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

 * 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. 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.



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



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 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.





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?"



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 ownder's money snafus did his book selling mecca in.



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.

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...

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 Docker'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.

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
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)

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.

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.

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.** Captain Infinity

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.



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



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 Brian Mallard, guitar, Jack Snipe, lead guitar, Rusty Wood, bass guitar, Eric Gunter, drums, Gary Frankfurth, harmonica, keyboard and percussion and Patricia Suddeth, tambourine and backing vocals.



Reviews and Critique of Will Dockery
"...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

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.



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

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.


 * - Doo-Nanny (Seale, Alabama)


 * - 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.

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.