Article Archives: Words with Woods

The Hot Corner

July 20, 2023 | by CJ Woods III

“Clop! That car came to a complete stop!” Myah’s cry startled me; I had not realized that I had verbalized my wonder at the rarity of stop-sign observance. We were on the lawn of the house I rent, and her amazement echoed mine about the adherence to an ordinance common … Read More

Darkness And Light

July 13, 2023 | by CJ Woods III

On Thursday, June 29th, I was sitting on my porch when a great wind blew up, bowing trees and stripping branches. Rain came in sideways, and I went inside the house. Through my screen door, I watched leaves being blown across the grass and street. When I turned away from … Read More

A New World Coming

June 29, 2023 | by CJ Woods III

“There’s a new world coming, and it’s just around the bend…” When I lived in Los Angeles California in the early 1970s, I had the good fortune to be able to see Nina Simone in concert. She introduced one song by saying, “There are 12 million Black people in this … Read More

An Offered Arm

June 22, 2023 | by CJ Woods III

The interview with the young woman completed, I suggested that we two go to lunch. The graphic designer was new to St. Louis, Missouri and was in town to apply for a position in the advertising department of the Famous-Barr department store. I oversaw the work of the people who … Read More

Here Comes Archy

June 15, 2023 | by CJ Woods III

When I was an attendant at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, a co-worker introduced me to a book. I was already an avid consumer of books and had previously spent four years as a page in the closed stacks of the University of Pittsburgh’s library. But … Read More