A local paper has been full of articles bragging about how an author was taken to task for writing about a local family, back in the ’50’s.

It’s well-known that the lawsuit for defamation was not started until the book — and the subsequent movie — began to make money.  The publishers and a local paper settled out of court to get rid of a nuisance suite.

This has led to a local mythology that the writer was defeated for making fun of a local family.  This myth might frighten local writers from using materials based on their own scene.

First of all, the Supreme Court has since backed the First Amendment by deciding that editorial cartoons, fictions, etc., come under “parody.”  This is part of the right of free speech. 

Unlike the time of the original case, and in direct reaction to this kind of lawsuit (and the actions of the House Unamerican Activities Committee), writer’s legal support groups now exist, including the Screen Actor’s Guild, the National Writer’s Union (AFL/CIO) and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.   

The New York Times found out what it was like to take on one of these organizations when it attempted to force an animation-industry style All Rights Contract upon freelance journalists, demanding the copyright of all articles from all authors.  It lost to the National Writer’s Union in a case that went to the Supreme Court.

Fiction is not defamation.  For example, recently someone went to one of my clients and attempted to make trouble for me with an organization I work with by partly quoting something I had said at an open arts meeting.  First of all, I have the citizen right to make such a proclamation.  As for the activity, involving literature that is written for full citizens and not children, I again have the right to be involved in that activity.  No one has the right to get between me and a client in an attempt to infringe upon any part of my business or livlihood.  The person who did it put themselves — and the client, who responded — into the position of being liable in a court. 

I do not intend to follow up or begin such legal proceedings, even though I know very well how the local court system works.  I think the people involved have realized that, in the case of property, if they did something like this to anyone else, and if they owned sufficient property, the deep-pockets syndrome might kick in.  They have to understand that is always a danger.

Fiction, however, does not come under the defamation definition.  The original author combined people, reworked situations, and generally did what a fiction author is supposed to do — rewrite from experience to express humor or tragedy or an overview of the human condition. 

So the next time anyone starts bragging about winning court cases against authors for fiction, remind them that happened in the days of McCarthyism, and that it no longer applies.

That was then, this is now.  And there’s more than one way for an author to get rich.

Tony Smith’s interview with me: 

www.associatedcontent.com/article/374013/exclusive_interview_with_the_award.html

Loads of good new stuff! 

An art installation off Highway 101 near Beaver, Washington, on the way to Forks.  Like a hanging-teddy dripline mobile.

It scares the heck out of me.

For a production in 1959 that dealt with race, and yet seemed to fly under the radar of controversy, watch John Ford’s “Sergeant Rutledge” (originally titled “Captain Buffalo.”)

A superb cast of black actors and a no-nonsense plot dealing with (supposed) black-on-white rape and murder should have made this screen explode, especially in the South. 

The black actors who play the troopers range from the tall, dark, handsome Woody Strode who plays the lead roll, with his deep voice and superb posture, to a light and whiny kid, to an ink-black fiercely aquiline man with obvious Spanish background.  The actors speak with many different accents and appear to come from many different levels and backgrounds in society.  It’s obvious they’ve been chosen as a kind of black bomber-crew, but who else at the time was trying to do this, at least in mainstream movies?

The man playing the old bearded sergeant is almost two people:  a sharp, hard-voiced old trooper among his own unit, and a quiet, soft-voiced, diffident person when dealing with white people.  The character was a slave, and learned how to stay alive in a dangerous time.

Note:  a southern friend pointed out that the rape victim was something most northern audiences would not have recognized, and that gave the film added levels:  the young actress had black ancestry.  The Colonel who is her father used to own slaves.

If you live up here, you’ve heard about Sue’s Gallery.

Sue Heiny and her sister Diane Goplen have recently bought the sprawling old Bay Supply, and will be turning it into an arts center.  It is no longer ugly grey — it is bright green!

They want to sell the Gallery.  It’s charming.

Zoned multi-use:  Pristine art gallery, office, massage studio and half-bath upstairs, apartment downstairs.  On 16732 Highway 112, across from Al’s Mini-mart.  LOADS of parking!  A short stroll to the bridge that leads right to the beautiful Clallam Bay State Park.

They’re asking $150,000.00.  Call Sue at:  360 963 2854

Prices may have dropped around the rest of the country, but they’re holding here.  This is choice investment property.

But you don’t get the neon clock.

On the 7th of October, we had the first of the Olympic Peninsula All-Arts Festivals.

It was very small, and took place on only one floor of the Sekiu Community Center. 

But considering it only had one actual staff member, and was just a test, it fulfilled everything it was supposed to.

We had some Christmas lights, and the floor was wafting with multi-color balloons from the $ store.  I baked what a New Zealand friend called “An American Cake” and put out coffee.

The Cape Flattery School district donated the space, with the consideration that there would be free entry of for all children’s art, and demonstrations.

June Bowlby, president of the local long-standing arts group, Messy Pallettes, represented with her paintings in the art show and did watercolor demonstrations at her vendor’s table.

Her husband, Robert, contributed with the CD “Robert and June,” he playing saxaphone, June playing piano.  It made nice background music.

Robert said he wanted to call it Warts and All but June wouldn’t let him.

Messy Pallettes donated use of their display stands.

Margaret Owen, very active Joyce artist got funds from the Crescent Community Advisory Committee for $45.00 of gift certificates for art supplies at Olympic Stationers in Port Angeles.

Daniel Smith Art Supplies sent $20.00 in gift certificates.

Al’s mini-mart handed over a stack of paper coffee cups.

I donated a photo and layout for the color poster, which was printed with the sponsorship of the Clallam Bay/Sekiu Chamber of Commerce, with Tourism funds; Forks’s Olympic Graphics gave us a good deal on the posters in return for advertising on them.

Pat Soderlind, Forks Events Planner, Margaret Owen and I helped distribute the posters on the West End, including Joyce, Forks, LaPush, Neah Bay, Beaver, Clallam Bay and Sekiu.

I’m going to do a basic presentation to the Clallam Bay/Sekiu Executive Committe on the 30th of October.

Future plans for the festival:

2006:  We took in the west end, for one day.

2007:  At least two buildings, three days, and advertise in the western hemisphere.

2008:  The whole peninsula, a week, and advertisie globally.

Four fests a year:  The major festival in summer, and smaller fests — Octoberfest, Mayfest, and November’s Stormfest, to take advantage of sales to the holiday market.

We raised enough money for doo-dads for the next arts festival.  Now I can hire a tank and won’t have to blow up all those balloons! 

(Contact me for details through my email on this site or 360 963 2935).

Subsequent plans:  I will be contacting a Seattle head-hunter to see if he can find an international arts and media agent who can deal with rural folks.  Nobody moved out here to run around on airplanes to gallery openings!  They live out here for the peace and quiet, and the artists to do their art.

I will be writing good things about the Arts Festival in a couple days.  Have to go do an interview now (as freelancer for the Forks Forum).

HOW many hats do people wear up here, anyway?

That’s what my brother Don Colbert calls his latest work at DeviantArt.

Make sure you have a glass of cold water and a hanky nearby before you head over there.

Whew. What a show it was. 

My art — at least the peculiar treasure called the Black Manuscripts — and a heck of a lot of sketches, originals, fan mail, costumes and video tapes of old routines and plays — went into San Diego State University’s Special Collections.

My collection caused quite a stir at SC; they’d never seen such a thing as the Blacks, because there’s nothing else like them on the planet:  twelve ornate — nay, obsessive — embroidery-bound manuscripts, about 150 pages long, each.

The collection and its cataloging are to be the legacy of Jossie Chavez, who is retiring from the university this year.

Once the word got around that the future of the collection would be colored by the books it received from the convention this year, tons of cool stuff poured in, including Bento Box, by Deb Aoki.  Neat Hawaiian comic strips.  We learn that never, ever do we give macadamia nuts to Hawaiians, because that would be like giving avacadoes to a Californian.  Coals to newcastle, so to speak.

I did my best to translate between the drawn book and academic worlds.  It was tough going at first; two completely different languages.  But then the walls went down and I got to go see other neat things at San Diego.

Met Melinda Gebbies, Alan Moore’s colleague and partner and got to check out the new Lost Girls collection.  WOW.

Found out once again that my peers are my biggest fans.  Sometimes this just floors me, like at this convention.

Three Witches…

Baby dolphin on the beach.

Teeth like strawberry flower petals.

Carcass dry as jerky, graceful as a fossil

ten million years dead.

So young, never older

and already so old.