A KINDRED SPIRIT ..

MY L0VE

"My love has hair
Like midnight,
But midnight fades to dawn.
My love has eyes
Like starlight,
But starlight fades in morn.
My love has a voice
Like dew fall,
But dew-fall dies at a breath.
My love has love
Like life's all,
But life's all fades in death." -- RICHARD BRUCE NUGENT





RICHARD BRUCE NUGENT (1906-1987) WAS A WRITER, PAINTER, ILLUSTRATOR, & P0PULAR B0HEMIAN PERSONALITY WH0 LIVED & W0RKED AT THE CENTER 0F THE HARELEM RENAISSANCE. PR0TEGE OF THE WRITER, PHILOSOPHER, & EDUCAT0R ALAN LOCKE, ROOMMATE & LOVER TO WRITER WALLACE THURMAN, & CL0SE FRIENDS WITH THE B0TH LANGST0N HUGHES & Z0RA NEAL HURST0N NUGENT WAS THE 0NLY AFRICAN AMERICAN WRITER WILLING T0 CLEARLY INDICATE HIS H0M0SEXUALITY IN PRINT. T0GETHER THE GR0UP 0F AFRICAN AMERICAN INN0VAT0RS PRINTED A MAGAZINE CALLED FIRE!!

T0 FACILITATE THE EXPL0RATI0N 0F ISSUE IN THE BLACK C0MMUNITY THAT WERE N0T IN THE F0REFR0NT 0F MAINSTREAM AFRICAN AMERICAN S0CIETY SUCH AS H0M0SEXUALITY, BISEXUALITY, INTERRACIAL RELATI0NSHIPS, PR0MISCUITY, PR0STITUTI0N, & THE C0L0R PREJUDICE WITHIN THE BLACK RACE ITSELF. FIRE!! BR0UGHT T0 THE PUBLIC EYE ALL THE ISSUES THAT MANY TH0UGHT W0ULD TAINT THE M0VEMENT MANY NEGR0ES WERE PR0GRESSING T0WARDS AT THE TIME. T0GETHER THE WRITERS R00MED IN THE N0T0RI0US "NIGGERATTI MAN0R" AT 267 W 136TH STREET IN HARLEM , NEW Y0RK. I WANT T0 VISIT THE SITE JUST T0 BREATHE THERE. I W0NDER IF THE H0M0ER0TIC MURALS NUGENT PAINTED 0N THE WALLS STILL EXIST; I W0NDER IF THE BR0WN ST0NE STILL EXISTS ..

I AM CURRENTLY READING NUGENT'S C0NTRIBUTI0N T0 THE LANDMARK PUBLICATI0N FIRE!!; A C0MP0SITI0N CALLED, "SM0KE, LILIES, & JADE" .. HE DIED IN THE T0WN I WAS B0RN. H0B0KEN, NEW JERSEY. I W0NDER IF IT WAS THE SAME H0SPITAL. I FEEL A C0LLECTI0N C0MING T0GETHER . .