I’m from the village of Fairfax, Allendale County, South Carolina, so is Jasper Johns. Don’t know how many people in the town. I do know I’m kin to most of them. The Ritters and the Myerses and the Smarts are from Luray and Estill. I was born across the branch from where Uncle Bubba lives now. Cousin Amanda was the midwife for me and my brother. We were seven-month twin babies. I was born first and Cousin Amanda didn’t know that there was another baby. Cousin Amanda said that he stayed in the womb too long. I was three pounds...

My grandfather Cleveland Smart had a dream. Cousin Hesikay Smart come to him and said your child will be a girl, name her Verta. Et voila my aunt Verta. My aunt Verta had a dream when my mother was carrying me, and Cleveland Smart come to her and said, “Name that child of Frank’s Verta.” Aunt Verta was a beautiful woman. She was delicate boned but had the Smart strength, and she had them Smart eyes, fire brown. We never called her Verta. As a matter of fact it was me who changed the spelling—she spelled it Virter. We...

Our house on Erdman Street in Philadelphia had a coal stove in each room except for the kerosene heater in the living room which we rarely used. Erdman Street was on a dead end. We paid seventeen dollars a month and used to be behind in the rent (most of the time). We had two rooms on each floor, three stories. The third floor was all mine. I used to play school and give plays. I was actor, director and audience all in one. In the winter we all slept in the bedroom on the second floor cause we didn’t...

My first cousin Queen Esther is married to a maharashi or mahara or anyhow she married a rich Indian (the kind of Indian Chris was looking for before he discovered Ray Charles—I mean America). They live in Madras and have lots of servants. She and I exchange letters all the time. She told me that even though they have all those servants she still does her own cooking. Queen Esther comes from out by Beaufort way and the Geechees round there will work roots on you in a minute. So I think that she is scared that someone will...

Being tall and digging the theater was what made me go off to Paris in ’58. I always dug theater. When I was three years old I won a prize at the children’s day contest at Miller Swamp for reciting an original poem. In grade and junior high school I was still in programs. But I never joined the dramatic club. I was too shy and too insecure about my looks. I was tall and skinny. I mean skinny—not thin but skinny. Kids teased me all the time and it was terrible. I slouched my shoulders and never stood...

After I’d seen Paris again after nine years I wondered how I could have wanted to live and die in that city. Physically it’s beautiful in spite of the coldness of the French people. But, man, when I arrived and saw those black cats sweeping the streets I knew that the third world has got to happen. I know most of the warmest people in Paris. William Melvin, Karen and Kelly and Jessica and Brother Elkton. Tom Harris and Carlene Polite and Marc and Arronne and Gilles, Clair and Fleury and Trevor and Patrick and Jerry and Henri and Julia...

I get mad real fast. Madness is everywhere—all around us. I get mad when people mess with my children—taxis don’t stop and people call me out of my name. I dislike plastic flowers, instant coffee, gossip, subways, hospitals, working from nine to five, people who point their finger in your face, Con Ed, opera, elevators, bank tellers, the jet set, dogs with jeweled collars, Cadillacs and I can’t stand people with shiny cars and dingy children.

In this two-child, three-car society, people take better care of their cars than they do their children. Filling themselves up with all...

A lot of new foods were brought to this country via the slave trade like watermelons. They were cultivated thousands of years ago in the Nile Valley. When David Livingston got to Central Africa he found watermelons growing wild and sweet. Egyptians make salted roasted watermelon seed. The Russians make a beer.

Some other things brought via the slave trade were sesame seeds (sometimes called benne seeds), yams, cow peas (black-eyed peas), peanuts and

Boil your meat and then add washed and carefully trimmed so-called okra. Do not cut the tip. Cook for 20 minutes.

If you are wondering how...

I don’t like hospitals and being in one ain’t no play pretty. I had to have my appendix taken out. Thought I would die, but thank you Jesus, I’m living to tell it.

I was in the Beth Israel Hospital and that was an experience. First off the doctor said he thought it was appendicitis. But when the nurse came and handed me the paper to sign, it said exploratory. Although she had already prepped me I got up to go. Oh no! I said. Exploratory means that you can operate anywhere on me you want to. I ain’t no...

Wilson Pickett found him a love and I found me a way … to get a taxi—I use Black Flag roach spray. My heart has been hurt by taxi drivers. One day Chandra had a fever and was very sick, I stood on the corner of First Avenue with her in my arms, in the pouring rain, and I will never forget that nine taxis passed me. I was only going from Fourteenth to Twenty-sixth Street.

One time I almost got killed cause I rode on the door from Houston to Second Street. The driver told my grandmother that...

To tell the truth I ain’t never really had no serious job working from nine to five. The ones I had I didn’t keep cause my nerves would not take it. It’s just not my rhythm … not my style. I have had some freakish jobs. I used to sew for a photographer. I made special effects such as aprons for elephants and six-sleeved shirts for a shirt ad. But my cooking jobs were the funniest. I remember “Obedella, Obedella, I want to be your fella!” That’s what Jean used to say every time I came to work. Obedella was...

I love.

I love a lot

of people, places and things.

I love my tribe and my friends.

I love couscous, watermelon, getting up early in the morning, preachers, rivers, music, presents, persimmons, paris, purple, pottery, sun ra, sardines and grits, cherokees, robert, paul laurence dunbar, puerto ricans, sassafras tea, kane, the mediterranean, lace curtains, bustelo coffee, children, getting letters, turnip greens, silver and….

One cold winter night in ’68 I saw Leroi Hart Bilbs in Pee Wee’s and he was just back from Paris. He introduced me to Rachel Wright and we started talking about “soul food” and we...

I wouldn’t take nothing for the friends I got. They are so beautiful. Take Dorothy White. Dorothy can fool the people. They think she is very sane but I’m here to tell you different. But she can cook. Dorothy can take anything and turn it into something else. Dorothy was the one who hipped me on how to prepare myself before eating at white folks’ houses. They invite you to dinner and when you get there at 8:00 p.m. (which is already much too late to eat) they act surprised to see you and start giving you a bunch of...

I love to wear African clothes. I think I look better in them. But it seems to bother white folks. I remember two incidents where white folks went crazy cause I was dressed in my do. The first time was when the children traveled down south by themselves. It was a real occasion. We had a big lunch with Dorothy and Roland Nelson and Oscar. Then we headed out to Newark to get the plane. The girls were excited and everything was cool until we reached the ticket counter. The woman seemed surprised to find out that we were black....

I love bon voyage parties. One year I had one planned on the Leonardo da Vinci. I was going to have this big “bon voyage,” invite all my friends and when they cried and said how sorry they were that I was leaving, I’d leave, too. Truth being that I wasn’t planning to really leave since I didn’t have a ticket anyhow. I just wanted to have a different kind of party—but I told so many people of my plot that nobody came. Reminds me of the guy I met in London who asked me, “How come you people...

Collard greens according to the National Geographic are prehistoric. The Romans took them to France and England. The Romans are said to have considered them a delicacy. I know I consider them a delicacy. They are very rich in minerals and vitamins. They are biennials.

Speaking of biennials I was at the Biennale in Venice last year. It was a real mess. The Italians were having a lightweight revolt. Like the French were doing in Paris. There was a lot of opposition to the Biennale. A lot of painters didn’t want to show and turned their canvas to the wall...

PLANTAIN LEAVES poultice is good for boils.

PERSIMMON BARK soaked in water is good for diarrhea.

FATBACK placed on sores for three days and two nights promotes healing.

NIGHTSHADE PLANT LEAVES poultice also promotes healing of sores. Leave the nightshade plant leaf poultice on for one day and one night.

A DROP OF TURPENTINE and a drop of camphor and a drop of kerosene and sugar taken for four mornings and three nights will cure a cold.

BROWN PAPER poultice soaked in vinegar is good for soreness and bruises.

SPIRITS OF AMMONIA and water are excellent for upset stomach.

CIGAR...

I use a lot of spices. The ones I use most are …

CORIANDER is used in breads, cakes, on pork and is good on baked apples. Said to have been growing in the gardens of Babylon—so be cool.

SAFFRON to me is expensive and overrated. Necessary to make paella and saffron rice.

GARLIC I love. I use plenty of it. The Romans and Greeks believed if you ate a clove a day it would prevent diseases. Garlic juice mixed with honey is said to be good for asthma. Gets rid of worms and I suspect if you use...

There are some foods that have an aphrodisiacal nature but you can’t be no fool about it. I mean you got to know what you’re doing and who you’re doing it to. Certain foods blended with herbs and roots can most certainly have a stimulating effect on the sex glands but I’m afraid that it would be most unwise for me to run it down here for several reasons:

1. If it didn’t work folks would be mad and blame me.

2. It could work and lead to trouble. Folks would still be mad and blame me.

3. The information is so hip...

I don’t drink cocktails and the only one I know how to make is a molotov and I’d be a fool to give the recipe here.

Mix syrup in water about a teaspoon to a glass.

The best lemonade I ever had was when Aunt Virter used to live on Master Street. She and Uncle Will Ed used to go to the spring in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia to get their water. She would make lemonade with spring water and fresh juicy lemons. I tried it with bottled water and it wasn’t as good as hers, but better than with...

White folks act like they would starve for sure if they couldn’t have a hunk of meat. Eating neck bones don’t bother me.

PORK Stew down with Irish potatoes and fresh string beans or use as the boiled meat in greens.

LAMB Cook same as pork. Sometimes I cook lamb neck bones with coconut cream, carrots and fresh garden peas.

BEEF I use beef neck bones for everything that you would use pork neck bones. Try cooking black-eyed peas with beef neck bones instead of ham hocks.

TURKEY NECKS AND FRESH NECK BONES are delicious stewed down with barbecue sauce,...

Jet set parties are dull, they don’t know how to party. Folks be walking around with a thousand dollars’ worth of clothes and ain’t spent but a few dollars on the food for the party. They just stand around and sip drinks and eat hors d’oeuvres and when they do dance, they have that weird dude Myers or Lanin—whatever his name is. Seems to me they would do better to get some Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett records. Look like they could fry up a few chickens and make a bunch of potato salad and buy...