For most of my (fairly long) life I have been complaining that nobody ever remembers my birthday. And y'know, this is the case for most anyone who happened to be born close to Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa -- the time of year when all sorts of folks have a million other things on their minds. But never mind, we Capricorns are independent and self-reliant -- to a fault, some would say ...

We Capricorns are also creative -- I just heard the late Capricorn Earl Fatha Hines on Jazz 88 in an unbelievable piano solo, "Boogie Woogie on the St Louis Blues." And my heroes have always been those most-creative Capricorns Steve Allen and Danny Kaye (although it was Kaye's wife Sylvia Fine who actually wrote all the amazing material he performed and nobody seems to know her birthdate/zodiac sign). But then how about these other well-known individuals born around this date whose creativity is undisputed: Nostradamus, Louis Pasteur, Anwar Sadat, Carlos Castanada, Howard Hughes, Rod Serling, Henry Miller ...

And so today I am indulging in celebration of my own complexity and imperfections, without which my own particular creativity would not find expression or a (hoped-for) audience. Whew, now that I've admitted that, I feel much better!

Writing has always been my passion, from creating twice as many book reports as required and fulfilling my first writing request, a history of my grade school class. And on to the most prolific journalist in high school, turning out news stories, feature articles, doggerel, even sports headlines. Then second place in a feature writing contest, a small journalism scholarship, abbreviated college career, a year in France, creative writing class and first fiction. In the forefront marriage, 5 kids and divorce. But then from age 30 to 45 I wrote and edited a variety of company newsletters. After that, real estate marketing and p.r. that led into the world of music.

Promoting music, musicians and clubs was not only a creative endeavor but opened my senses to polyrhythms, multiculturalism, photography, the history of "American" music, addictions, compulsions and other vagaries of lives committed to the need for creative expression, with the often intertwined sensual and sexual drives.

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These influences produced fleeting loves but concrete writing. Initially for JazzScene, Positively Entertainment, the Downtowner, even The Oregonian. And in 1982 The First Book of Oregon Jazz, Rock and All Sorts of Music that turned me into a celebrity for a minute!

The next year I tried my hand at a freebie publication, Out-n-About with Carolan Gladden, about Portland's music and theater scene. Later I became a literary scout, performed evaluations and worked with first novelists. This led to 1989's Be A Successful Writer, after which I embarked on my own first novel, Sweet Compulsions -- a Wry Tale of Music. Multiculture, Mayhem, the title based on a line by John Milton (1608-1674) "Such sweet compulsion doth in music lie."

Over the years I've traveled to Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Jamaica, Mexico, the Caribbean, Brazil and Ghana -- supplying me with untold experiences, music and photos. And exactly two years ago I started this blog, with much of my writing exposed here. But now I'm realizing the time has come to complete the big projects -- a novel with the working title Sum and Substance and a travel book, Amazements of the Left Coast.. In fact, the latter will soon appear on its own website "amazements-online.com." So please stay tuned ...


Positively,
Carolan