Posted by Lew Gross on June 05, 2001 at 16:28:53 from 207.175.211.89 :
From Lew Gross 5/28/2001: Gen and I first met Ed and Nita on their arrival in Buffalo from London in 1958. Memories of their brief stay with us --sharing observations, sentiments and hopes-- linger on. They had the candor, talent and venturous spirit our little free-speaking group desired. Now, for more than 40 years, Ed brought generations of stumbling minds to fuller awareness of themselves and their world. Many students and colleagues were inspired by Ed's exemplary scholarship and social activism --his way of coupling civil disobedience to our nation's history. (Wasn't this unabashed social critic really an authentic patriot?) Ed knew how to challenge and comfort the disturbed, the lonely, the disowned. He knew much about the fragile seams of the unshielded child in each of us (and himself). When we visited him in jail he looked relaxed, amused, well-fed and ready to recommend a short stay there for friend and foe alike. Later he wrote: "Freedom comes from knowing...Ponder the freedom of confinement, of being locked up: serenity comes through surrender of desires. This I discovered in prison. I could not have a cup of coffee anytime I desired. Often we feel free when wholly determined. Consider how it feels to be engrossed in a project: if you are painting a picture the objective reality of the work compels you to act." By teaching what many wanted to hear but feared to know, Ed Perhaps his rear-guard supporters saw him as a pathfinder for walled-in and unruly rebels. Yet, to all, he was resolutely opposed to physical violence. He had the wit to seek forgotten knowledge by looking into secluded ideas, things and places. In 1963, he bought a 25 cent copy of Franklin Giddings’ 1896 Principles of Sociology, linked it to earlier authors, and dug up Gidding's Pagan Poems. He starred this verse in his notes: This is the secret thou seekest: Listen to all that sings; with singing This is the secret thou seekest. Apart from the omission of "women" in the poem, wasn't Ed's living aim as close to Giddings as two comrades set upon the same mission? In like manner, Ed stood arm and shoulder with Eugene Debs, convict 9655 in Atlanta Prison. (Debs, four times Socialist candidate for U S President, garnered nearly a million votes in 1920). These are Debs’ words: "Years ago I began to recognize my kinship with all living things. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class I am in it, while there is a criminal element, I am of it, while there is a soul in prison, I am not free." I believe Ed would want each of us to move away from these dark days to resume our life project --the choosing and shaping of our purpose for living. As we do this, we may, again, take part in Ed's unfinished conversations. Whenever I read his letters and essays, his voice and image return to lessen my sadness. Perhaps someone with mind more nimble than mine will put to book, "The Wit and Wisdom of Elwin H. Powell." Then all can call on him for the controversies and consolations he offered out of care for us. For Karen and her family, our heartfelt sympathies. ”In Friendship,” "In Solidarity," Lew Gross
couldn't be ignored or forgotten. He lived and taught as few could: holding ordinary mortals no less worthy of recognition than the widely acclaimed.
The wisdom of It: Wilt thou hear?
Keep near to all that lives,
Close to the men that dare,
Hearken to men that know:
Thou shalt Live, thou shalt Dare, thou
shalt Know.
Thy heart shall leap, like the water.
Stand alone, in the stillness of night;
Thy mind shall not falter, nor fear.
But only the dauntless hear.