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A letter from composer and author
David Amram: | |
"I would like to add my name in support of what The Burry Man Writers Center represents in the New
Millennium. The Burry Man is a new beginning for today's authors and dreamers and the fulfillment of an old dream that many of us shared and few could realize in the last Millennium
- the opportunity to communicate with others around the world during one's own lifetime. "At 70, I can look back and remember the incredibly
talented people I was blessed to be with who never could find an audience of more than one. When I first came to New York in 1955, Charles Mingus told me, when he invited me to
become a member of his band, that no matter how humble the circumstances were in the places where we played, to never be discouraged if the room was often filled with a handful
of psychotics who weren't even listening.
" 'Just find one person to play for and play for them all night. I know you're also writing symphonies, like me, that nobody's paying attention to either. Just find one person and
write for them. All you need is one person to write or play for your whole life.'
"With the magic of computer technology, it is now possible for just about anyone to find that one person many times over, in every country in the world.
"It seems clear that The Burry Man is using the new technology with a different idea than that of selling instant trash. It is a shining oasis as part of the global information
highway, to give writers of all styles the chance to speak to one another, to find that one reader to share their thoughts with and to use the internet as a way of honing their
skills and sending out their message.
"Jack Kerouac, a dear friend from 1956 until he died, was devastated that Visions of Cody never got published during his lifetime. If you weren't blessed to work and hang out
with him, you would never have known he had ever even written this extraordinary work. He used to read me passages of it, not in our performances together, but in the wee hours of
the morning . He would have loved The Burry Man, because he wrote to share his thoughts with the whole world. All committed writers do that, and now it is possible for us to have
access to one another.
"I am still traveling the globe in concerts of all kinds, and when at home composing concert music and writing two new books. I hope my webpage might inspire younger artists of all
kinds to know that you can follow your heart and pursue your dreams and never give up.
"I think The Burry Man reinforces the ideal of never giving up, being accessible yourself to others and always trying to find that one person Mingus alluded so many times over, and
always trying to be that one person for others. The Burry Man is important because it has been created with purity of intent. Small is beautiful. It always has been and always will
be. Having others to communicate with in this intimate way is a healing force and a refuge from the avalanche of refuse we are bombarded with in our daily lives.
"The Burry Man is a breath of fresh air that assures us we can continue to create and dwell in our own environment of creativity and continue to be brave enough to, as the Navajo
Prayer of the 12th Night states, 'Walk on the Trail of Beauty'."
David Amram - May 8, 2001 davidamram.com
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Jennifer Greenhill-Taylor Born in Scotland, Jennifer is a writer and editor, an
award-winning journalist, former travel editor and theater and film critic. Joseph Reed Hayes
The work of playwright and freelance writer Joseph Hayes has been performed in two countries and across America. He writes for
print and online publications worldwide, and has worked with writers Douglas Coupland, Samuel R. Delany and Cornelius Eady.
www.jrhayes.net
Joseph and
Jennifer are proud co-owners of The Burry Man Writers Center and Inked-In, the social network for
writers, musicians and artists
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Board of Advisors |
Clare Barry
actor, Manchester England
Joy Dickinson
graphic designer, editor, US Ace Ford
songwriter, US
John Greenhill
consulting engineer, Scotland and US
Ian Mairs
award-winning playwright, actor, US
Peter McGarry
playwright, actor, Artistic Director, Eyewitness Theatre, Manchester England
John Miller
theatrical production manager, Scotland Kathryn Ptacek
author, publisher Gila Queen's Guide to Markets,
US Pamela Ross
concert pianist, writer, award-winning playwright, US
Peter Taylor
IT engineer, web master, co-owner Basai Inc, US
Robert Vaughan
inductee, Missouri Writers Hall of Fame, Pulitzer Prize nominee, author of more than 300 novels. Director of Robert Vaughan's Writers Retreat workshops,
Gulf Shores, Alabama
Sandra Weintraub
writer, television and film producer and director, Weintraub/Kuhn Productions, US
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