Vignettes of Vietnam: A Chat with the Author, Brother A.D. Moore
Prologue: Brother A.D. Moore is a prolific Chicago Poet and the self-published Author of three books. His works have appeared in diverse mediums, including magazines and newspapers. Brother Moore’s latest work, titled, ‘Vignettes of Vietnam’, is a tremendous outpouring reflective of his experiences as a Vietnam vet. Come with me now on the exciting journey I had when I conducted my recent chat with Brother Moore regarding his latest book, and other interesting aspects of his life.
E: “Good evening, Brother Moore, I hope you are well. We’d love to have a glimpse into your background.”
A: “Well, as you alluded to earlier, my name is A. D. Moore and I am a Mississippi son, as indicative of my first (initial name) A. D., which has been a source of interest to many, just about all my life. My parents left Starkville when I was three months old, but at the age of nine my sister and I were taken back to bigfoot country when our mother suffered a serious illness. So, after four years of foster parentage (before being taken to Mississippi) and four years of rural indoctrination with our grandparents-our mother finally recovered and we relocated back to Memphis where we became a family again.”
I graduated from Manassas High School on the north side in 1962 with a neighborhood cat we all called Bubba, long before the world would come to know him as Isaac (Black Moses) Hayes, illustrious recipient of a Grammy, Emmy and Academy Award.
Migrated to Chicago, got drafted and served in Vietnam; got married and have been married to the same beautiful woman for the past 40 years; we are the proud parents of three outstanding children: Dr. Tracey D. Moore (administrator at Baptist College down in Arkansas); Anthony D. Moore (M.B.A., DePaul University) author, entrepreneur and Educational Advisor; Andrea (Moore) Wynn, (M.A., University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana,) where she’s currently employed.”
“I was fortunate and managed to get an A.A., B.A. and M.A. on the G.I. Bill, worked for International Harvester for 18 years (until 1982 layoff and subsequent demise of the company in 1983). After two-years of unemployment, was blessed to obtain a job with the U. S. Postal Service, where I remained until forced into disability retirement due to (P.T.S.D.)
A: “A typical day begins with just being able to wake up every morning! Since my disability-retirement, I don’t really have a regular routine. I try and write when ‘ol Arthur’ lets me (arthritis), get in a little exercise (also depending on the graciousness of Arthur). I watch t.v.-probably too much-I love nature, history and wildlife programs! I also do a lot of reading, the newspaper, and anything else that interest me.”
E: “How long have you been writing, and what inspires you to write?”
A: “I’ve been writing ever since 4th or 5th grade, I guess. I was shy as a young lad and resorted to pulling the pretty young girls long braids and ponytails as a means of getting their attention. Then if there was one that I really liked I would write her one of my endearing letters:Love is sweet and love is swell, but when you marry love can be hell! Round and round the tree stump, won’t you be my sugar lump! Milk is milk and cream is cream, the way I love you baby will make a dead man dream! Love is going to kill me, you’re going to drive me wild, sometime you make me think I’m my mother’s bad luck child! Rock is rock and gravel is gravel, the way I love you baby will make a dead man travel! . . . You get my drift, don’t you? Those were the attributes of a good, endearing love-letter writer at the time-and I was one of the best!”
“What inspires me to write? Just about anything, I suppose. But I really enjoy writing about things that I am familiar with and experiences that have affected me, especially during my childhood.”
E: “Oh, Brother Moore, I see you were quite the young romantic! Please give us a synopsis of your latest work, Vignettes of Vietnam.”
A: “As I mentioned in an on-line piece earlier, Vignettes of Vietnam & Other Colorful Short Stories are a collage of short stories that I’ve written and accumulated over the years, some of which were never published and were just waiting for a venue to spring from (that’s what I’d like to think, anyway!). Naturally, the Vietnam pieces, although fictional in nature, were reminiscent of my year’s tour in ‘Nam, while some of ‘The Other colorful Short Stories’ are a reflection of early, down-home references.
E: “Is this book self-published? Why or why not?”
A: “Yes. It’s in conjunction with AuthorHouse. Since I’m getting along in age, and have been sitting on a lot of this material for years, I wanted to get it out there. And when AuthorHouse provided a convenient (also economical avenue) I figured I’d better jump on it! Plus, I was able to convey just about everything that I wanted to without interferences of objections from anybody.”
E: “Why did you write this book, ie, what did you hope to accomplish?
A: “Actually, I was hoping that I could give a little insight to young folks-particularly my children-about the rigors we experienced as young soldiers, and about early rural life in the south, in general. What I really want is for everyone, men, women, children, the young and the old, to get a glimpse. Then, of course, there’s the Black perspective.”
E: “I understand you’ve written other books. Please discuss (synopsis, self-published or not and why; and cover design, etc.)”
A: “My first book, Street Talk & Moore,Poetry for the People was totally self-published and a true labor of love. I typed it up on my electronic typewriter, cut, pasted, and took the manuscript to Kinkos for printing. My wife did the cover on her job; it was a reflection (circa 1993) of what was going on at the time: Crack Cocaine (‘Johnny Cracked ‘Caine and You Don’t Care!’); A.I.D.S. (‘Your Last Piece of Ass’); Black Genocide (‘It’s Open Season in the City’), etc.”
“Street Talk & Moore, Poetry for the People: The Collection followed in 2006 and included ‘Beautiful, Bold, Black Women’, ‘A Black Man’s Plea to the Black Woman’, ‘In the Realm of Things to Come’, ‘If Martin Came Back Today’, etc. It was published by Publish America, and was excellently designed! I might add.”
E: “Interesting! My personal favorites include: ‘Beautiful, Bold, Black Women’; ‘Black Genocide’ (Open Season); ‘A Black Man’s Plea to the Black Woman’; and ‘If Martin Came Back Today’. What were your goals for writing the other books? Do you feel you’ve accomplished what you set out to do?”
A: “My goal in writing, whether articles, short stories, books, whatever, is to enlighten, entertain and hopefully, get paid! Do I feel like I’ve accomplished what I set out to do? Obviously, not! Like any successful writer, I look forward to that elusive best seller as a novelist.”
E: “From which form of writing do you derive the most satisfaction (poetry, articles, or short stories)?”
A: “I don’t know. It all depends, I guess. While I enjoy writing just about anything, as you’re aware, no doubt, articles and short stories involve a bit more detail and preparation; poetry-on the other hand-comes relatively easy for me. Most of the time.”
E: “As a Poet, I know you’ve heard the term, ‘spoken word’. Have you
ever performed ‘spoken word’ and how do you feel about it?”
A: “As a member of (P.U.T.A.T.A.) Poets United to Advance the Arts for going on over 15 years now, of which Ms. Jennifer Brown-Banks is the founder, we’ve appeared in a variety of venues in the city and around the Chicago area. When you mention ‘spoken word’, is that opposed to ‘performance poetry? Because to me, all poetry is ‘spoken word’. I enjoy all forms of poetry and admire young poets (old ones, too) who can orate endlessly without the benefit of mental props.”
A: “My leisure moments usually consist of reading, writing-when it’s conducive-exercising, when permissible and attending obligatory military meetings twice a month in regards to my disability. Oh, and I like to travel, although I haven’t done a lot lately.”
E: “What is your vision, oh say, five to ten years from now?”
A: “Five years from now-who knows-maybe sooner than that, I hope to be living off the royalties of my writings! (A guy can dream, can’t he?) Also, more realistically, I look forward to spending more time with my two grandsons, Troy and Tristan.”
E: “What advice do you have for other writers and youth, in general?”
A: “My advice for writers is very simple: just keep doing what you’re doing, and be persistent at it. And for youths around the world, and particularly here in America, it is imperative to stay in school and get a good, basic, education. But as we all know, college is not an option, nor ideal fit for everyone; for those it’s not, they should seek and pursue a trade or profession for which there is a need, then perfect it.”
E: “Excellent! So, tell us where readers can obtain copies of your works.”
A: “Copies of Street Talk & Moore, Poetry for the People: The Collection is available on Amazon.Com, Publish America and other media outlets.”
“Vignettes of Vietnam & Other Colorful Short Stories is attainable at
AuthorHouse, Amazon.Com in hardcover, soft cover and e-book, among others.”
E: “Any final thoughts or comments?”
A: “Thank you for your time and interest, and I hope that we’ve generated
a modicum of curiosity concerning the book.”
E: “Thank you, very much, Brother Moore for this very insightful and entertaining chat. It was a pleasure catching up with you regarding your latest work. May you continue to leave a positive impact and lasting impression on all whose lives you’ve touched with your fantastic writing.
