Contents below
Ysis Laughed ….
Ysis held her closed hand out, blazing
White in the dark, and said, ‘Here, eat these.’
I popped them in my
Mouth, those strange flavored bits of
Stalk and cap like paper torn from an old book,
And gulped
And soon, in the bottomless sky above the lake, the
Stars swung each from a single, silver thread, just
Overhead
Ysis laughed her music, and I laughed too, and like a boy
Jumping to touch the net on a basketball hoop, I leapt and
Leapt at those swinging stars a-dangle on their silver threads
Oh, Ysis, what a night it was — what sport those stars
Made of us; and I haven’t even mentioned that thin
Slice of moon, or the coyote, or the way you cured my headache
With a massage at the base of my thumb.
I think back on it now, Ysis, to those times that never were, and I recall
Your hands, the birthplace of all sensation, and myself,
A cracked vessel, slowly draining into that dark, pinwheeling night.
Sheba was a Good Dog — Jim Dolan's latest story
The Outsider — Jim's story
About to Rain — a story rewritten in June 2006
Queers — a sad story of deep prejudice in a neighborhood near us all
Yardwork — In which a lawn mower becomes a time machine, with photographs by J R Compton
Turnpike — from Nabokov's moth into the dark night of teenage angst, across the the old turnpike to Fort Worth and back, Dolan writes and remembers with an imaginary soundtrack with photographs by J R Compton and illustrations by Kathy Dello Stritto.
A Real Problem — more hard-hitting fiction
Everybody Makes Mistakes — A story that Dolan calls "a grim tale of depravity."
Alone At Last — set in one of his favorite places — deep into the waters of Cozumel.
How to Get a Career Off the Ground — is the story of a young psychotherapist's introduction to his craft.
Poetry by Jim Dolan
Pushcart Prize Nominated Poem — The Secret Kiss was nominated for the 2000 Pushcart Prize Anthology from Red River Review.
Non-Fiction by Jim Dolan
new Big-Time Art Person From Outta Town Weighs In On Local Arts; Locals Breathe Sigh of Relief — Jim interviews Charissa Terranova in DallasArtsRevue
The Man Who 'Let' Spitz Win — Remembering Jerry Heidenreich
Some Reflections on the Person Known as the Wounded Healer
Who Is Hermes? — Is he The Trickster, The Messenger, the Thief, The Bringer of Dreams or The Healer?
"The Way" of Depression t the great psychic shibboleth of our age and culture
The Shadow Knows — a simple article of basic Jungian ideas
Gone But Not Forgotten — A reflection of our ex-wives
A Random Scattering of Observations Regarding Intimate Relationshipst drawn from 30 years of being in one, and 26 years treating them in therapy.
An index of Stories About and Interviews with Visual Artists by Jim Dolan can be found on DallasArtsRevue.com.
Bound in Dust by Stewart Ball — A story that asks the question, What is Imagination?
Five Short Short Stories by David Weinberg
Vigil is the first contribution to this site by another writer. Written by Stewart Ball, this essay reflects on keeping Vigil. Painting illustrations by Jim Dolan's daughter, Whitney.
Matt Kaplinsky is an artist whom I profiled in DallasArtsRevue.
The Friends & Readers Page — includes the art, articles and poetry received from the editor's ongoing solicitation (below) for you to submit creative materials to this page — including a poem by Tova Weinberg.
Check out Pam Moore's work on the Book Arts Web — look in the gallery option (in the pop-up menu near the bottom ot the page) to read her bio, read about the pieces, then link from the light blue titles to see her work.
Webguy J R Compton's consuming passions are his Dallas Arts Revue, full of news, views and reviews from the world of visual arts in Dallas and The Amateur Birder's Journal, a near-daily guide to bird activities at White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas, USA.
Writers I Admire
The Trick is to Notice the World — learning from Scottish writer Janice Galloway
Wallace Stevens is my first poetry hero, and still is in my top three. The top three being Stevens, William Carlos Williams, and William Stafford.
R.S. Thomas, the Welsh poet, wrote a beautiful, enigmatic, powerful comment on Stevens in his composition, 13 Blackbirds Looking at a Man.
It took me years to wrestle myself away from the mesmerizing grip of Stevens' poetic power and find my own voice. Like all poets, I am still in the process of finding that. But I at least think I have begun.
Acting
To discuss possible gigs, contact me directly — Email Jim Dolan.
I have a small but important part in the upcoming James McDonald film Divine Souls, a drama about AIDS patients. check out: www.lcafilms.com and http://imdb.com/title/tt0939606/. This has been a big film for James, literally years in the filming and post production. I filmed my part in 2003! A major actor in the film, Jeffie Legend has died since filming was completed. I wish James luck with this one.
I have completed shooting the part of Coach McCary on the independant feature The Deadbeat Club, written and directed by Dallas filmmaker Israel Luna. In the film, released in the fall of 2003, I play indifferent Coach McCary. It will be released to Netflix, Blockbuster, etc, on May 23, 2006.
Scuba Diving and The Art of Acting
I am a featured actor in Nemesis, a feature-length film from Irish filmmaker James McDonald, which premiered July 23, 2000, at the Lakewood Theater in Dallas.
I worked in James McDonald's upcoming film, The Photograph, where I play Satan's right hand man.
My Acting Coach, Michele Condrey, has a web site describing the Studio.
My Very Special Connection with the JFK Assasination
My father's connection with the Assassination of JFK with old photographs of my father.
Sent Home from School, a poem about Lee Harvey Oswald and that day in Dallas
Coup d'Etat in America Database (Nodule 27 — Page 15) concerns James Henry Dolan (my father)'s connections with mob characters, including Jack Ruby, with mention of several rap sheets.
Jim Dolan is Published in
Amethyst, Amaryllis, Amor — a collection of poetry by James Dolan
My all-time favorite Haiku is published on Haiku For People
My work is featured in the archives of Red River Review.
The two stories linked at the top of this page were originally published on MenWeb — Men's Issues: Men's Voices Magazine. Search for "Dolan."
My ideas have been incorporated into an essay, Intimacy In and Definition of Relationships, co-authored by J R Compton.
Swimming
North Texas Masters Swimming — now has the correct URL.
In Searching for Adrenaline, I Found Water
My Unreasonalbe Obsession with Electronic Music
The Wire is a paper pub' with a website covering the latest in all kinds of avant, right here, right now and ten minutes into the future musical exploration.
EnoWeb is the big website concerning Eno, the king of contemporary electronic music, and one of my gods.
Bio
Jim Dolan moved to Oak Cliff in 1954. He attended Catholic schools and graduated from Bishop Dunne High School in 1969 with the idea that he would attend college, major in English, and become a writer.
He attended University of Dallas where he studied psychology. He became a psychotherapist in 1978. He married Karen in 1974. They had Ryan, who is 20, and Whitney, now 14. Jim went into practice for himself in 1984. He gave in to the compulsion to publish Amethyst, Amaryllis, Amor with his good friend, J R Compton, whom he credits much for his support and interest.
Jim Dolan is still a resident of Oak Cliff.
E-mail Jim Dolan. Complain to the Webguy. Call for art, articles, poems, etc.
I am looking for contributions in the spirit of what you have seen here. I won't be more specific than to say that can include articles, fiction, poetry, critiques, reviews, JFK assassination stuff, images of artwork (JPEGs), etc.
I am the sole editor, and I will publish only what suits me, and seems to fit here.
Please submit in the body of the email, not as attachments (JPEGs excepted).
I am in no hurry. But I look forward to opening up the pages of LotusEaters.net to other voices. I look forward to your responses.
Accepted work is on the Friends & Readers page.