Iconoclastic Author Ken Summers in Salem Promoting a New Book

A Ghostly Theme, an Unexpected Twist

Cornerstone Books of Salem, Ma. will host visionary author Ken Summers on the evening of Thursday, October 15th. He’ll be present from 7-9pm to sign copies of his new book, Queer Hauntings: the very first book which tackles the subject matter of Gay and Lesbian Ghosts.

This prototypical book is the brainchild of a humble Paranormal Investigator hailing from Cleveland, Ohio. He will be reading from the book, taking questions from attendees and explaining the unique difficulties he encountered while researching a book for which no template, precedent or subtle cue had been crafted. This is an interactive reading and Book Signing, the audience is encouraged to ask questions. There will be no fee charged. Casual dress is appropriate; details regarding location and time are typed below:

Cornerstone Books, 45 Lafayette Street, Salem, Ma.
Time: Beginning at 7 pm., ends at 9pm.

* Tarot Card Readings
* Clairvoyant Visions
* Spirit Mediumship
* Palm Readings
* Aura Photography
* Crystal Ball Scrying
* Angels and Spirit Guides
* Past Life Readings
* The magical products of Bewitched in Salem, including jewelry, ritual items, crystal balls, pendulums, candles, antique Salem spoons, incense, staves, art, cards, and more!
* WitchSchool.com will be on hand to answer questions about the Craft!

10am – 10pm, October 1 – November 1, 2009 at the Museum Place Mall
The Annual Psychic Fair and Witchcraft Expo is held at the Museum Place Mall, located conveniently at 176 Essex Street along the cobblestone outdoor walking mall in the heart of Salem’s downtown. Admission is free!

The problem was not Ms. Browne’s. For Sylvia, the problems began later, when the Hornbeck boy was discovered alive and delivered home.
The supposition that Browne informed them that their son was deceased in order to grant them the closure which she may have guessed would never come has lit up the inside of my head and then been extinguished, more than once. How many cases like this has she worked on? I wondered. How many times has this woman seen the sad truth about the often horrific fate met by such children? I wondered this as well. I did not think she was a bad person. I did not think she was a bad psychic, either. I knew she had made a mistake; and I knew that psychics make mistakes. I knew that she had never claimed that everything she said was guaranteed to be free of flaw. The fact that she proved herself to be human and fallible was sadly something she had to do while television cameras were rolling. Still, the cameras caught her most egregious error: Her callous demeanor— which she retained throughout the exchange with Mr. and Mrs. Hornbeck.
America was outraged at her failure to confirm that the boy was, indeed, alive. She met with immediate criticism, and her manager appeared on-air with Anderson Cooper who mediated a remarkably sad verbal tug-of-war between the manager and James Randi—a man whose career was initially forged as a stage magician but who has become far better-known as a man who made the act of debunking psychics his life’s work. Randi, like the rest of those who were outraged, was set-off by her lack of precision. Unlike many people, I was most irked by her callous, glib and even emotionless demeanor as she spoke. Certainly she could have tried to sound more sympathetic. Especially as she went about detailing the boy’s demise—she had stated that the authorities would discover the boy’s lifeless body with its head between rocks. This painted a grisly visual in my own mind. Lord knows what the parents envisioned.
This is not an indictment of Sylvia Browne. What I would like most to mention is that during the confrontation between her rabidly loyal manager, James Randi and—to a definite degree—Anderson Cooper, it was mentioned by all parties that Browne was a religious figure. It is true that she has established a church. This fact was used as a means of bombarding her character by making a not vague insinuation that it existed, at least in part, as the mechanism behind what one may label an elaborate money-laundering scheme in which tax-exempt status was legally obtained and to which the 750 dollar per half hour fee Cooper contended was collected for Browne’s services was immediately directed.
I must reiterate that my own intention here is not to bludgeon the character of Browne. I am paraphrasing the substance of the exchange, while keeping what I am sure the intended meaning of grossly intact. It is not difficult to find a video of this online and I encourage people to do so with the hope that they form opinions of their own and which may absolutely disagree with what my own opinion of the exchange was—simply go online and navigate to youtube and enter the keywords, which would be the names of the persons mentioned above.
Mixing her status as a well-known, well-paid psychic and her identity as a religious figure who had established a church suddenly appeared unsavory and awful. When, in fact, Browne may be nothing more than a good psychic who had a bad day, she was quickly made to look as if she were engaged in the worst kind of trickery. My ideas regarding the sort of public mockery to which one is liable to be made a subject of when mixing a high-profile career as a psychic with another identity—as a spiritual leader— is thus brought to life.
There are famous psychics who choose, as has Browne, to write books which are crafted as a means to illuminate the working of the arcane. This is of little consequence and certainly seems not to offend and rarely, if ever, incites controversy. The list of mediums and psychics who have written and published books is too lengthy to make here. However, contemporary mediums and psychics will assuredly continue to write. There is an enormous market for such literature and it does not appear to be in any danger of dwindling. People have questions. If others claim to have answers, I am voicing a wish that they continue to set them to press and assist in the edification, the pacification and/or the entertainment of the restless and anxious masses.
There are obvious and valid reasons to negate the validity of any psychic which do apply to any sole individual operating any business of any stripe. Yet, when it comes to judging a psychic as a businessman lines become easily blurred. The introduction of religion and spirituality may further blur these lines.
Yet, it may also be accurately stated that there is an intrinsic component of the spiritual in what many psychics do. It is not as simple to state that this inherent spiritual component involved in the work a psychic does is of a “religious” nature. Though it certainly may be stated and I have no real argument with the concept; especially when remembering how much of religion is predicated upon faith, a willing suspension of disbelief and a necessary belief in the “supernatural.”
It is possible to be an atheist and believe in psychic phenomena. It is not possible to believe in God and to disbelieve in what is ordinarily labeled the “supernatural.” The miraculous events described in major sacred texts of dominant World Religions are rife with recounted stories involving unearthly occurrences which did—if you are among the faithful—happen on terra firma.
Personally, I believe in the existence of spirits and in many other ideas which do not sit perfectly well with the ideas we commonly appreciate to have been proven within the parameters of an environment which is marked by perfect scientific conditions. Life is short and does not occur in a vacuum; I have my beliefs and am grateful that I have my work which certainly emanates from my beliefs in an extraordinarily spiritual and metaphysical background which I chose to label reality. Once again, I have no personal grudge against psychics who are also spiritual leaders, who have started churches or founded other religious organizations. In fact, there are individuals who have done just this for whom I do hold great respect.
All I can truly say is that it is often difficult enough to be wading through the waters of life believing as I do and taking it one step further by working within the structures of my own beliefs; which are, of course, metaphysical by nature and definition. Beyond this, I can say one thing more, and this is that I am quite grateful that I do not feel any tug—presently—towards the formation of a spiritual body or church. I am not born to lead the life of a religious authority and am just beginning to appreciate the many gifts of those who were so born. I have some of the gifts one would associate with a person whose destiny is aligned with that of the leader of persons in spirituality. Certainly I believe that I have the psychic abilities which many assume are of an origin which is associated with things divine. Sometimes I have the patience of a saint… sometimes.
Other times I do not! Blessings regardless, be well and take it easy.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Justice

I am very busy with obligations to work several parties. Still, I am taking emails from new clients. My work with Terry Milton for the Hammond Castle last month was fun and fulfilling.

HERE IS WHAT I HAVE PLANNED TO DATE:

13 September, PSYCHIC FAIR. Location is Dark Star Philosophia, Rockport, Ma.

October, FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD PSYCHIC FAIR, for the duration of the month. Salem, Ma.

25 October I will host the Festival’s Annual Seance at the Hawthorne Hotel. Salem, Ma.

September/October magazine article to be published. I gave the interview last month.

(Tentative) MID-October I will be helping Ken Summer’s while he is in Salem to promote his new book.

Modern American Spirit Communication began in an innocuous setting: a very small cabin-like structure in rural Hydesville, New York. This was the home of a Family named Fox. The daughters of the uneducated rustic married couple who lived in the house caused quite a stir: First locally, nationally and ultimately, internationally.

31 March 1848—

This date is considered by some to be the proper birthday of the Spiritualist Movement. The rapping heard in the Fox Family home began on this date. The family believed that the rapping was actually the sound produced by the spirit of a peddler who had been robbed, murdered and buried in the Fox’s basement by a former occupant of the home. Other citizens of their village also heard these sounds and were also convinced that they were produced by an unhappy spirit.

1848, 1849—

The Fox Sisters became a sensation due to the association people made between the girls and the Spirit World. They seemed like unlikely candidates to be discounted as frauds because they were very young girls (Kate Fox was only ten years-old when the phenomena first began and Margaret Fox was just two years older than she). Since the children were from a small village and their parents were unlettered they may have seemed too unsophisticated to appear as participants in some great deception or racket. However, there were three Fox sisters. The third was a woman more than twenty years older than Kate and Margaret. It is widely accepted as fact that this elder sister, Leah Fox, took on the business of managing her juvenile sisters’ careers and made herself a considerable amount of cash in so doing.
During these years the two Fox girls were shuttled all over their home state and then to other parts of the nation. They were exhibited in large halls where people would crowd in together to see the first mediums— two little girls— summon up spirits and have them produce rapping sounds. The youngsters were ultimately brought to Europe to perform their “act” there, as well.

Early 1850’s—

Spiritualism, which is a religion, was birthed out of the excitement revolving around these two girls. The development of a religion from the attention these girls attracted happened when local Quakers entered the picture and attempted to assuage any anxieties which members of the Fox Family might have felt initially, when nobody could explain the thuds and rapping they heard about their home. Mrs. Fox has been referred to in books as a very fearful, superstitious woman who felt that there was something diabolical about the raps and the way the girls could “command” unseen forces to produce these noises. The Quakers and Leah Fox seemed more willing to accept that these manifestations could be of a divine, and not a devilish, origin.

The first true Spiritualists were a liberal lot and detested slavery. Most Spiritualists, in the early years were devoted abolitionists. They were also concerned with women’s rights and supported suffrage and Utopian ideals.
They usually met at the homes of friends who were also interested in séances and summoning the dead in order to receive messages. It is interesting to note, however, that the Universalist Church had many Spiritualists amongst its congregation in those times. Before Spiritualists could build their own churches, they were allowed by the Universalists to use their church structures.

1853 –

In England, if you received an invitation to tea at the home of a fashionable friend, you would likely engage in “table-turning” or “table-tipping.” Table-tipping was a popular method employed to contact spirits during those times, as well as today.

1855—

The acclaimed medium Daniel Dunglas Home arrived in England from the United States. Mr. Home was a baffling and enigmatic man and was the greatest example of a “Physical Medium” ever to have lived. Today, people still to question how he did some of the feats for which he was famous, including levitation and temporarily elongating his limbs. Physical Mediums were associated with fraud, but Home was never proven to be a charlatan. Definitive “proof” backing up the appalling feats Home was credited with performing stands far too slender a chance of ever being uncovered. Thus, his particularly grandiose displays of physical mediumship will necessarily be looked at as inexplicable and vexing curiosities.

American Civil War Years—

The Spiritualist Movement was a fad before it was a viable religious movement. By the time the United States Civil War had begun, mediums were working virtually everywhere, because the clientele was everywhere. Spiritualism had developed an unfortunate problem by the time the War began: It had become entertainment—its serious nature was being overlooked. The séance was a chic, somewhat macabre diversion for the upper classes. Yet, simple table-turning was no longer getting anybody excited. The number of mediums who promised “apports,” “ectoplasm” and Spirits “playing” musical instruments grew corresponding to the number of people who were willing to pay for this kind of a show. Needless to say, mediums who promised apports and the like were certainly frauds.
In response to the burgeoning number of false mediums, societies dedicated to either proving that mediums could—or could not—contact spirits were formed because people who seriously believed in communication with the Spirit World had a strong desire to keep the fraudulent mediums from practicing their trickery and from sullying the reputations of true mediums.

It is important to comprehend how attractive the concept of communicating with the dead truly was. Not only was the topic of interest to the wealthy people who first held séances in their homes; it was relevant to each and every person. Nobody escapes death. Mary Todd Lincoln understood this fact of life very well. She lost children to illness, and she had sessions with a medium while living in the White House. During the Civil War era death was a ubiquitous presence. Because there was a new technology— photography— people were able to view the battlefields, with casualties strewn all over their surfaces. Mediums were sought after during the Civil War for obvious reasons. Since then, studies have reflected that with each war the United States becomes involved in, there is a rise in the number of people who believe in— and pay visits to— mediums.

The 1870’s—

Fraudulent mediums did injure the nation’s appetite for Spiritualism. It remained popular, but the wild popularity of séances was no longer there. However, there were many true believers and it seems that they became as motivated to prove that life continues after bodily death as were those who wanted to prove that the dead are gone forever. Staunch supporters of Spiritualism, and of mediums, were involved in literature, and in science. The author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was one of Spiritualism’s most active public relations workers. Sir William Crookes, the British chemist, was also dedicated to his belief in the phenomena of communication with people who were alive in the Spirit World. Victoria Woodhull was an anomaly in her day because of her great success on Wall Street. Woodhull had once worked as a medium, herself. Victoria Woodhull was also the first female to run for President of the U.S.A—Years before women even had won the right to vote.

21 October 1889—

Spiritualism was dealt the biggest blow  its credibility  could possibly take when one of its originators and most respected mediums, Margaret Fox, stood before 2,000 people and publicly denounced Spiritualism as nothing more than a lie. She made this shocking declaration in New York City at The New York Academy of Music. After she addressed the audience, she agreed to demonstrate exactly how she and her sister made the rapping noises which she had, until that night, maintained were sounds produced by spirits. She explained that she had merely been cracking her toes, and that her and her sister were both able to crack their big toes in such a way that made an unusually loud sound. She then performed her demonstration– It was a little demonstration which could have taken down the church forever.

The two younger Fox Sisters had once been an overnight sensation. They had also managed to parlay the initial fascination the public felt for them into long careers as mediums. Outwardly, things appeared well, but the reality was that the women were plagued with personal troubles. Kate, who many felt was a better medium than Margaret had married an Englishman. Margaret had fallen in love with an Arctic explorer named Dr. Elisha Kent Kane and was married to him. Kane’s family never accepted Margaret and there are doubts as to whether or not she was actually legally married to him. His family despised her for her humble background, her uncultured way of speaking, and her career as a medium. By 1889, she had also developed a debilitating dependency on alcohol.

November, 1889—

Nearly a year after Margaret Fox shocked the world with her statements about Spiritualism and her own fraud, she recanted. The reasons most often cited for her public denouncement of Spiritualism is that she was approached by a newspaper which offered her cash if she would tell the world that Spiritualism was a lie, and she was nothing more than a fake. This makes sense, because Margaret was so dependent upon alcohol that she was unreliable and was receiving little work as a medium. She needed the money: for food, for alcohol. The money the newspaper paid her didn’t last very long. She knew no other way to make money besides performing as a medium, and so she recanted. The damage to her career and credibility was irrevocable, however, and by 1893 both Margaret and her seemingly luckier sister Kate were both dead. They each died penniless and were buried in pauper’s graves.

1912—

A shy, southern housewife named Pearl Curran experimented with a Ouija board one evening with a friend. During their session with the board, a powerful personality began to spell out messages of a quirky, wry nature—all in Old English. Mrs. Curran nor her friend had any knowledge of Old English. Curran developed a close relationship with the spirit who had come through: a woman who identified herself as “Patience Worth.” Patience Worth was a fine writer and Curran served as a secretary for her. Together, they published books of poetry. Professors familiar with the style Patience Worth wrote in are baffled at how a woman with no understanding of any of the rather unique features of that particular era’s speech could write such beautiful verse in so accurate a voice.

1920’s—

The famous magician Harry Houdini begins his personal attack on mediums. Subsequent to his mother’s death he became extremely embittered towards all mediums.

1935—

In Boston, Ma. Beacon Hill socialite named Mina Crandon (wife of renowned surgeon Leroi Goddard Crandon; at one time known as “The Witch of Beacon Hill”) was evidently quite close to proving that she was a true physical medium. She was ultimately discredited, though there was one judge who disagreed with his colleagues. Trickery was discovered when Mina attempted to fool a panel of scientifically-trained judges into believing that her Spirit Guide, who she claimed was the soul of her late brother Walter, had somehow managed to push his thumbprints into plaster or resin. The clever Crandon nearly got away with her game and would have won a magazine’s financial prize and enjoyed status as a truly tested, legitimate physical medium. Her hopes and reputation were soon dashed, then decimated when it came to light that the prints belonged to a man still very much alive—Crandon’s dentist. He furnished his own prints willingly or not. Most likely, he was her knowing accomplice. Crandon became reclusive, was ostracized by Boston’s Social Scene and was derided as a fake and as a pathetic shell of her former self. She died years later, and was seemingly completely forgotten. She had become the ghost her brother had already been, though she was still living.

Only when she died were the details about her past foibles as a paranormal fraud re-circulated as the newspapers printed up her obituary. Meantime, details about the blue-blooded “medium” and her elaborate hoax came out in the press. Almost immediately after she received this posthumous attention, she faded from Boston’s collective memory altogether.

1970—

Jane Roberts publishes a revolutionary book, Seth Speaks. Like Pearl Curran, Jane Roberts did not take credit as the author of this book, but claimed to have served as the channel for an entity calling itself Seth. Seth refers to himself, according to Roberts, as an “energy personality essence no longer focused in physical reality. Like Pearl Curran, Jane Roberts also met her “author friend” while using a Ouija Board.

1977—

JZ Knight claims to have had her first encounter with “Ramtha” who she claimed was a highly evolved, incredibly wise Spiritual Being who had led many lives, but preferred to appear and speak (she began to “channel” his voice while in trance) in the persona of a warrior who had lived on Atlantis many thousands of years in the distant past. She began publicly channeling him after that and was known as the most famed channel in the country throughout the 1980’s. Although she was essentially doing trance mediumship, the terms “channeling” and “channel” were quickly coined and these terms (as well as the concept to which they referred) became staples of New Age jargon and eventually wormed themselves into the much broader pop-cultural lexicon.
Knight was a highly effective channel or performer and she won the respect of influential people, most notably actress Shirley MacLaine. Much later on, in the 1990’s, Knight also went into court in order to prevent another woman from channeling Ramtha. She won this case, bizarrely—thus setting a precedent concerning ownership rights of the alleged soul, or spiritual being, of a long-dead man by a living person.

1990’s—

Mediums such as Rosemary Althea and James Van Pragh are popular guests on television talk shows and mediums write successful books. At the end of the decade, the medium John Edward had begun producing his own television show “Crossing Over,” which brought new attention to the concept of Spirit Communication. However, his success also brought out many critics, and it would appear that the idea of communicating with spirits is always going to be one which people will feel strongly about—one way or another.

The current decade has shown a huge increase in the public demand for mediums. The recent developments have truly opened doors for many psychics and mediums. More on this in my next blog!

With my Most Sincere Wishes for Health and Prosperity, Jeffrey Justice
26 July 2009

Sponsors: The Boston Phoenix, Stuff Magazine & Red Bull Music Academy

“Dancing on the Charles” features live music and deejays and will be held every Saturday throughout the current month. Jeffrey Justice will be performing psychic readings on this Saturday party. The event is held on the banks of the River Charles in Cambridge at the VFW Marsh Post. These events will occur rain or shine– the organizers have plenty of tents on hand… and word is that last Saturday was a ton of fun for all who attended!!

If you’re shaking your head, wondering how in the ether you could hook yourself up with a job this cool, keep shakin’ it, baby. You need to be born with this talent (Most psychics agree that we all have the “lite” version of some form of psychic ability but we usually don’t use it or even recognize it. When that happens, like most things that go unused, it’s lost.)

Meet Jeffrey Justice, possesor and purveyor of an abnormally developed and highly accurate extra sense that he uses on a daily basis to pay the rent (So cool!).

Jeffrey was born into a family of psychically gifted people on his mother’s side but it was his grandmother who recognized his tendency to “know” things about people and encourage him, while his mother preferred to live a more normal life. (Not only does Jeffrey have an interesting family history in the psychic realm, his lineage is also interesting. His ancestors are right off the boat ~ the Mayflower ~ and are the first settlers of Newbury, where he was raised, and also Salem, the nation’s seat of the supernatural, where he coincidentally works several days a week.) Grandma tutored him in palmistry and card reading, heightening and fine tuning his innate abilities.

Jeffrey was frequently sick as a child. At 9 he suffered a frightening bout of encephalitis that may have tweaked his abilities; many psychics have pointed to a life changing illness, often accompanied by high fever that after recovering has left them with a “re-wired” brain, able to receive information that others can’t. Jeffrey agrees that this may have been the case with him and believes that he may have been one of the few earliest “Indigo Children” (see explanation at the end of this article).

Jeffrey is a small guy ~ slight and on the short side but his stature belies his huge inner powers. He is also pierced, tattooed, degreed (a B.A in English) and licensed ~ most importantly, licensed. MA state law requires psychic practitioners to be licensed to practice their art. Licensing includes passing a CORI check, which tends to weed out the quacks and people who don’t have the best intentions. Jeffrey is quick to point out that he won’t take money from people who need grief counseling or other professional medical interventions. And he is also quick to say that he doesn’t have all the answers. “Anyone who tells you they do, is lying.” He is straight up ~ the real deal. He believes in other planes of existence, saying that they operate on a different vibrational level than ours and it just requires “tuning in” to them.

During our interview, Jeffrey was engaging, thoughtfully answering questions; at the same time, he was “reading” personal information that was “bleeding” through me while we talked ~ and he was reading it with mind-boggling accuracy. He “saw” an area of my body that spoke of a potential problem, drawing a little sketch that pinpointed an area that had indeed caused me some concern. So I had to ask if he were able to shut off his abilities to be able to do ordinary things like running errands. “Yes, but it’s a matter of focus,” he says. Picture him in line at the grocery store being bombarded with messages for people around him! Does the work tire him out? The greatest number of readings he’s ever done in a day was 47 but no, he doesn’t get tired, “…just more energized by meeting people. “

And he meets lots of people. He has an impressive list of celebrities and sport stars he reads for and often travels to NYC to give readings. But will he give up his client list? Nope, he doesn’t kiss and tell.

He made the leap to full-time psychic and medium ~ using tarot cards and reading palms in addition to receiving information from clients’ bodies and spirits ~ after finding himself constantly unfulfilled in a variety of ordinary day jobs but encouraged by enthusiastic clients. His thoughts in the beginning were simple: “If I can just make enough money to make this month’s rent…” and sure enough, he’s made the rent every month and then some.

What does he like the best about having a career as a psychic? “Being able to help people connect to loved ones and helping people figure out their lives. Also giving people hope to see past the negativity.” And what is the worst thing about his career? “Listening to all the sad stories.”

If you feel the need to tell Jeffrey a sad story or get some otherworldly information, check out his very cool site, http://jeffreyjustice.com for more information or to book a reading. Don’t miss a chance to let Jeffrey give you some important information. I now know who will save my life someday!

In a “Gallery Night” setting, Spirit Readings yield astonishing results. Evidence for the continuity of life is brought together in a loving, heartfelt manner. Individual and family relationships are explored and explained by an officiating medium. “Proof” given of the afterlife in this manner can be convincing; yet it is the individual’s choice whether to accept or dismiss the medium’s opinions or advice.

Mediums serve as conduits between this world and the next and use their minds as receivers. They hear or sense communications from the “other side of life” and deliver messages to living people. Mediums frequently work through a combination of hearing voices and seeing mental images, and can be especially helpful to those who wish to validate what they already feel in their hearts: That life goes on, and that we are only a heartbeat away from those we love who are no longer with us on this material plane. Mediums sometimes work via another method, as well. “Psychometry” is the word which describes the psychic ability to read objects or items, in the case where a medium is working, he will ask for such articles and it is suggested attendees bring articles worn or consistently used by the deceased with whom the attendee would like to reach. Familiar items are pieces of jewelry, but the only limits imposed would concern size of object. You may decide to bring something relatively small—and may bring no such object; this is a suggestion, not a rule.

Two upcoming Hammond Castle Gallery Séance Nights will feature psychic-medium Jeffrey Justice, of Salem, Massachusetts. Justice is a fourth-generation psychic and medium whose accuracy, sincerity and inimitable style and approach to his work have earned him a large following on the East Coast. Jeffrey Justice enjoys working with as many members of the audience as he possibly can. Jeffrey’s words about gallery evening events have been posted in blogs and essays, and in radio interviews, the following words are his and have been borrowed from blogs and interviews:

“My galleries provide a warm, intimate atmosphere where attendees hear messages from their loved ones who have crossed over, as well as messages delivered to other members of the audience. It is of paramount importance that I approach as many members of the audience as is possible in order to prove to these people that their friends and family members who have passed away are by no means gone, forever lost or inaccessible. My objective is to affirm that while there is no denying the reality of physical mortality, the personality and personal identity of individuals who have crossed over is not extinguished with the inevitable failure of the human body. My message is a positive, life-affirming communication to all who attend my events: there is no death — there is only life.

“Dying does not mark the end of a person’s existence,” Justice elaborates. “Death is merely the end of the physical body which carried the soul and consciousness of a person. If we can believe that the soul survives and exists somewhere else, then we may be able to accept that perhaps it is possible to make contact with that consciousness. This allows us to understand that the emotions, sentiments and beliefs of those we perceive to be ‘dead’ are everlasting. My ultimate aim is to provide solace, healing and hope to all people who see me at work as a medium. The closure and comfort people may receive during a Gallery Session can serve as a catalyst for overcoming stubborn or painful grief. Other times, the messages from those who have crossed over are words of wisdom and practical advice which apply to a person’s everyday life issues and concerns.”–Terry Milton.

*Jeffrey Justice will be appearing at the Hammond Castle’s Gallery Séance nights on both Friday, July 17th and on Friday, July 24th from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. Please be aware that space at the Hammond Castle Gallery Night is limited. Admission is $30.00 and reservations are suggested. Please contact Terry Milton at (978) 283-7532. You may also contact Jeffrey Justice by emailing him directly at Jeffrey@jeffreyjustice.com

THE “SENSATION” EXHIBIT WHICH CAUSED TORRENTS OF BAD PRESS AND CERTAINLY LIVED UP TO ITS NAME HERE AND ABROAD. THE EXHIBIT WAS BANNED IN NEW YORK CITY BY THEN-MAYOR GIULIANI WHO WAS DISGUSTED BY ANTI-RELIGIOUS (ANTI-CHRISTIAN) CONTENT ON DISPLAY IN SOME WORKS AND ALSO REPULSED BY THE USE OF EXCREMENT (ELEPHANT DUNG WAS THE MEDIA EMPLOYED BY ONE ARTIST WHO HAD PAINTED A VERSION OF THE MADONNA). GIULIANI FAILED TO GRASP THE CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT CHOICE, WHICH– TO MY UNDERSTANDING– WAS NEVER INTENDED AS AN ATTACK UPON THE VIRGIN MOTHER, HER ASSUMED CHASTITY OR HOLINESS.

THE CONTROVERSY “SENSATION” ENGENDERED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC WAS ENORMOUS. TO HAVE A POLITICIAN SILENCE ARTISTIC EXPRESSION COULD SEEM APPROPRIATE, AND YET, ONE MUST WONDER WHAT CREDENTIALS WAS GIULIANI EQUIPPED WITH? WE MUST ASK, FURTHER– WHY SHOULD HE, OR ANY OTHER POLITICO, HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASSUME THE POSITION OF ARBITER AND FINAL DECISION-MAKER CONCERNING WHAT IS OR IS NOT ART; WHAT IS OR IS NOT OBSCENE. IN HIS CASE, GIULIANI DID NOT EVEN HIRE A CONSULTANT WITH A SOLID COMPREHENSION OF ART OR SOCIOLOGY WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO EDIFY THE MAYOR ABOUT THE CULTURAL DISPARITIES AND HIS (TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE) INABILITY TO SEE THEM.

In Britain, ANGRY MOBS ARRIVED AND FLUNG INK AND RAW EGGS UPON A PAINTING BY MARCUS HARVEY: A PAINTING ENTITLED, “MYRA.” NO AMERICAN WOULD HAVE BEEN INSTIGATED BY THIS PORTRAIT. AN AMERICAN AUDIENCE WHICH MAINLY WAS AND REMAINS IGNORANT AS TO THE IDENTITY OF MYRA HINDLEY MAY HAVE FOUND AN OFF-PUTTING QUALITY IN THE FACE “MYRA” SHOWS THE WORLD. IT MAY HAVE LEFT THE VIEWER FEELING MOROSE AND OVERTLY SOMBER– THE ODD, PINCHED NOSE AND TOO-SLENDER LIPS, THE MESS OF THICK WHITE, PEROXIDE-DAMAGED HAIR– STYLED LOOSELY, ITS BANGS LANDING SOMEWHAT SOFTLY JUST ABOVE A PAIR OF DIABOLICALLY PIERCING, ANTHRACITE EYES, TWO COAL-LIKE BEADS WHICH MAY BE DESCRIBED AS SULLEN, UNFORGIVING, CALLOUS, SOULLESS, PENETRATING AND CERTAINLY, HARSH. THIS WAS A FACE ONE COULD EASILY ASSOCIATE WITH ADVANCED AGE OR UNPLEASANT LIVING CONDITIONS. YET, “MYRA” IS A PORTRAIT OF A 23-YEAR OLD YOUNG WOMAN. WHY WERE THE PROTESTS IN BRITAIN FOCUSED ON HARVEY’S WORK AND NOT NEARLY AS FOCUSED ON THE SHOCKING PRODUCTIONS OF DAMIEN HIRST, WHOSE USE OF ANIMAL REMAINS DID NOT STIR UP QUITE AS MUCH AN OUTRAGE AS ONE MIGHT IMAGINE?

THE REACTION SHOWN BY SOME WAS ABSOLUTELY EXTREME AND, BY NATURE, CRIMINAL. VANDALISM IS A CRIME. TO ENSURE THAT “MYRA” REMAINED AMONGST THE PAINTINGS AND CONCEPTUAL PIECES IN THE INSTALLATION, IT WAS REQUISITE THAT A PROTECTIVE STRUCTURE BE BUILT WHICH WOULD HOUSE THE LARGE PORTRAIT. THIS WAS MADE OF PERSPEX AND THEREFORE, IT PROTECTED THE WORK OF ART WHILE NOT CAUSING ITS VIEW ANY OBSTRUCTION.

WHY THE VIOLENT OPPOSITION? FOR STARTERS, MYRA HINDLEY, WHO DIED IN NOVEMBER, 2002 IS STILL CONSIDERED BY MANY AS THE MOST HATED WOMAN IN MODERN BRITISH HISTORY. NOTHING ABOUT HER FORMATIVE YEARS INDICATES IN ANY WAY THAT HER FATE IS THAT OF THE UTTERLY DESPISED, NOR THAT SHE WOULD SPEND 35 YEARS BEHIND BARS. AS A GIRL, SHE WAS SENSITIVE AND WAS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF MANCHESTER’S MOST RELIABLE BABY-SITTERS.
MYRA HINDLEY WAS IN DEMAND AS A BABY-SITTER. THE HIDEOUS IRONY IS THAT SHE WOULD BECOME AS HATED AND DEMONIZED AS SHE WAS FOR PLAYING MORE THAN A SMALL ROLE IN THE ABDUCTION, SADISTIC SEXUAL TORTURE INCLUDING RAPE, BRUTE PHYSICAL TORTURE AND ULTIMATE MURDER OF CHILDREN. THOUGH NOT LIKELY THAT HINDLEY WOULD EVER HAVE EVEN DREAMED UP SUCH MONSTROUS THOUGHTS PRIOR TO MEETING IAN BRADY, SHE DID FAR MORE THAN SIMPLY FANTASIZE ABOUT KILLING. SHE TOOK AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THE PLOTTING AND EXECUTION OF PARTICULARLY HORRIFIC MURDERS.

BRADY WAS ABOMINABLE AND HAD A PROFOUND INFLUENCE OVER HINDLEY, TO WHOM SHE LOST HER VIRGINITY AFTER HE HAD TAKEN HER ON THER FIRST DATE—A VERY TELLING DATE. IAN BRADY, OBSESSED WITH NAZI PROPAGANDA AND PHILOSOPHY, TOOK MYRA TO SEE JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG.

HE SOON MOVED INTO HER FLAT AND BEGAN TO TEACH HER GERMAN AND ASSIGNED HER BOOKS ON SEXUAL SADISM TO READ AS HOMEWORK. SHE DEVOURED De SADE. SHE CHANGED HER APPEARANCE MARKEDLY, MAKING HER HAIR PEROXIDE-BLOND AND DRESSING IN AN OVERTLY SEXUAL, “GERMANIC” STYLE.

SHE WAS OBSESSED WITH BRADY AND WOULD DO ANYTHING TO PLEASE HIM. HIS DESIRE TO RAPE AND MURDER CHILDREN SEEMS NOT TO HAVE CAUSED HER ANY DISTRESS. INSTEAD, SHE DEDICATED HER TIME TO ASSISTING IAN WITH THE FIRST FOUR MURDERS. SHE LURED A 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL, TWO 12-YEAR-OLD BOYS, AND A 16 YEAR-OLD FEMALE OFF TO THE SCENES OF THEIR INCREDIBLY PAINFUL MURDERS. IAN WAS SAVAGE BUT MYRA WAS JUST AS WICKED. SHE, TOO, PARTICIPATED IN BOTH THE MOLESTATION AND TORTURE OF THE VICTIMS. MYRA RECORDED THE GHASTLY CRIES OF 10-YEAR-OLD LESLIE ANN DOWNEY ON A REEL-TO-REEL. MYRA PHOTOGRAPHED THE JUVENILE VICTIMS IN A PORNOGRAPHIC MANNER.

MYRA AND IAN JOINTLY DUMPED THE BODIES AT SADDLEWORTH MOOR, AND RETURNED FREQUENTLY TO PICNIC ON THE SHALLOW GRAVES, EATING THEIR LUNCHES ABOVE THE WASTED BODIES OF CHILDREN WHO WOULD NEVER REACH ADULTHOOD BECAUSE OF THE MALICIOUSNESS OF THIS GHOULISH PAIR—ALL THE WHILE GRINNING AND SNAPPING PHOTOGRAPHS.

HER ACTS WERE SHOCKING, AND AT THE TIME OF THE MOORS MURDERS ARRESTS, THEY WERE WITHOUT PRECEDENT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. WHILE “JACK THE RIPPER” TERRORIZED VICTORIAN WHITECHAPEL SEVENTY-ODD YEARS BEFORE THE GRUESOME PAIR STARTED SNATCHING THEIR VICTIMS, HE DID NOT HARM CHILDREN. HE WAS UTTERLY EVIL, HACKING HIS LAST VICTIM’S FACE UP SO BADLY THAT WAS UNRECOGNIZABLE.

THE RECORDINGS MADE BY HINDLEY WERE DAMNING. EVEN THE MOST HARDENED COPS, JOURNALISTS AND SOLICITORS EXCUSED THEMSELVES FROM THE COURT ROOM TO WEEP IN PRIVATE OR VOMIT WHILE THE REEL-TO-REEL OF LESLIE ANN DOWNEY’S VOICE WAS PLAYED. SHE WAS CRYING AND PLEADING WITH HER “MUMMY” AND “DADDY.” MYRA IS CREDITED WITH ADDING THAT NEFARIOUS TOUCH– MAKING THE VICTIMS CALL SHE AND IAN “MUMMY” AND “DADDY.”

THE BRITISH OUTRAGE IS THUS, NEATLY EXPLAINED. TO EXPOUND UPON IT BY POINTING TO MYRA AS THE PERFECT, UNDENIABLE EXAMPLE OF AN “ANTI-MOTHER” IS EASILY POSITED AND DOES NOT REQUIRE A STRETCH OF THOUGHT. HER ACTIONS WERE DELIBERATE AND WERE THE POLAR OPPOSITE OF THE ACTIONS FOR WHICH SOCIETY GENERALLY LAUDS WOMEN– SUCH AS PATIENCE WITH CHILDREN AND A PREDILECTION TOWARDS ACTIVELY PROTECTING AND NURTURING CHILDREN.

HER CASE MARKED AN END OF INNOCENCE, ILLUMINATING THAT EGREGIOUS RIPS HAD BEEN TORN IN THE FABRIC CRAFTED AT SOCIETY’S LOOM. ALSO, THAT THESE TEARS WERE LIKELY TO WIDEN. IN SOME RESPECTS SHE WAS WORSE THAN BRADY WHO WAS NOT ONLY A BYPRODUCT OF A BORSTAL (TERM DESCRIBES NOW DEFUNCT FACILITIES FOR JUVENILE OFFENDERS IN BRITAIN) HE HAD ENDURED A BLEAK CHILDHOOD FULL OF WANT IN THE MOST IMPOVERISHED SLUM OF GLASGOW. IAN WAS LIKELY A BORN SOCIOPATH. BUT MYRA, WHO HAD LOVED CHILDREN, SIMPLY CHANGED AND BECAME A CHILD SERIAL KILLER BECAUSE SHE WAS INSTRUCTED TO DO SO.

THE CASUAL LACK OF REMORSE CARRIED BY HINDLEY IS CHILLING. SHE PERPETUALLY HOUNDED THE LEGAL SYSTEM MAKING BIDS FOR EARLY RELEASE. HER THOUGHTS REVOLVED SOLELY AROUND HER OBJECTIVES, NOT ON WHAT SHE HAD DONE. SHE FORGED FRIENDSHIPS WITH INFLUENCIAL, WEALTHY MEN SUCH AS DAVID ASTOR AND LORD LONGFORD, WHO BOTH WERE SUPPORTERS OF HINDLEY’S PAROLE.

MYRA HINDLEY WAS NOT IDLE DURING HER INCARCERATION, SHE STUDIED AND MASTERED SEVERAL LANGUAGES– AND SHE ALSO EARNED HER B.A. IN HUMANITIES THROUGH THE “OPEN UNIVERSITY” OPERATED WITHIN U.K. CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTES. SHE CLAIMED TO HAVE ENDURED A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING AND SPENT HOURS IN PRAYER AND SPEAKING WITH HER PRIEST–

BUT SHE DID ALL OF THESE THINGS WHILE PLANNING AN ESCAPE WITH A LESBIAN GUARD WITH WHOM SHE HAD ENTERED A TORRID LOVE AFFAIR. THE GUARD DID 7 YEARS TIME FOR THE INDISCRETION AND LATER STATED THAT IT WAS PLANNED THAT ONCE THE COUPLE HAD BROKEN OUT (THE GUARD MANAGED TO HAVE A COPY OF THE MASTER KEY PRODUCED) THAT THEY WOULD OBTAIN FALSE ID’S, INCLUDING PASSPORTS AND FLY TO GUYANA OR SOME SUCH PLACE, AND INQUIRE ABOUT WORK AS “MISSIONARIES.”
.
MYRA HINDLEY AND HER SUPPORTERS BROUGHT LAWSUITS CHALLENGING THE PAROLE BOARD’S REFUSAL TO FREE THE IGNOMINIOUS KILLER. AND WHILE SHE HAD ASSUMED A MATRONLY APPEARANCE AND PLAYED THE PART OF A CONTRITE SINNER WRACKED BY REMORSE, SHE WAS NOT WELL-LIKED BY OTHER INMATES AND IN THE LATE 1970′S A VICIOUS MOB OF WOMEN ATTACKED HER, CUT TING UP HER FACE WITH A SHIV SO BADLY A TEAM OF SURGEONS WAS REQUIRED TO RE-ASSEMBLE HER INFAMOUS VISAGE. SHE WAS NECESSARILY TRANSFERRED SEVERAL TIMES: FROM HOLLOWAY PRISON TO COOKHAM WOOD TO HIGHPOINT PRISON, WHERE SHE DIED.

AT HER FUNERAL, WHICH HER FAMILY AVOIDED, AN UNIDENTIFIED INDIVIDUAL LEFT A SIGN AT THE MORTUARY WHICH READ: “BURN IN HELL.”

IF HUMAN REACTIONS TO WORKS OF ART CAN FIND THEIR EXPRESSION IN ACTS OF UNCHAINED AND ENTHUSIASTIC RAGE, THEN ART WIELDS A POWER WHICH NOBODY FULLY FATHOMS. CONSIDER THE INK AND EGGS LOBBED AT MARCUS HARVEY’S PORTRAIT. ONE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THESE OBJECTS WERE BEING TOSSED AT A LIVE TARGET. BUT, IN TRUTH NOBODY THREW INK ON HINDLEY; IT WAS TOSSED ON HER PORTRAIT– THOUGH THE VANDALISM IS AN EERIE, EASY METAPHOR FOR THE FACIALLY DISFIGURING ATTACK SHE HAD SUFFERED IN PRISON.

ART, I REALIZE TOUCHES HUMANKIND ON EVERY POSSIBLE LEVEL. IT REACHES US EMOTIONALLY, VISCERALLY, INTELLECTUALLY AND EVEN SPIRITUALLY. YES, ART HAS AN IMPACT UPON THE SPIRITUAL LIVES OF MEN WHICH CANNOT BE READILY– OR AT ALL EASILY– DISCOUNTED. IF THIS WERE NOT THE CASE, WHY WOULD THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH HAVE COMMISSIONED SOME OF THE MOST TRANSCENDENT AND INSPIRATIONAL WORKS FROM THE HANDS OF ARTISTS WHICH HISTORY HAS CANONIZED? ENTERING EVEN A MODEST CHAPEL, THE VISITOR WILL LIKELY BE CONFRONTED WITH SOMETHING RICHLY DESIGNED– A SCULPTED CRUCIFIXION, A BIBLICAL SCENE BOLDLY INTERPRETED IN A VIVID PALETTE AND STAINED UPON GLASS, THEN MADE LUMINESCENT BY AN INTENSE, BURNING AFTERNOON SKY.

WHEN I WAS TEN YEARS OLD I ENVIED CATHOLIC CHILDREN BECAUSE THEY HAD SUCH ELABORATE CHURCHES WHEREAS, I WAS DRAGGED LIKE A RAG DOLL TO AUSTERE PROTESTANT CHURCHES. OR TO SPIRITUALIST MEETING-PLACES WHICH WERE JUST AS UNIMPRESSIVE.

AGAIN, THE THEME RE-ASSERTS ITSELF. THE SPARTAN INTERIORS AND WHITE FACADES MY PURITAN ANCESTORS HAD INCORPORATED INTO THE DESIGNS OF THEIR PLACES OF WORSHIP SUMMARILY CONNOTE THE IDEALS THEY UPHELD AND TRIED TO SPREAD: THAT CLEANLINESS WAS NEXT TO GODLINESS, THAT THRIFT WAS A DIVINELY ASSIGNED TRAIT, THAT CATHOLICS WERE ENGAGING IN A WICKEDNESS BY WASTING FUNDS ON BUILDING ELABORATE HOUSES OF WORSHIP.

SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT DESTINATIONS FOR THE DISCIPLE OF ART ARE LOCATED WITHIN ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES. ONE ONLY NEED THINK OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL.

ART AS A MAJOR THEME OF LIFE– ONE WHICH WE HEAR IN THE CONTENT OF CONVERSATION OR APPRECIATE FAR MORE SUBTLY AS WE WALK NOT THROUGH A MUSEUM, BUT DOWNTOWN. PAYING ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS PLACED ON THE OLD, BRICK BUILDINGS. LOOK CLOSELY, EVEN THE TENEMENTS DISPLAY VISIBLE ARCHITECTURAL FLOURISHES: ELEGANT PEDIMENTS ABOVE CRUMBLING DOORWAYS, AND SUCH. IT IS A RARE THING, NOWADAYS, TO GET TOGETHER WITH A FRIEND AND VISIT A MUSEUM. NOT RARE FOR ALL, BUT RARE FOR MOST. HOWEVER, WE INADVERTENTLY DISCUSS ART AND TO ADD TO THE ACCIDENTAL NATURE OF THE SUBJECT ENTERING CONVERSATION– WE DO SO WITHOUT CONSCIOUSLY VIEWING ART.

SINCE MAN IS SO VISUAL A BEING, HE CONSTANTLY SURVEYS HIS ENVIRONS. AS WELL, SINCE MAN IS SO VERBAL A BEING, HE IS COMPELLED TO CHATTER ABOUT WHAT HIS EYES– WHILE SCANNING ABOUT– HAVE DETECTED.

IS THERE SOMETHING UGLY FOR HIM TO POINT OUT AND REMARK UPON? OR, HAS SOMETHING LOVELY CAUGHT HIS EYE AND HE NEED BRING THIS SCRAP OF BEAUTY TO THE FOREFRONT OF CONVERSATION AND THUS, CONSCIOUSNESS BECAUSE HE IS IN THE COMPANY OF A MISERABLE GROUP, OR WITH A WOMAN HE DESPERATELY DESIRES TO IMPRESS WITH A VISUALLY APPEALING IMAGE IN HOPES THAT SHE WILL ASSOCIATE SUCH AN EASILY ACQUIRED SENSE OF CONTENTMENT WITH HE– HER MEMORY OF HIM FOREVER INTERTWINED WITH THE DAZZLING, MIDNIGHT SKY, SMEARED BY COUNTLESS AND UNUSUALLY BRIGHT STARS ON A CLEAR NIGHT SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE DENVER?

MY MOTHER ONCE TOLD ME THAT MY FATHER WON HER HEART, OR AT LEAST HER ATTENTION, BY TELLING HER THAT SHE HAD ” THE FACE OF A BOTTICELLI ANGEL.”

DECISIONS ARE INFLUENCED BY ART ON A DAILY BASIS; SIMPLY BECAUSE THERE IS AN EVIDENT DEMISE IN THE NATIONAL APPRECIATION FOR ARTISTRY AND CLEVER SKILL… DO NOT THINK FOR AN INSTANT THAT IT HAS VANISHED AND THAT WE AREN’T BEING PRODDED, GOADED AND TENDED BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE AN INTRINSIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE POWER INHERENT IN ART IS FAR FROM SUPERFICIAL. THE PROBLEM HERE IS THAT THESE TYPES ARE MAINLY EMPLOYED IN ADVERTISING. THERE IS NOTHING ESSENTIALLY TERRIBLE IN THAT. WHAT IS TERRIBLE IS THAT A FAMOUS PORTRAIT OF OUR NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT– AN IMAGE WITH WHICH WE ARE ALL FAMILIAR, WHICH I THINK IS CALLED “HOPE”– HAS BROUGHT ATTENTION TO THE ARTIST BUT I AM UNABLE TO RECALL OR WRITE HIS NAME. THAT IMAGE IS, IN MY OPINION, ONE WHICH WILL BE AS HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT AS THE GILBERT STUART PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON OR OF THE HAUNTING PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN DURING THE AMERICAN DEPRESSION BY DOROTHEA LANGE WHICH MADE AN UNKNOWN, IMPOVERISHED WOMAN AN IMMORTAL ICON OF STRENGTH. NAMELESS, BUT FAMOUS, SHE IS REFERRED TO AS “THE DUST BOWL MADONNA.”

WE ARE NOT FOCUSED ON ART IN ANY DIRECT MANNER. EVERYTHING IS PERIPHERAL AND THIS IS THE WAY LITERATURE AND THE VISUAL ARTS ENTER OUR LIVES, EVER INCREASINGLY– FROM THE SIDE. RECALLING THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN AMERICAN AND GERMAN ART OF ROUGHLY THE SAME ERA, THE IDEA OF POWER REEMERGES WITH GREAT FORCE. WE UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF ART– OR THE POWER OF ART– WHEN WE REMEMBER THE PROFOUND EFFECT NAZI PROPAGANDA EXERTED. ALONGSIDE RADIO BROADCASTS AND HITLERS’ DELIRIUM-CAUSING PUBLIC SPEAKING, PROPAGANDIST ART AIDED IN THE CREATION OF THE NAZI GERMAN ZEITGEIST.

WHO IS THE LAST FAMOUS AMERICAN POET YOU CAN NAME? TRUE,” FAMOUS POET” IS AN OXYMORON NOWADAYS, BUT IT WAS NOT ALWAYS LIKE THIS. THINK ABOUT IT. I ASSUME THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD SAY ROBERT FROST; MAYBE A HANDFUL WOULD SAY EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY, OTHERS WILL POINT TO THE EXAMPLE OF PLATH, SOME TO ANNE SEXTON.

FROST IS THE BEST ANSWER, HE DID HAVE TRUE FAME, AND HIS NAME STILL A HOUSEHOLD WORD. MILLAY MAY BE THE NEXT BEST ANSWER. SHE HAD AN ENORMOUS FAME (ONE TO WHICH A MODERN POET WOULD NOT DARE TO ASPIRE) BUT HER FAME PROCEEDED THAT OF FROST, AND HER LEGACY IS TWISTED. MANY THINK SHE WAS SOME UPTIGHT PRUDE, WHEN HER BIOGRAPHY CLEARLY PROVES SHE WAS SEXUALLY RAPACIOUS AND BISEXUAL IN AN ERA WHEN THE REMAINING VICTORIAN MORALS WOULD HAVE CONDEMNED THAT BEHAVIOR AS A GRAVE SIN. MILLAY WAS ADDICTED TO A PLETHORA OF DRUGS AND ALCOHOL—TRAGIC ADDICTIONS INCONGRUOUS WITH THE IDENTITY OF A “PRUDE.”

SYLVIA PLATH GAINED THE MAJORITY OF HER FAME AFTER TAKING HER OWN LIFE AT THE DAWN OF THE 1960′S… AND WHILE ANNE SEXTON ALSO TOOK HER OWN LIFE IN 1974 SHE HAD ALREADY WON A PECULIAR FAME. SEXTON WAS A GLAMOROUS WASP AND FORMER MODEL WHOSE STATUESQUE GOOD LOOKS, INTRIGUING PHYSIOGNOMY AND SEXUALITY MADE HER APPEAL RATHER BROAD. PERSONALLY, I WOULD NAME HER AS THE LAST OF THE FAMOUS POETS, FOR SHE WAS A SERIOUS WRITER, DISCIPLINED AND INTENT ON PERFECTION. SHE WAS ALSO ABLE TO SELL OUT VENUES AND PEOPLE BOUGHT HER BOOKS.HER BOLD ADMISSION OF MENTAL ILLNESS CAUSED PUBLIC INTEREST IN SEXTON TO EXPLODE. BUT SHE COULD TRULY MOVE A READER WITH A PIECE WRITTEN IN FORM. CONSIDER “HER KIND” AND ITS SCHEME– WHICH DOES NOT HAMPER THE ADROIT COMMINGLING OF THE SUB TEXTUAL SENTIMENTS.

YET, SEXTON’S CASE, ONE OF THE FINEST AMERICAN WOMEN OF LETTERS WAS EVENTUALLY SO FRACTURED AND BRUISED BY MENTAL ILLNESS AND CHRONIC ALCOHOLISM THAT SHE, LIKE SYLVIA PLATH, CAPITULATED TO A TERRIBLE WHIM. (SUICIDE WAS A MAJOR LIFE THEME FOR SEXTON) ON A PLACID AFTERNOON, SHE CLIMBED INTO HER VEHICLE AND TURNED THE MOTOR, WAITING FOR DEATH AS CARBON MONOXIDE FLOODED THE CAR’S INTERIOR.

THERE ARE MANY ARTISTS WHO ARE NOT ILL, ADDICTED OR SUICIDAL. BUT, ART IS A HUMAN PRODUCTION AND WILL ADDRESS HUMAN EMOTIONS AND HUMAN PROBLEMS. SOME ART MUST GIVE THE GENERAL POPULATION AN IDEA OF WHAT MADNESS IS– AND WERE IT NOT FOR THE LEVEL OF GENIUS IN PEOPLE SUCH AS PLATH OR HEMINGWAY, ONE COULD ASSUME THEY WOULD HAVE HAD NOTHING TO OCCUPY THEMSELVES WITH AND THEREFORE MAY HAVE COMMITTED SUICIDE MUCH EARLIER. THE WORLD WOULD NOT MISS THE CONTRIBUTIONS THEY HAD MADE– THEY WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN CREATED. IMAGINE THE ROBBERY THAT WOULD REPRESENT. UGLINESS AND EMOTIONAL TURMOIL MUST BE ILLUSTRATED, NOT BURIED, LOCKED AWAY OR CENSURED.

ART AND THE NOTION OF CENSURE DO NOT BELONG TOGETHER. THERE IS NO END TO ART. IT CAN BE FOUND AND APPRECIATED IN UNLIKELY PLACES. HOWEVER, IF A GALLERY OR A MUSEUM WITH A BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND AN ACTING CURATOR DECIDES TO ALLOW AN INSTALLATION OF AN EXHIBITION WHICH THEY ALREADY UNDERSTAND MAY, AT VERY LEAST, CAUSE CONTROVERSY, THE INSTITUTION IS OPERATING WITH ITS AUTONOMY AND AUTHORITY INTACT. THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR GREEN-LIGHTING THE SHOWING OF THE “SENSATION” EXHIBITION IN NYC WERE, I ASSUME WITH CONFIDENCE, FAR BETTER EDUCATED IN TERMS OF ART AND FAR BETTER SUITED TO JUDGE IT AS WORTHY OR NOT. THEY FELT IT WAS WORTH SHOWING AND, WHILE THE NAME “SENSATION” MAY CONVEY THAT THERE EXISTED A PURPOSEFUL DESIRE TO IRRITATE THE SENSIBILITIES OR SHOCK THE RELIGIOUS FEELINGS OF THAT CITY’S MAYOR; THIS IS UNLIKELY IN THE EXTREME.

BRITISH REACTIONS WERE VOCAL AND LOUD OR PHYSICAL. THE REACTION IN THE UNITED STATES WAS FOR A POLITICIAN TO TOSS ABOUT WORDS WHICH REMINDED ONE OF “MORALITY,” SUCH AS “OBSCENE,” AND TO THEN DISCONTINUE FUNDING. I THINK I FAVOR THE BRITISH REACTION. I SHOULD CLARIFY THAT: I DO NOT FAVOR THE VANDALISM AND I AM QUITE ANNOYED WITH THE REFUSAL OF THE BRITISH PUBLIC TO STOP, REALIZE THAT THE PORTRAIT WAS NOT INTENDED AS A CELEBRATION OF MYRA HINDLEY OR HER SICKENING CRIMES. WHAT I DO FAVOR IS THAT (ASIDE FROM THE VANDALISM) PEOPLE IN ENGLAND PROTESTED AND DEMONSTRATED.THEY SHOWED THEIR DISSATISFACTION AND THEY SHOWED THEIR DISAPPROVAL. MOST IMPORTANTLY, ENGLISH AUTHORITIES NEVER BECAME PRESUMPTUOUS ENOUGH TO STEP INTO THE PICTURE IN ORDER TO TELL THE CITIZENS WHAT ART WAS AND WHETHER OR NOT THEIR RIGHT TO VIEW IT WAS THEIR OWN.

PERHAPS SOME OF THE WORKS WERE DISGUSTING. IN FACT, I FOUND CERTAIN PIECES TO BE UPSETTING. YET, I DO NOT THINK IT SHOULD BE THE PROVINCE OF POLITICIANS TO TELL ME WHETHER OR NOT I CAN VIEW AN ART SHOW WHICH MAY CAUSE MY NERVES SOME DEGREE OF UPSET. THE JUSTIFICATION THAT SINCE THE MONIES USED TO FINANCE THE NYC SHOW WERE PUBLIC– THEREFORE COLLECTED FROM TAXPAYERS– DOES NOT WORK FOR ME. I AM UNSURE WHY IT WOULD SATISFY ANYBODY. TAXPAYERS HAVE SO LITTLE TO SAY WHEN IT COMES TO THE MANNER IN WHICH THEIR MONEY IS SPENT THAT THEY ARE UTTER MUTES; FOR
ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES.WARFARE ALSO CAUSES CONTROVERSY, AND ALSO CAUSES DEATHS, MULTIPLE DEATHS.

YET, OFF GO THE MONIES TO ENSURE THE NATION REMAIN EMBROILED IN PROBLEMS WHICH ARE AS OLD AS CIVILIZATION AND WHICH CAN NOT POSSIBLY BENEFIT FROM THE MEDDLING OF ANY WEALTHY WESTERN NATION. MONEY IS TOO ROUTINELY SPENT WASTEFULLY. FUNDING FOR THE ARTS IS SCANT, AND TO USE “SENSATION” AS A REASON TO FUNNEL TAX DOLLARS IN ANOTHER DIRECTION IS HAREBRAINED. CHILDREN NEED ART AND NEED TO CULTIVATE AN UNDERSTANDING AND RELATIONSHIP THEREOF. I HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN, ART TOUCHES MANKIND ON THE VISCERAL, EMOTIONAL, INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL LEVELS. THAT IS AMAZING, IT IS ALSO FACT. NOT EVEN AN ATHEIST CAN DENY THAT THERE IS A SPIRITUAL LEVEL OR COMPONENT IN MANKIND. HE MAY ATTRIBUTE THE OVERWHELMING SENSATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SPIRITUAL TO A BIO-CHEMICAL RESPONSE. HOWEVER, THE FACT REMAINS THAT SUCH EXPERIENCES ARE TRANSCENDENT, BLISSFUL AND OFTEN LIFE-ALTERING IN THE VERY BEST OF WAYS. ART CAN CAUSE THIS.

WITHOUT THE CHANCE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS, ARGUABLY THE MOST POWERFUL AND PERVASIVE CREATION OUR RACE IS CAPABLE OF CREATING– WHAT CHANCE DOES A CHILD HAVE AS HE ENTERS ADULTHOOD? POLITICIANS SHOULD NOT BE INVOLVED IN ATTEMPTING TO DEFINE OR CENSURE ART. GRAPHIC SEXUAL IMAGERY MAY BE CATEGORIZED AS SUCH AND RULES CONCERNING AGE MAY BE UPHELD, I SEE NO HARM THERE. SHUTTING DOWN MUSEUMS, EXHIBITIONS AND REMOVING FUNDS NECESSARY FOR MUSEUMS TO OPERATE IS A LOWDOWN MISDEED EXECUTED BY PEOPLE WHO LACK EVEN A MODICUM OF THE RAMIFICATIONS SUCH ACTIONS SHALL UNLEASH.