brits said so... you see, the Norse Vikings used to invade England every year or so, so a Warrior Poet would be considered not so great... kind of see the drift?) and I'll spend who knows, a lot of time defending it, but Warlock it is. Plus, Warlocks apparently worship both Goddess and God, so once again it fits me like a velvet glove on an iron fist. (Collected through the web): "Warlock (rarely used, for male Witches) is from the Old Norse varlokkur, spirit song (not oath-breaker). 03.10.00 / Sarah Elaine / rainbow_ga@w... Maybe you can help me with an answer, I hope. I have heard that Warlock did not always mean "oath breaker". Old Norse word was "vardlokkur", which means ,"Guard of the gates of knowledge." It would be very interesting if you or any of your members have any more information on this subject. 05.10.00 / Dietmar Nix / d.nix@g... Digging in names of the ancient world, one seldom meets postmodern phantasy like the "guard of the gates of knowledge". Such names better fit to Hollywood since the early eighties. I regard it as very unlikely to estimate that old folks could have had such sort of worms in their brain while giving a name for a place. At least, the word "Vardlokkur" does not include any slight hint to the given explanation. Having English as part of the Westgerman languages, finding it settled by Angeln and Sachsen coming from a region today north Germany, I just compare Warlock with the early states of middle- high German representing the medieval state of language after the first phonetic shift combining the Westgerman languages. So Warlock seems to be better explained with "vart / verte" what is the venture either for travel or for robbery. The "lokkur" could be regarded in connection with "loch", what meant a hidden place. Therefore Warlock could be understood as the hide-spot for robbing or war ventures. This also better reflects the state of mind, present in this region in early times of war with the old celts of Britannica. 06.10.00 / Sarah Elaine / rainbow_ga@w... Thank you for your information. Still I find that in my journey of the name Warlock is from the Old Norse vardlokkur, "spirit song" (not Oath-breaker"). The magik of the Warlock was/is to ward off evil spirits and to "lock" or "bind" them up, keeping wisdom safe. In the Scots dialect the word Warlock means a `cunning man` or `male white witch`, it is rarely used today. In most part due to the Anglo-saxon meaning, `oath breaker`. This "label" has caused Warlock to be seen as a derogatory title. History of `witches`, will always, to a great degree, be a mystery. I feel this leads to a goal that can never be fully attained, but that can be approached without limit. 05.10.00 / Dietmar Nix / d.nix@g... Good hints on the Norse context. We agree, that "oath-breaker" is obviously not the background of Warlock. Neither oath nor break is given inside this term, therefore is result of analogy to another term via meaning, like sketched in your hints on Scotland. I only can´t get a link between "vard" and "spirit song". In medieval time this is not tracable at the continent with a state of language still close to the Northern roots. Unfortunately not finding Warlock on a map of the British island I can´t tell whether it is situated in the North or South. Maybe the language of the Celts had been different from the Norse. For sure the language of the Saxons and Angels had been close to the Norse, but both tribes conquered the South of Britain replacing the Roman culture, that ended up at the Hadrian´s Wall South of Scotland, making the borderline to the old Celtic culture, also in later times. Observation: "lokkur" is close to the Roman "loquor" (speaking) and "vart" meant the adventurous travel, so that the "vardlokkur" would be a bard, singing stories of adventures. Bards sang their stories and did´nt tell them. Maybe this is the "spirit song"? "Spirituals" are not known in the Germanic ancient world, they came up first in the mystics of Middle Ages. That is much too late for this part of language history. History of language is a mystery as our cultures don´t trace back in written facts that far. But the mystery-zone starts before Middle Ages that is earlier than the 7th century. Those times don´t concern the magic-hunt, that took place about 1000 years later. 15.10.00 / Willem de Blécourt / willem@p... My UNIVERSAL DICTIONARRY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (from 1936) explains "Warlock" as: `traitor' or `sorcerer', derived from the Old English "waer" (truth) and "loga" (liar). In German these would be "Wahr" und "Luege", thus: someone who lies the truth, or presents lies as truth, or makes truth out of lies. I have an instinctive, post-modern liking for this kind of interpretation: it sounds completely magical. 17.10.00 / Bill Ellis / wce2@p... According to my old etymological source, the Middle English forms of the word were "warlawe" or "warloghe" with the Anglo-Saxon form being "waerloga," meaning "traitor" not "magician." There may be an Old Norse word "vardlokkur" that is superficially similar, but the "d" that would make the first part cognate with "ward" (= door, gate) does not appear in the early records. So the first root is "waer" (= an oath to be faithful or truthful; G: Wahr[heit]) Likewise, the consonant sound for the word "loc" or "lokke" (= something that guards a door or keeps it shut) was already a hard K sound in Anglo-Saxon, not the soft gutteral "w" "gh" or "g" sound attested in the manuscripts where the word is actually attested. So the second root is "leogan" ("[tell a ] lie"; G: luegen) not "loc" ("lock"). So as romantic as "ward-locker" and "robber's hole" sound, the traditional "oath-breaker" derivation is probably correct: "waer" = sworn allegiance to one's overlord, religious vows to one's God, + "leogan" (lie, violate trust, deceive, be unfaithful), thus one who has broken his vows to the Lord and secretly made a pact with His enemy, a traitor to God, a devil worshipper. Warlock Another definition of the word was most commonly used up the eastern side of England, and especially in the North East, taken from Old Norse rather than Old English, and comes from "varth-lokkr" meaning (essentially) "one who locks (something) in" or "one who encloses" and is used for an exorcist or a magician who traps and disposes of unwanted entities. As such, it is a term of honour. Still other definitions include the claim that the word refers to a scalplock of hair worn as a marker by one who could see the wyrd. The word is still used in it's common dictionary definition of a male witch. People on various sides of the debate argue vehmently that one or the other of these definitions is completely right, or completely wrong. Warlock The word warlock is derived from the Middle English word "warloghe," and Old English word "wrloga," which meant an oath breaker during the medieval times. The word is from two words: wr (meaning a pledge) and logan (meaning to lie). In modern fantasy, warlocks are often just another word for spell- caster, and are often assumed to be evil. In Dungeons and Dragons, warlock is a title given to experienced magicians. The television show "Bewitched" used the term "warlock" for male witches, and it's probably through the show's popularity that this misinterpretation flourished. Another story of how the word came to be associated with witchcraft is this: In the late 1500's a Scot went against the wishes of his clan a became a catholic priest. Well this did not sit well with his clan so he was cast out. This however did not cause him to be called a warlock ( WARLOCK : Gaelic/ Scottish for traitor. ). During an outbreak of so-called witchcraft, when people accused others of being witches to keep themselves from being burned, someone named this scottish priest as a witch. I could not find out if he was burned or escaped but the text did make note that more than 50 people did. The priest's clan banished him, branded him a warlock (traitor), and no longer spoke his name. Another definition of the word is said to have originated on the eastern side of England, and especially in the North East, taken from Old Norse rather than Old English, and comes from "varth-lokkr" meaning (essentially) "one who locks (something) in" or "one who encloses" and is used for an exorcist or a magician who traps and disposes of unwanted entities. As such, it is a term of honour. Further definitions include the claim that the word refers to a scalplock of hair worn as a marker by one who could see the wyrd. The word is still used in its common dictionary definition of a male witch or sorceror. People on various sides of the debate argue vehmently that one or the other of these definitions is completely right, or completely wrong. The word Warlock became associated with one who had made a pact with the devil.

Politics
The Trouble With Bush

The George Bush fiasco one of my favorite topics, Stan, although I rarely find anyone who seems capable of discussing it intelligently and calmly... no offense, but intellect isn't exactly a Republican strong suit. I've been writing about this for a few yars now, so rather than immediately repeat myself once again, since most Bush defenders tend to go away without responding once the facts begin to be exposed to daylight and modern times, here's mostly where it began, a run-down of what George Bush himself was left with, and the fact that he trashed all the progress made in the Clinton era. Then we can take it from there:

https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/alt.politics/DZqk6okjUD8

Exactly... that's how Obama came to be elected in the first place, since in comparison with how Bill Clinton left Bush and the way Bush wrecked practically every bit of progress in eight years, the voters decided they'd had enough of the Republican fiasco. Nobody, certainly not Obama, ever claimed undoing the mess would be easy. Not at all... Bush left a mess for the people who have to follow him to try to fix... in this case, Obama. As a President George Bush was simply inept, and he was too much of a stubborn dullard to think on his feet and make changes in strategy when they were needed. "Mess" may not be the proper word, maybe it is. I often notice these forgetful moments when supporters of folks like Bush come up. I suppose I need to run through a short reminder of how Bill Clinton left the situation (for the popularly elected Al Gore, btw) and where things went during the George Bush eight years...

1.) Economy: Good 2.) Wages: Up 3.) Poverty: Down 4.) Unemployment: Down 5:) Housing: Up 6:) Crime: Down 7.) Stock Market: Up 8.) World: At Peace At the end of the Bush term all the above eight points were pretty much at the opposite extreme... Bush's "mess" does seem about right, after all. A fouled-up situation like Bush left Obama will quite rightly take a number of years to set right... and no one was under the delusion it would be an easy thing to fix, the mess Bush made.

Reviews and Critique of Will Dockery
Several writeups, not in any chronological order as of yet.

"...In my opinion Will Dockery is easily one of the most authentic American poets around. A real coffeehouse poet who is not scared of mingling some real American elements such as country music into his poetry. While you just try to appear as European as possible with all your sucking up to 80 year old European surrealists." -M. H. Benders

Rick Howe's Critique
Throughout his life, Rick Howe wrote hundreds of reviews, essays, short stories, columns, opinion pieces, virtually ever type of writing imaginable. Most of these are not available online as of yet, but we hope to someday find, collect, and present as many of these as we can for the future generations to enjoy. Here's one that does exist, one of the many critiques and reviews How wrote about his friend, the poet William Dockery.

To the Magic Store by Will Dockery

Will Dockery's New Poems by Rick Howe.

To The Magic Store, just released by Will Dockery, is a publication of modest proportions, consisting of a cover illustration followed by seven pages of poetry. At that, there is something aesthetically effective about this simple minibook design. Having issued a series of similar books over the last several years, the author undoubtedly has aquired a certain proficiency with them. It is probably a question, since one is not sure how else to explain it, of /fitting/ or /filling/ - yet not overfilling - a book of this size with an appropriate amount of material, such that one might experience in it a satisfying ampleness, notwithstanding the smallness of its format; at the same time expression must reach completion in the allotted number of pages, and not leave the impression of having been aborted, or that necessary articulations were left out. Judicious resort to ellipsis may indeed be helpful in this regard only providing it does not signify impoverishment. [Which is not the same thing, really.] It is indicative that the book proceeds at what seems, at once, a comfortable, unhurried pace; at the same time it is more than the negligible sort of labor which one might expect in the everyday course of things to have done in fifteen minutes or so.

Style - In style and temperment, William Dockery's poetry is a little like that of John Berryman - cf., The Dream Songs. A basically sensitive but slightly discombobulated awareness wending its way through hazes of intoxication; the neighborhood milieu. [..when I was staying/ at the boarding house/ across from the park,/ I hated those bells/ and I hated that place./ At the same time I loved it.  In essence the theme is search for self. Now, self, in the way in which a poet like William Dockery understands it, is essentially a myth; in other words, a kind of story in which self is revealed and delinated to itself. In fact self cannot appear except through the mediation of external places and people. But the important thing is that these must be interpreted as having transcendental implications which might not be apparent  at the level of quotidean experience. So this is what is meant by the poet entering his neighborhood or social milieu in search of self. Myth of origin [how self first learns to recognize itself]; golden age, debacle. These are some of the typical mythic components in life. To keep this on a simple, general level. Of course much subtler comprehensions are also possible. For example, a typical mythification involves a division of life into periods. When I lived on such-and-such street, life had a certain quality; I had these experiences, was aquainted with these people, et cetera. Then I moved somewhere else and it wasn't the same; a period of life came to an end. Thus life may be seen as a succession of /periods/ of greater or shorter duration; each more or less distinguished by objective referents [dates, addresses, names of people], each revealing distinctive mythological demensions as well.



Content - In To The Magic Store the poet is viewing such a period retrospectively. It is a Proustian /rememberance of things past/ in a way; things are remembered together with their psychological associations, producing a sensation of mythological awareness. [It is not necessary to spell it out with elaborate detail. The point is simply to intuit how a set of associated names and images creates the effect of milieu or era.]  Viewed retrospectively, there is of course an emphasis on dissolution. People drift away, some die, and eventually the milieu dissolves. The tone of the book is predominantly  one of loss and mourning. In one case the poet later revisits one of his main friends - the speed junkie musician Hugo - and finds he'd been burned in a terrible disaster,/ in a wheelchair and speechless.  With its emphasis on the downside of the cycle, To The Magic Store corresponds [mythically speaking] with a decline and fall - maybe not of a /golden age/, since more or less there is only one full-blown golden age in a lifetime, but of some lesser epicycle which never the less exhibits analogous phases of flourishing and decline. Curiously enough, there is no magic store explicitly mentioned in this book. Given the preoccupation with loss and mortality, a suitable title might have been To The Cemetery. Indeed, the climactic verses tell of taking a girl to a graveyard - to see the grave of the guy who died./ We sat there in this graveyard park,/ with a six-pack of beer./ he looked fragile/ as she drunkenly cried./ She looked open/ to my sensibility...  But then, as the poem concludes:  :I can still remember :her laughing at my poetry :didn't feel so good to me :after I'd been up all night :pouring out my feelings. :I thought she was interesting, :she turned out :she was just a little female fool. :Was not able to put all the components :of my life in place... :my mythology was incomplete. But the title might have a different and more Proustian meaning. The mythology of self, unfulfilled in initial experience [where to be sure such mythologies inevitably represent inconclusive aspirations], might be prolonged through acts of memory; where by poetic magic they may be perfected and ternalized - notwithstanding their preliminary frustration in mere circumstances. Perhaps this might shed some light on the mystic quality of a poem like The Ballad of James Collier. A line like I hope some of them are left is perhaps best taken at face value, that is, in its natural sense. Other parts of the poem allude to ghostly reunions - perhaps in some transcendental world where the past continues as a permanent reality - In  tiny detail. -Rick Howe, Topical Studies #5, January 1 1993. Used by permission.



Andrew Roller's Reviews
Comic Update, May 11, 1995

Green Ringlets, 50c. Minicomic, eight pages. William Dockery, P.O. Box XXXX, Phenix City, AL 36868.



A chapbook, from whence the first poem provides the title. Each book apparently comes with a free coffee stain. (Mine did, anyway.)

Care for some disjointed images, rendered with varying degrees of proficiency, complete with a bizarre, Egyptian pharaoh cover? This is the book for you. There's a poem about the south and several about females. I could write this thing up really good, but I'm full. I had to feed the hamburger Dockery threw over the bridge to me to a cat. It was lukewarm, anyway. If I'm to work for food, Dockery, it has to be hot. Anyway, the onion rings were good. For those I'll quoth several of his better lines:

"Answers like seeds being dispersed into "the breeze... "...We stood in the marsh of reeds... "...The Science Ladies "wandering inside my soul (pg. 5)."

There ya go. Thank God Wilson quit publishing. -Andrew Roller

felt, 50c postpaid. Minicomic, eight pages. William Dockery, P.O. Box XXXX, Phenix City, AL 36868.

On the back cover of this tome is written the words, "Second Printing." I was going to joke that with Dockery, this means my copy is not only the second printing but the second copy. However, this damn thing is actually very well written. Maybe he did actually print more than one copy in the first printing, and sold out!

felt begins poorly, but picks up at the top of page four. Then things really get going at the bottom of page four, and the lines roll on through thunderous poetic crescendoes right to the end. There are amazing images here; Tatumville park, the memory of Tracy, the father who's "a grey cat," even a lake of disappearing paths.

I highly recommend this chapbook on two counts, as a stunning book of poems and as a sample of the best the comics small press has to offer. -Andrew Roller

Comic Update 140, 141, 55c each. Minicomic, 8 pages. Frank G. Lloyd Jr., P.O. Box xxx, Richwood, W.V. 26261-0486.

Comic Update is the oldest living small press reviewzine. Begun in August 1986 by the immortal Andrew Roller, Update has struggled through various publishers over the years and, amazingly, has been published on a rigorously consistent basis. These are statements that can be made of no other zine in the comics small press. Yet, for all its fortitude, Update has continually been subscribed to by less people than almost any other reviewzine. It's probably had more publishers in its lifetime than subscribers.

This is not to say that Update has passed unnoticed through the comics world. Nearly everyone in small press has written at least one nasty letter to Update (all published, with spelling errors pointed out by Roller's remorseless sic). Both the mighty and the unknown have been excoriated in Update's pages. Update was even investigated in a face-to-face confrontation by the F.B.I.

The Update tradition of potent, even toxic commentary on the small press continues in this latest pair of issues. Lynn Hansen takes Andrew Roller's Naughty Naked Dreamgirls #11 to task for "not set[ting] a good example for younger readers...who may practice sex indiscriminately...and so get AIDS." Lloyd delivers a short but devastatingly humorous editorial against Comics F/X, and even manages to liken Ian Shires to Jeffrey Dahlmer.

Dockery provides insight to the life and recent death of Freddy Mercury as a part of his regular "Like a Monkey on My Back" column in Update. Whether you knew or cared about this singer, Dockery's writing (particularly in this installment of his column) struck me as absolutely fascinating. Mike Taylor is present with his prickly review column in Update #140. Taylor is an excellent addition to the Update team, still a relative newcomer, having been with this zine for only about 35 issues. The mainstay of Update, of course, is Lynn Hansen, with his educated, well-rounded reviews of both small press and independent comics. I would suggest to Brooks, Dockery, Roller, and whoever else is involved in Fugitive Factsheet that they get Hansen on their team. His prescient reviews of independent comics are just what Fugitive Factsheet needs to get into mainstream comics stores. But then, I'm just a newcomer. For a cup of coffee I'll review anything, even a comic by William Dockery. -Andrew Roller

Larry Caddell's Performance Review
Here's a good description of the Shadowville scene, from the new issue of Columbus Community News by Larry Caddell:

It was a hot and balmy Saturday night. The intermittent rain only pushed the humidity level off the charts. I had heard good things about Backyard Blues. Something was happening at a grassroots level. After all, I received my invite courtesy of Will Dockery, Columbus' poet laureate and Ralph Frank, our own drummer/sign painter/folk artist extraordinaire.

Thomas Gottshall purchased the old "coin op" laundry and accompanying garage-style building on Sixth Street and First Avenue. He has been renovating and restoring the old building in hopes of turning it into a music and arts complex. Floor plans have been created featuring performance space, meeting rooms and a recording studio. The building is made of brick and features a wooden-arched roof.

The large main room has a small stage on one end and has surprisingly good acoustics, thanks to the arched ceiling. The crowd was sparse but very enthusiastic and consisted mostly of musicians, artists and residents of the historic district. Most occupied the church pews inside, brought their own lawn chairs (and favorite beverages) or stood in the open air. The music, much like the weather, was steaming hot.

After several acoustic performers, the Shadowville All-Stars took the stage. This band of rock n' roll renegades are fronted by Will Dockery who has long needed a launch pad for his eclectic, imagery-laden, neo-beatific poems. Chain-smoking, spontaneously gesturing towards make-believe objects and addressing imaginary characters, Dockery sang with a gravel-throated limp to a rolling, bluesy romp in the swamp. Sounding like a cross between Tom Waits, Lou Reed and the soundtrack to Pulp Fiction, Dockery and crew chugged through their myriad of originals about pool halls, bridges, tragedies, lost love and relationships.



The music of the All-stars was gritty and down-to-earth: a solid backbeat encircled by the meandering bass lines of Sam Singer and two blues-infused electric guitars (one tremolo-heavy surf-induced). The band was joined on stage by Henry Parker for a long, bombastic version of Sweet Jane by the Velvet Underground.

I was glad to hear this crew of upstarts carving out musical sketches of Smith-station, the Dillingham Street Bridge and other Columbus-inspired landmarks. I hope to see a lot more of the Shadowville All-stars. They kicked out the jams. Check out their space at http://www.myspace.com/shadowvilleallstars.



Next up were the vocal harmonies of Kat and Renee, both of whom have wonderful voices. Their blues and country-inspired tunes paved the way for Columbus' best kept secret - The Muff-tones.

The Muff-tones are made up of three very talented brothers, Jim, Jack and John. Their aural soundscapes drift across the plain of bluegrass, folk and sweeping instrumental originals. The Muff-tones play both acoustic and electric instruments naturally or through various effects, sounding at once intensely original and vaguely familiar.

The band started their set in a traditional formation - guitar, banjo and electric bass. The sound was also traditional, very much like standard bluegrass. Jim then switched his banjo for a dobro and then replaced that with a mandolin. The trio swooped and sweltered through some speedy newgrass, ragtime and instrumental folk ballads. Titles included "Road to Recovery," "Running from Nothing," "Bleach" and "Square Dance." "Searching" was described by Jim as something "Barry White would play if he grew up in Kentucky." Each piece told a story.

Slowly the effects were added. Jack played his acoustic guitar through a synth pedal, making the instrument sound like keyboard washes. Jim then pulled out an old Ibanez electric head-banger guitar and played it through an assortment of effects. This all added to an interstellar sound that brought the listener from the coalmines of Kentucky to a psychedelic galaxy far, far away.

The Muff-tones ended their set with a very dexterous groove full of rich, acoustic textures and synchronistic rhythms showcasing these front porch symphonies. The band seems to be tightening up its sound and line-up. This band is worth catching around town.

The final act at Backyard Blues was Eddie Jones. Jones sat on stage like a professional blues player and belted out "I Got a Woman" by Ray Charles and jammed with a young bass player and Jim from the Muff-tones on some blues in E.



He was then joined on stage by Eileen d'Esterno, a local sculptor and painter who began singing the blues in a sultry and sexy voice. Whether it was her verses or the swaying of her hips in front of the still seated Jones, the performance was cut short by Jones' significant other who ruches on stage only to yank the cable from the guitar, silencing the room and leaving d'Esterno to ask: "What happened? Did the cops come?"



The cops should have come. I haven't had more fun of recent, and best of all, the event was free. All performers gave of their time and talent, and some really good folks supported the event with sound, lights and spirit. Gotshall said he would host more of these events, so keep your ears open for good things to come from Backyard Blues.

-Larry CR Caddell

Known Associates



 * - Rick Howe
 * - Jim Pontius
 * - George Sulzbach
 * - Tito Wals
 * - pd wilson
 * - Gene Woolfolk, Jr.
 * - Henry F. Conley
 * - Wes Sprunger
 * - George Buck
 * - Brian Fowler
 * - Dan Barfield
 * - Rusty Wood

Hogbottom Music & BBQ Festival
Well, we have a great music & BBQ festival known as Hogbottom...



Hogbottom 2013 schedule / Fort Mitchell, AL / April 27th

Hogbottom bands and schedule



Here's an update on that event, on the weekend of April 27th, from Hogbottom founder Dave Patillo:

"The action wear has been ordered, the line-up has been cast, and the new grill is in the works. It's time to clean out your coolers, break out the lawn chairs, dust off your instruments, and fluff up your sleeping bags. Believe it or not the 8th Annual Hog Bottom is just five short weeks away! The schedule for the day is below and attached and now includes 21 bands! This year we will be starting a bit earlier (10:45 am) and going until 10:00 in the evening. I have also attached a revised flyer. I for one can't wait and I look forward to seeing you there..."


 * - Majestic Diner (Atlanta, Georgia)

"The Dockery Foundation is Autism Education One Person at a Time. Early intervention and programs like The Dockery Foundation strive to help educate everyone. — “The Dockery Foundation :: Autism Education...One Person at a Time”,"
 * - The Dockery Foundation


 * - Ken's Tavern (Atlanta, Georgia)

Closed.

Artists For Pasaquan Weekend
https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/167311093469579/

Folk art and music festival by the Artists for Pasaquan, November 2nd and 3rd near Buena Vista, Georgia. Pasaquan was created by the late Eddie Owens Martin.

Featuring the music of Mammoth Clamp, Liquid Lightwave, Sean Rox Trio, Katy Clyde, Cult of Riggonia, Rick Edwards, Moonshine Junkies, The Shadowville All-Stars and others.

From Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasaquan

"Pasaquan is a 7-acre (28,000 m2) compound near Buena Vista, Georgia. It was created by an eccentric artist named Eddie Owens Martin (1908-1986), who called himself St. EOM. Martin inherited the land from his mother and, using proceeds earned from fortune telling, transformed the house and its surrounding land. In an article on the outsider artist, Tom Patterson describes Pasaquan as “one of the most remarkable folk art environments in America—a sort of mock pre-Columbian psychedelic wonderland of brightly painted totems, curved and angled walls and walkways, and wildly ornamented structures that [Martin] called “temples” and “pagodas.”. The site is maintained by the Pasaquan Preservation Society.

Pasaquan is an internationally renowned art site, and consists of six major structures, including a redesigned 1885 farmhouse, painted concrete sculptures, and 4 acres (16,000 m2) of painted masonry concrete walls.

In September 2008, Pasaquan was accepted for listing on the National Register of Historic Places..."

Doo-Nanny (Seale, Alabama)




Doo-Nanny is always the last weekend in March:

“Come all ye inventors, movie makers, ballerinas, bikers, morticians, bakers, artists, conspiracy theorists, scientists, foodies, eco-whatevers, moonshiners, comedians, fire-spinners, yodelers, he-shes, animal-trainers, pickle-makers, party girls, sock monkeys, stackers, jugglers, musicians, whittlers, spankers, fisherpersons, beggers, wanderers, and map-makers…….” So says the introduction to Doo Nanny on their official home page.

Doo-Nanny official home page



"...Get ready for Doo-Nanny 2012. It will be held March 30, 31 2012. So, pencil it in your date book and get ready." Directions to Doo-Nanny: 41 Poorhouse Road, Seale, Alabama (not very far, really) Locally, take 431 South from Phenix City to Highway 169 East, take the first right onto Poorhouse Road, look for the signs about a half mile down, on the left side of Poorhouse Road. Get directions from: Mapquest 16 miles from Columbus GA 2.5 hours from Atlanta 5.5 hours from Asheville 16.5 hours from New York City 32.5 hours from LA Please adjust times if traveling by means other than automobile.



Just head down 431 from Phenix City to Seale Alabama. Follow the signs or just ask somebody.

"'I could tell you about The Bibb City Ramblers and how they brought out the hoe-down, East Georgia style on Saturday afternoon quickly followed by The Shadowville Allstars and their insane menagerie of pickers, strummers, drummers, bangers, trumpeters, trombonists, chanters, singers, freaks, faux-Indian dancers and I forget all what. I wish I could capture with words the colorful costumed cacophony of chaos that rolled from the both levels of the double-decker stage out to the performance area and up the hill to the kitchen and on out over the pond before it dissipated into the ether, never ever to be reproduced. (You just can’t recapture the magic of an organic improve performance.) I was thrilled to be able to bond with all the folks who made the trip down to Seale all the way from Asheville, NC — my childhood home town. I was even more thrilled to be able to point out to the Asheville peeps that the weirdest thing on stage bar none was an act from Columbus, GA — my adopted forever-home.' -Katy Clyde"



Doo-Nanny Festival documentary featuring art and music. Bibb City Ramblers and Shadowville-Allstars. EATV 7:

Doo-Nanny filmed by Rusty Wood


 * - Dinglewood Pharmacy (Columbus, Georgia)

Although the Scrambled Dog was said to be created by Firm Roberts.


 * - The Alley behind Rhino's on Broad (Columbus, Georgia)
 * - SoHo Bar and Grill (Columbus, Georgia)

Annual World AIDS Day Concert
Will Dockery & The Shadowville All-Stars have, on an annual basis, put on concerts for World AIDS Day in co-operation with local Columbus, Georgia politician Jeremy Hobbs and The Chattahoochee Valley Better Way Foundation since 2009.



"'The World AIDS Day Concert 2012 was a success, raising some bucks for the cause with our annual sidewalk show. I want to thank The Shadowville All-Stars: Alex Jordan, Gary Frankfurth, Jack Snipe, Dana Dodd, Rusty Wood, Eric M. Gunter and Brian Mallard plus special guests Mike Matthews, Jeremy Scott Hobbs, Veronica Coldiron & Intrinsic Blue, Bobby Walden and the illustrious staff of baristas at Fountain City Coffee for helping me put this shindig on.— with Intrinsic Blue, Alex Jordan, Mike Matthews, Veronica Coldiron, Dana Dodd, Shannon Jackson-Summers, Ryan Griffis, Gary Frankfurth, Rusty Wood, Eric M. Gunter, Brian Mallard, Jeremy Scott Hobbs and Jack Snipe at Fountain City Coffee.' -Will Dockery"

"It was such a success because of you Will Dockery. You do such a wonderful job every year and the people of our great city are very lucky to have man of your caliber at work within it. I hope people know everywhere that Will and all his friends are Helping Pave A Better Way Forward For All..."

"The Chattahoochee Valley Better Way Foundation, Inc. is a Non Profit Organization located in Columbus Georgia that provides services to those in the Chattahoochee Valley who are infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. The Chattahoochee Valley Better Way Foundation, Inc. is a Positive Led Organization that not only works to help all those living with HIV and AIDS but continues to publicly advocate to enhance awareness, increase federal and state funding, build community support, and improve prevention methods throughout the area to lower infection rates. -Jeremy Hobbs

In Columbus Georgia, a World AIDS Day Banquet is held annually from 5:30-8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1 at Columbus Government Center (Plaza Level). Expect free Country’s barbecue, HIV testing, testimonials and entertainment. Also, the free concert with Will Dockery and Shadowville All-Stars follows the banquet.

Other fundraising events are held through the year for AIDS research.

Just Stop The War!
"Just Stop The War!" is a song and fundraising recording and video recorded by the members of the Columbus, Georgia/Phenix City, Alabama music scene in 2010. It was written by Basil Fitzpatrick and recorded at Rick Edwards' studio in Phenix City.

An idea for the creation of an American anti-war fundraiser came from Army veteran and guitarist Basil Fitzpatrick, and Rick Edwards was instrumental in bringing the vision to reality. Several musicians were contacted by the pair, before Fitzapatrick sat down to the task of writing the song. Following several months of perfecting the anthem, Fitzpatrick completed the writing of "Just Stop The War!" one night before the song's first recording session, in early 2010. The historic event brought together some of the best performer in the Columbus/Phenix City music scene of that time.



Artemis Record ® presents "Just Stop The War!" by Glaz Wind.This music video features several artists including, Basil Fitzpatrick, the late Clyde Baker, Durundo Jenkins, Faye Fitzpatrick, Will Dockery, Gaye Poor, Sandy Madaris, Gene Woolfolk Jr., Gary Adkins, and Henry Foster Conley. A portion of proceeds of CD and internet music downloads goes to support the Disabled American Veterans.

Song and video was edited By Jamie Mitchell.

T.O.T.M. (Theatre of the Mind)


Dockery has a Spacerock album called Flying Saucer Mechanic with the band T.O.T.M. (Theatre Of The Mind) with Brian David Vaughan and Brian Fowler, released in 2011. T.O.T.M. (Theatre Of The Mind) are an American rock band, usually considered one of the space rock groups, but often delve into an eclectic music variety. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes, and spoken word excursions. Founded by Brian Vaughan (Synthesizers, guitar, loopers, a lot of various effects, software workstation, sound engineering) the current group consists of Vaughan, Brian Fowler (Guitar, bass, theremin, percussion, drums, violin, mandolin, rhodes piano, lyrics & vocals, sound engineering) and Will Dockery (Resident space poet, lyrics & vocal performances).



Poetry Chapbooks

 * Red Zeros - Summer 1983
 * Topaz Cube - Summer 1984
 * Blood Skeleton - Summer 1984
 * Green Ringlets - 1989
 * felt -1990
 *  To The Magic Store -1993
 * April Bullets -1995
 * Secret Madrigals -1997
 * Problems In Time -1997
 * Hard Return -1998
 * Opera Positions -1998
 * Sea Weed Fox -1999
 * White Irony -2000
 * Ice Cream From Venus -2000
 * Brain Green - 2001

Discography

 * Bag of Groceries (1982) material written and recorded with Jim Pontius and P.D. Wilson, possibly lost and/or deteriorated tapes.
 * Shadowville All-Stars(2006-13) material written with Dennis Beck and Brian Mallard and others, including:
 * Over You (Written by Will Dockery, Brian Mallard & [[Jack Snipe])]
 * Red Lipped Stranger (Written by Will Dockery & Brian Mallard)
 * Black Crow's Brother (Written by Will Dockery & Gini Woolfolk)
 * She Sleeps Tight (Written by Will Dockery & Brian Mallard)
 * Silver Blazing Sun (Written by Will Dockery & Brian Mallard)
 * [Dockery-Conley (1998-2011) material written with [[Henry F. Conley]], including Ozone Stigmata, Fadeaway Encounter and others.:
 * Shadowville Speedway (Written by Will Dockery & Henry Conley)
 * Truck Stop Woman (Written by Will Dockery & Henry Conley)
 * Twilight Girl (Written by Will Dockery & Henry Conley)
 * Ozone Stigmata (Written by Will Dockery & Henry Conley)
 * Waking Up Now (Written by Will Dockery, Henry Conley, Gene Woolfolk & Sandy Madaris)


 * Shadowville Speedway ep A five song sampler compact disc released June 11 2008, 1.) Shadowville Speedway 2.) Twilight Girl 3.) Fadeaway Encounter 4.) Ragpicker Joe 5.) Surgeon General. All songs written by Will Dockery and Henry Conley.
 * Shadowville Speedway compact disc album, released April 18, 2009.

Copyright Information at Library of Congress http://www.wikinfo.org/Multilingual/index.php/Shadowville_Speedway Shadowville speedway.

Type of Work: Entry Not Found Registration Number / Date: PAu003501816 / 2008-09-23 Application Title: Shadowville speedway. Title: Shadowville speedway. Description: Compact disc + Print material. Copyright Claimant: Will Dockery, 1958-. Address: P O BOX 7394, Columbus, Georgia, 31908. Date of Creation: 2008 Authorship on Application: Will Dockery, 1958- ; Citizenship: United States. Authorship: collaboration of words and music.

Video appearances
Various peformances of Will Dockery are available on YouTube, including


 * Ozone Stigmata, written with Henry Conley.
 * Truck Stop Woman, written with Henry Conley.
 * Last Dream Today, written with Brian Mallard.
 * The Ride/Combat Zone, written with Dennis Beck.

Television
Will Dockery hosted a television program "Kaleidoscope" for 12 episodes for East Alabama TV channel 7. An Access channel for Cable TV of East Alabama from August to December of 2012. He interviewed artists from the Chattahoochee Valley area in the Phenix City, Alabama/Columbus, Georgia area.