February 5, 2008

State, Nation, Realization

My logo represents aspects of my own culture. First I am from Arkansas and well aware that this has shaped my experience and in consequence my own vantage point on life, love, work, music — all that makes me who I am. It's colored red, white, and blue for the Nation that affords me a life where I am free to pursue who I am and my interests to the fullest extent.

In addition, being American means that removed no more than twenty or so generations at most, we all are immigrants. All seeking a better life, cosmic refugees all afforded this freedom. The lightning bolt represents realization. Growth is an important part of existence, and as life-long learners realization is a powerful and creative force. By celebrating my own culture and being who I am, I feel I appreciate my own uniqueness and then in turn the uniqueness of others.

Justin Keen

A is for Arkansas,
     Named by the mighty Algonquian

B is for Bryant,
     It is pronounced with one syllable in my dialect

C is for Country,
     My people need room

D is for Don't,
     "Don't worry about losing your accent a southern man tells better jokes"

E is for Earth
     I was taught it would sustain me

F is for Funky,
     Sometimes you need to get down

G is Good Ole Boy,
     I was groomed to be one

H is for Hunting,
     Family tradition and rites of passage

I is for Impersonation,
     Taught to be our fathers

J is for John 8:32,
     "The truth will set you free"

K is for Keen,
     Who moved down from the Carolinas

L is for Logger,
     My grandfathers inherited trade

M is for Murky,
     Like the Saline River in whose bottoms I was taught how to act

N is for Never,
     "Never act like your families a joke"

O is for October 1,
     When Jane Marie became my bride

P is for Protestant work ethic

Q is for Quick,
     To use wit, to throw a punch, you want to get out of here don't you?

R is for Romine,
     Who fled the dust bowl to Helena

S is for Southern,
     The best part of the country

T is for the ever-present TV.

U is for Underpaid

V is for Vegetables,
     I love to grow them

W is for White Oaks,
     Which shade my daddies' house

X is for Xanthic,
     How I looked when I was born

Y is for Yesterday,
     Which I cannot change

Z is for Zero,
     My uncle told me I had "a snowball's chance in a microwave" that's zero.

Justin Keen
January 27, 2008