all about uncles

so, my uncle keeps looking and feeling better. he's even making urine, which would indicated that his kidneys are working. interesting. so, we don't really know. he could be truly coming back from the brink or he could be rallying before the end. the doctors certainly don't know. his primary diagnosis remains lymphoma, which they cannot really treat aggressively. i guess we'll see.

one of my cousins has put a different uncle's work on the web. phenomenally talented. i'll post a few pictures here. check it out at michaelcorr.com. more are posted periodically. michael has a phd in japanese art history. or a phd in japanese history and art. i don't know. he lives in japan now and writes the familiy periodically. his corespondence previously consisted of haikus on note pads. they've become more lengthy letters. he was (is?) a prolific artist. block prints, mostly. asian themes abound. many also include the work of poets. for example, in my kitchen i have one that is just a poem:

i love
making
brown rice
in the big
old pot

it will
nourish
every
body

after all
it costs
next to
nothing
to serve

-m castro

as a kid, "lusty deer at the zoo" was my favorite. it consisted of those words and the outlines of a few animals scattered. i don't know if any of us understand it.

Untitled, wood-block print with black ink, 14"x20", 1968.


"St. Elmo's fire," wood-block print on paper, 14"x19", 1967.