Program 23: "Where you go from here"

(2.1M)

Jul 11, 2006

Joe Frank isn't exactly a mentor, but he isn't exactly not a mentor, either. I found rebroadcasts of his program "In The Dark" on my local NPR affiliate in 1995. He was the first artist--the only artist, for quite some time--I knew to put together extended pieces of storytelling and ruminations over music. Without knowing it, he gave me the space and a rough shape of formula to try it myself. His performances aren't essential, they exist solely for the ideas they convey; they are not, necessarily, reporting, editorial commentary, autobiography or even fiction, except for that they are all these things and they aren't just essential but critical. So he shows up in my dreams, from time to time, to polish up his various triggers and metaphors. In this spot, a dream recorded years ago, he plays Our Local Fortune Teller.

By the way--when tortured with nightmares of yourself in former incarnations, really. Make the best of it.

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