Poem and song by Jack Foley + Tony Perez; narrative and art by deb Ewing
Jack Foley, recitation; Tony Perez, vocal; Don Caruth, guitar; Jon Dryden, piano and Hammond B-3; Doug Pohorsky, bass; Ron E Beck, drums. Engineered by Doug Pohorsky. Mixed and mastered by Steve Glaze.
AT THE CROSSROADS: A BALLAD OF A LIE ABOUT ROBERT JOHNSON
There’s a dark man waiting down by the crossroads they say he’s older than a thousand years holds a knife in one hand in the other a guitar they say when you meet him you flow with tears I’ll see, I’ll see
He’s got a million names but one’s Old Nick seen a million things go down the stream he’ll never be blessed but he’ll never die I always thought he was just a dream I’ll see, I’ll see
my name is Robert son of John I want my hands to learn to play he says I have an immortal soul if I have it’s his I’m in his sway I’ll see, I’ll see
Dear Robert, Dear Robert says my soul to me Dear Robert, Dear Robert you still are free you still can refuse his foul commands music comes pouring from my willing hands I’ll see, I’ll see
Robert Johnson is a legendary blues guitarist – legend says he sold his soul to the devil at The Crossroads (more or less identified as located an intersection north of Clarksdale, Mississippi.) His style was said to be otherworldly. It spawned inspiration in blues players everywhere and earned him a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
John Wayne Harold “Jack” Foley is an American poet, radio personality, and Arts activist whose life and career spans continents. His journey began on the East Coast, diverted to India, and landed him in Oakland, California, whence he operates today, advocating for expression in sound and print. His latest book, Creative Death, can be found here at Igneus Press.
Tony Perez remembers meeting Jack for the first time: “I made a contribution to KPFA in support of your show and as a prize , you drove down to San Jose to give me an hour of your time ( you stayed for 2 ) – we discussed poetry and got to know each other a little. At the time, I was living in a van. What drew me to your show was your reading of Harold Norse poem with the hook : “you must have been a beautiful baby.”
Melinda scooped me up on Twitter, where I’d been responding to poetry tweets with poetry tweets. Since then we’ve recruited each other for several projects, flexing Melly’s mad video skills here at Igneus Press, and myself guest-posting on her blog. We challenge each other in the best ways.
Melinda Smith has a PhD in neuroscience, two kids, a husband, and a dog. She’s also branded herself Iambic Beats, a powerhouse of immersive electronic music and spoken word poetry. She’s collected science-based poems for an anthology, ENTANGLED, and found a publisher for one novella while she puts the wraps on another. Mel loves drawing other artists into her projects, but she’s a versatile painter herself.
I don’t know how she does it all, so I asked her.
me: Your new book, InVERSE, is a compilation of lines from your spoken-word music albums. How did you decide you wanted to do this?
MS: I don’t necessarily consider myself the best poet. I am just at the beginning of the learning curve. Because I spent so many years as a scientist, I think I tend to tell more than show in both poetry and fiction, and this is something I’m really working on. But sometimes I have lines that really get at what it means to be human. I have certain lines that I’m proud of, that I think make a person stop and think. And I guess I just wanted to combine some of these lines in an approachable format, where it has a look and feel of going through an Iambic Beats notebook. I found this Ukrainian artist who does this wonderful line-sketch art and I think all together the effect works. Sometimes you don’t need a whole poem, but a few words to get your mind thinking, you know? I left space at the end of the book for people to write their own snippets of poetry. I’m hoping to see what everyone comes up with!
an excerpt from InVERSE by Melinda A. Smith
Music and poetry are not mutually exclusive. They are parts of the same body. The facts of this world, the truths, are bones and muscles. I say poetry and music give us the eyes and ears.
– melinda a. smith
me: How did the spoken-word album project begin?
MS: Here’s the thing. Music and poetry are not mutually exclusive. They are parts of the same body. The facts of this world, the truths, are bones and muscles. I say poetry and music give us the eyes and ears. A piece of music has verses or movements and a bridge where poetry has stanzas or sections and often a defined “turn.” I started to hear these elements as one when I read poetry that I loved. I started playing with electronic music and creating it around lines of poetry and the project took off. I use recordings of myself or others reading poetry and I combine them with original music.
But I am, by training, a scientist. I still find wonder in the science behind all the ethereal. So I often include scientific themes or even snippets of readings or lectures in my music so that the listener hears several aspects of any topic. For example, my forthcoming release NeurOnFire is all themed around the mind. Songs cover anything from memory or our perception of dreams and time to weightier subjects like empathy, depression, and self-harm. Scientific readings are layered in with poetry and music, along with real words from people around the world discussing what depression feels like to them. Overall, I believe my Iambic Beats project is meant to welcome all forms of expression and to show everyone that we are all part of the same race. We all have feelings; we all wonder about the universe; we all deserve a voice.
me: But you also sing & write music…?
MS: Yes! I do a lot of things and I’ve gotten good at them. I say this not to sound egotistical but because I think we ALL do a lot of things but have become constrained by far too few labels and boxes. If you’ll allow a brief (or maybe not) tangent… Labels are useful. They do important things. “I am a medical doctor” tells us that this person has the requisite training to care for certain physical needs. “I am ____’s mother” demonstrates legal and social authority to pick the child up from school, etc. But what happens when we define people by those labels? That doctor goes home at night and maybe paints or plays mah jongg. Maybe they are also a world class cellist. Don’t even get me started on how we label moms who are (gasp) whole people apart from their maternal roles. Now to my actual point.
I am not an artist, or a singer, or a writer, or a poet, or a mother, or a scientist. I am all of these things. I am a whole person. I have a white belt in karate (and yes I am proud of this because it shows I am at the beginning of something). I began learning digital art. I produce electronic music. I get labeled “mom” all the time. And I want to yell, “hey, I’m a person aside from making two kids.” But we all do this. Isn’t a writer also a reader by nature? Isn’t an artist also someone who takes in art? Isn’t a mother/father also a child? I believe we’ve been taught the lie of breadth versus depth: Be an expert at something. Don’t show people your failures. Be the most and the best. In reality our breadth strengthens our depths. I believe being a poet made me a better scientist and vice versa. “Bad” at art? Do more art and be “bad” at it. It will inform your writing. And besides, it will feel good to do.
me: Do you have any other poetry projects in the works?
MS: I write a lot of poetry, mostly short twitter pieces. I also write longer pieces to work through difficult emotions or life phases. I will likely publish something in the future, but I don’t yet know what that will look like.
As for Iambic Beats, look for my latest release July 25, 2022, NeurOnFire. Through the end of August, all proceeds of InVERSE and any of my other merch or music will go to The Jed Foundation, a non-profit org dedicated to mental health and suicide prevention in young adults.
Ellipsis Imprints is another fine Small Press hailing from Durham, England, established in 2020. Have a look at their titles here, including SUM by Melinda A. Smith. Read more about publishing with them here.
Bandcamp is the place to find aural and visual creations by Iambic Beats, aka Melinda A. Smith. InVERSE is available elsewhere on the internet, but if you buy it here on Bandcamp Friday, the website gives all proceeds to the artist. Through the end of August, Iambic Beats will donate all proceeds to The Jed Foundation, a non-profit org dedicated to mental health and suicide prevention in young adults.
Iambic Beats is the locus for Melinda’s spoken word/electronica production. Go get lost; you’ll be alright.
All Things Melinda are here: https://www.sciencegeekmel.com/ where Melinda blogs about science, fiction, poetry, music, and her upcoming books. Feel the polymathy!
Iambic Beats covers feature art by Sionann Mastromonico, a talented artist based in Quebec, Canada.
