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photo by Rhonda Dorsett

The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in  Olympia, Washington

February, 2024

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“Aging is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength.”

– Betty Friedan

 

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Dear Readers:

…..I had an outpouring of thoughts and emotions during the recent 50-day car trip adventure I took to mark my 70^th birthday.  Fortunately, few were of the dreadful and dark variety that one may expect at this stage of life.  I chalk this somewhat surprising lack of anxiety up to the many role models who came to this age before me.  Here are three, along with “resolutions” gleaned from their examples:

…..-My grandparents, who lived into their 80’s and whose joy for life they openly displayed during their 70’s was an antidote to the consternation they could have otherwise displayed.  The sound of their laughter and the loving expression they wore when greeting me at their door remains a constant presence for good in my life.

With their example, I am determined to show this same goodness to others, to display courage and grace in the face of age, and to be a role model for younger people.

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 …..-My father. Working until age 80, he had boundless determination and a strength of purpose connected to his family and business, and an ability to find and enjoy success through hard, honest work, and respecting those who helped him achieve it.

With his example, I’d like to stay vital by doing what I love, and to honor and respect the people who contribute to whatever success and happiness I come by.

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…..-The many elder writers contributing to Jerry Jazz Musician – some of whom I have known for ten years now (and some who have gone silent in the last year or two).  The wisdom that shows up in their language and the joy they display when their work is chosen to be shared with this community is evidence of an ongoing spirit and a humble contentment.

With their example, I hope to maintain my own creative spirit for as long as my energy and passion for life lasts, and to have an appreciation for what I achieve.

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…..And, maintaining my creative spirit is critical if my desire to continue editing and publishing Jerry Jazz Musician – which I have done since 1999, when I was 45 – lasts well into my 70’s.

…..There are challenges, of course, beyond maintaining a creative spirit, not the least of which is the reality that what this website has become is in opposition to what the dot-com world is today – an environment of spam, pop-ups, chatbots, porn, unseemly advertisements, clickbait, political garbage, false information, and sinister scams and personalities.  And that’s just in the dot.com world!  Meanwhile, social media has trained users to spread falsehoods without consequence (leading to our post-truth world), and our restless, impatient brains have forced content providers – forever chasing “likes” that can be monetized –  to create material that is consumed in seconds.  As a result, a dearth of meaningful content and even less depth of soul is found online.  It won’t get better anytime soon – it is projected that by 2026, 90% of the content available on the Internet will be created by artificial intelligence, so unremarkable content will be incessantly generated, ads to support it will be relentless, and misinformation (and misinformers) will divide us further.

…..MMy vision for Jerry Jazz Musician to publish human-generated, soulful, original content that celebrates a rich, historic culture – and to do so without being a repository for advertising – flies in the face of such a gloomy environment.  I am determined to remain a noise-free island for creative expression, and to keep the experience of visiting this website rewarding and hassle-free. But I am also left trying to understand how a content-heavy site can survive when users of the Internet have been trained to scroll and troll rather than enrich and inspirit.  It can be done with determination and effort, but that isn’t enough without revenue to support it.

…..The good news is that the number of people visiting Jerry Jazz Musician is up 25% over last year.   Thousands of people are landing on this website every month.  The challenging news is that the cost of publishing the content is up in terms of personal time, energy and expense – not a good recipe for publishing a website that doesn’t generate advertising revenue.

…..So, before I appeal for your support, I want to share a little more about my vision for Jerry Jazz Musician over the short and long term.

…..I am proud to report that I have entered into an agreement with the Portland, Oregon-based book publisher Unsolicited Press, and our initial venture will be the creation of an anthology of previously unpublished jazz poetry, which will be available sometime late 2024/early 2025.  This will provide me with an opportunity to take what has been successful on jerryjazzmusician.com into the printed book world, creating a potential revenue source as well as new avenues of reach for the poets and writers published within it.  (You can learn the details about how to submit your work at the conclusion of this post).  Several other poetry anthologies are also being imagined and planned, and there may come a time for other options as well (i.e. short fiction collections, interviews, etc.)  The only impact this will have on the website is that following the publication of the Summer 2024 poetry collection, the large jazz poetry collections that have been published three times a year since 2019 will only be available in printed book form.  Individual poems and smaller poetry collections will continue to be published on this website.  They will remain robust and appear often, leaving ample opportunity for poets to share their work.

…..In the long run, my desire is to find a path where Jerry Jazz Musician can survive me.  This site is not a “blog” that depends on one person to write the content – it is a publication made up of a publisher, editor, and contributing writers (in the neighborhood of 500 at last count).  While I created the website and fostered an environment in which this community can thrive, I also just happen to be the editor and publisher at this stage of its existence – one who is willing to make investments in time, energy and money.  With proper guidance and initiative and quality of spirit and vision, a (paid) editor succeeding me can provide inspiration for the many talented writers – of this and subsequent generations – wishing to share this corner of their creative lives on this platform.  And, importantly, an inspired editor with a knowledge of how to build a bigger audience and also generate revenue (without becoming another ad-filled website) can give Jerry Jazz Musician a chance at long term survival.

…..So, I appeal to readers to help me get there.  In the short term, I wish to raise enough revenue in order to publish the website so the cost of doing so won’t negatively impact the quality of my life during my 70’s, and in the long term to raise enough money to inspire and pay qualified people to carry on with this work beyond my days.   My health is good, my energy and enthusiasm is high, and, in the words of Ms. Friedan, I will embrace this new time of my life as a “stage of opportunity and strength.”  With that energy – and reader support – there is a real possibility that I can turn this vision into reality.

…..I wish to thank the many readers who have already contributed (in many cases more than once) hard-earned money toward the mission of Jerry Jazz Musician.  To those who would also like to, please click here for details on how to do so.

Onward!

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Joe Maita

Editor/Publisher

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photo by Rhonda Dorsett

Celebrating my 70th in St. Helena, California.  March, 2024

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Listen to the 1957 recording of Nat “King” Cole performing the Sigmund Romberg/Oscar Hammerstein II composition “When I Grow Too Old to Dream,” with Cole (piano, vocals); Stuff Smith (violin); John Collins (guitar); Charlie Harris (bass); and Lee Young (drums).  [Universal Music Group]

 

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Click here for information about the Jerry Jazz Musician poetry anthology to be published by Unsolicited Press

Click here to read  The Sunday Poem

Click here to read “A Collection of Jazz Poetry – Winter, 2024 Edition”

Click here to read “Ballad,” Lúcia Leão’s winning story in the 65th Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest

Click here for information about how to submit your poetry or short fiction

Click here to subscribe to the (free) Jerry Jazz Musician quarterly newsletter

Click here to help support the ongoing publication of Jerry Jazz Musician, and to keep it commercial-free (thank you!)

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Jerry Jazz Musician…human produced (and AI-free) since 1999

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