Miller Williams

WHEN Lucinda Williams started writing songs in her early teens, she couldn't exactly go to her hero, Bob Dylan, for advice. But she could shout down the hall. Williams grew up with her own resident mentor, her father Miller Williams. He ranks as a leading figure in modern American poetry who, most visibly, was chosen by President Clinton to write and deliver the official poem for his second-term inauguration in 1997 and has served as confidant to folk heroes including Jimmy Carter and Tom T.

Barney Rosset, who died Tuesday at the age of 89, was the most important American publisher of the 20th century. Sure, he was part of a lineage; it's difficult to imagine Rosset doing what he did for more than 30 years at Grove Press without the example of James Laughlin at the seminal independent New Directions or (further afield) Jack Kahane at Paris' Obelisk Press. And yet Grove, which Rosset bought in 1951 for $3,000 and ran until 1985, remains the touchstone, the publisher most responsible for breaking down American literary puritanism, for defending the idea that art, that literature, is meant to unsettle us, that among its central purposes is to challenge the status quo. Look at the writers Rosset published: Henry Miller, Samuel Beckett, William S. Burroughs, Eugene Ionesco, Jean Genet, Malcolm X. Look at the books that he brought into the center of the culture: "Tropic of Cancer," "Waiting for Godot," "Naked Lunch," "Our Lady of the Flowers," "A Confederacy of Dunces," "Cain's Book.

For a volume of selected letters of John Ciardi, we would appreciate hearing from anyone who might have letters and might be willing to send us copies for consideration. We will gladly reimburse you for copying and postage. MILLER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS PRESS FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. 72701

WHEN Lucinda Williams started writing songs in her early teens, she couldn't exactly go to her hero, Bob Dylan, for advice. But she could shout down the hall. Williams grew up with her own resident mentor, her father Miller Williams. He ranks as a leading figure in modern American poetry who, most visibly, was chosen by President Clinton to write and deliver the official poem for his second-term inauguration in 1997 and has served as confidant to folk heroes including Jimmy Carter and Tom T.

On a July night in a Nashville club, Lucinda Williams strums a few guitar chords, then stops before reaching the first words of "Lake Charles," a song from her critically acclaimed new album, "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road." "It's so hot, my brain isn't working," she cracks, flashing a crooked smile. She then counts off the tempo and starts the song again. For Williams, stopping in mid-performance has become something of a concert trademark.

Maybe inaugurations get the poets they deserve. Four years ago, Maya Angelou stirred people's hearts with "On the Pulse of Morning." The rock of the past, she said, gives us neither haven nor hiding place in its shadow, but we can gain strength from its weight to face our destiny. We need, she said, to live beyond the "bloody sear" of cynicism. She urged us to face our history with courage. Angelou's message of hope seemed to fit.

Barney Rosset, who died Tuesday at the age of 89, was the most important American publisher of the 20th century. Sure, he was part of a lineage; it's difficult to imagine Rosset doing what he did for more than 30 years at Grove Press without the example of James Laughlin at the seminal independent New Directions or (further afield) Jack Kahane at Paris' Obelisk Press. And yet Grove, which Rosset bought in 1951 for $3,000 and ran until 1985, remains the touchstone, the publisher most responsible for breaking down American literary puritanism, for defending the idea that art, that literature, is meant to unsettle us, that among its central purposes is to challenge the status quo. Look at the writers Rosset published: Henry Miller, Samuel Beckett, William S. Burroughs, Eugene Ionesco, Jean Genet, Malcolm X. Look at the books that he brought into the center of the culture: "Tropic of Cancer," "Waiting for Godot," "Naked Lunch," "Our Lady of the Flowers," "A Confederacy of Dunces," "Cain's Book.

*** Contemporary Piano Ensemble, "The Key Players," Columbia. Putting five pianists in one studio is a risky venture, yet these men display enough empathy to pull it off. A highlight is Bobby Timmons' "Moanin', " for which four Blakey alumni--Donald Brown, Mulgrew Miller, James Williams, Geoff Keezer--interact effectively while the fifth pianist, Harold Mabern, lays out. Christian McBride's bass and Tony Reedus' drums flesh out these generally bright collaborations.

Magic Johnson's fourth Midsummer Night's Magic All-Star basketball game, which benefits the United Negro College Fund, will be played tonight at 7:30 at the Forum. The charity game, which has raised more than $1 million, will be Johnson's first game since he suffered a hamstring injury in the NBA Finals June 8. Johnson's team will include Michael Jordan, Michael Cooper, Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, Kurt Rambis, Reggie Miller, Herb Williams, Jerome Kersey and John Salley.

Herbert Hoover's inauguration was the first broadcast live on radio, and Harry Truman's was the first shown on television. Today, if all goes as planned, President Clinton's second inaugural will be the first to be carried over the Internet. The Presidential Inaugural Committee, in a partnership with the Public Broadcasting Service, has set up an official inaugural website at http://www.pbs.org/inaugural97.

On a July night in a Nashville club, Lucinda Williams strums a few guitar chords, then stops before reaching the first words of "Lake Charles," a song from her critically acclaimed new album, "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road." "It's so hot, my brain isn't working," she cracks, flashing a crooked smile. She then counts off the tempo and starts the song again. For Williams, stopping in mid-performance has become something of a concert trademark.

Maybe inaugurations get the poets they deserve. Four years ago, Maya Angelou stirred people's hearts with "On the Pulse of Morning." The rock of the past, she said, gives us neither haven nor hiding place in its shadow, but we can gain strength from its weight to face our destiny. We need, she said, to live beyond the "bloody sear" of cynicism. She urged us to face our history with courage. Angelou's message of hope seemed to fit.

For a volume of selected letters of John Ciardi, we would appreciate hearing from anyone who might have letters and might be willing to send us copies for consideration. We will gladly reimburse you for copying and postage. MILLER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS PRESS FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. 72701

President Clinton will have clap-along gospel music and the poetry of a home-state friend at his swearing-in next month, a spokesman said Thursday. The program for the Jan. 20 ceremony, headlined by Arkansas poet Miller Williams, opera diva Jessye Norman and three gospel choirs, was designed as a dual celebration of Clinton's governance and the legacy of civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Thanks for printing Barbara Isenberg's illuminating article on the dubious playwriting "process" at the UCLA-Mark Taper Forum new-play workshop ("Theater-by-Committee: Everyone's an Author," Sept. 7). It is hard to know who to blame: the Mark Taper and UCLA for fostering this travesty of producing; director Mark Medoff for encouraging it; and last, but not least, the spineless playwright (Clifton Campbell) who was actually willing to put up with it. Hasn't this poor soul ever heard of the uncompromising positions taken by playwrights such as Bernard Shaw, Eugene O'Neill and even Herb Gardner: no changing of texts ?