Ruxation

Went to see Carl Hancock Rux read from Asphalt at the wonderful McNally Robinson independent bookstore. To say he is on another level doesn't capture it. The "it" being an unidentified mixture of intensity, depth, passion, intelligence, talent, the list goes on.

Yes, he's sick with "it."

And though you can sense his warmth, I was intimidated by him, his thougts, his work but I wasn't intimitated in a fearful way, but in an intriguing way. Is that possible?

He gave such a spirited reading of his work, the poet in him emerged and the audience (I'm going to speak for everyone that was there) fell into his flow.

But what was really great, and one of the reasons why the author reading is still important is to gain insight into the psyche of the artist. For all those that read Asphalt (i bought it today, half way through,), Rux broke it down as a story about wars, not just political ones, but the personal wars we all go through. Of course he was much more eloquent and thorough than that, but y'all get the gist.

i was just incredibly in awe and not in a groupie sort of way (although his voice is like butta) but just so intrigued by the glimpse into his mind, his world.

asha bandele gave him a sincere introduction and also interviewed him at the end. I really like the writer-interview-writer format.