(June 13, 2012) RICHMOND, VA — Today was my last full day in Richmond, and I spent a fair amount of it talking to Doug Richards, the person who created the jazz studies program at Virginia Commonwealth University and thus created the environment for the vibrant scene here in RVA.
The rest of the day I spent doing tour planning work in a vegan-friendly cafe called The Lamplighter. I booked a reading in Knoxville, TN, on June 22 and confirmed the details for another reading in Auburn, AL, on June 29. I also scheduled some other interviews and continued to work on places to stay.
I discovered this rare Shakespeare artifact and was delighted that the Bard decided to go with just the last name for his character:
I tried to rent a paddle boat here:
…but their credit card machine was down and I had no cash. Sigh.
Saw some good advice:
Also encountered this painting at the Lamplighter:
I think it’s supposed to depict people worshipping a coffee bean. However, the painting was on the men’s room wall, so the brown object could be something else. I kinda hope it is, actually.
Came back to the place I was staying and found this:
…which about sums things up.
The other thing I did today was to write a lot of poetry. Mostly really soul-baring love poetry. Right toward the end of my time in New York, I felt like I had a fairly good grip on the emotional landscape of my life. I’ve noticed since I started the tour that I’ve lost some of that clarity. I’m surrounded by people but feeling a bit lonely. I think that’s my default position, but I started to get past it in the past few months in Brooklyn, particularly as a result of a few of the close relationships I had. Being away from those people is definitely the hardest part of this tour. (K, C & N — I miss youse guys.)
Tomorrow I’m interviewing Scott Clark in the morning then heading to Charlottesville, VA, to meet my Twitter pal John Edwin Mason. We’re going to hear John D’earth play. I’m interviewing both D’earth and Robert Jospe on Friday. Then it’s off to Nashville.
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