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“BROKEN HOMES,” Single Moms, Remarkable Sons …. Gil Scott-Heron, jazz poet

Gill Scott-Heron (1949-2011), American jazz poet, spoken-word poet, muscian and author
Gill Scott-Heron (1949-2011), American jazz poet, spoken-word poet, musician and author

All I really want to say
Is that the problems come and go
But the sunshine seems to stay

Gil Scott-Heron died around this time in 2011. He’d started out fiery and angry. Some will remember his forceful The Revolution Will Be Televised and other such works. He was always an artist of political integrity. It showed in actions such as refusing to perform in Tel Aviv because “we do not like wars.”  Over time his style mellowed, but his ideals remained.

Gil Scott-Heron is considered by many to be the grandfather of rap and the father of political rap.  Famously, he didn’t accept those titles; he was critical of young rappers, felt they needed to study more, to promote change and not perpetuate the status-quo.  He is quoted in ChickenBones: A Journal as saying …

They need to study music. I played in several bands before I began my career as a poet. There’s a big difference between putting words over some music, and blending those same words into the music. There’s not a lot of humor. They use a lot of slang and colloquialisms, and you don’t really see inside the person. Instead, you just get a lot of posturing.”

In the poem shared today (sent to me by my son on Mother’s Day, 2011) it’s interesting to see what Heron does with his personal experience.  I like that there’s nothing of the victim mentality in this piece. I like the way he talks of dealing with life as it is. I appreciate that he points out that single-parent homes are not always the result of abandonment but are often made so due to parents who were lost in war or in jobs as police officers, firefighters or pilots.

They lost their lives, but not what their lives stood for.” 

On Coming From a Broken Home (video below) is a good example of how art can explain, validate and give us new perspectives … perhaps even encourage us to talk with one another. The piece is from Gil Scott-Heron’s last studio album, I’m New Here. It came out in 2010 not long before he died.

As always if you are viewing this post from an email, you will have to click on the link to this site to see and hear the piece.

header photograph/Heron at the WOMARD festival in Bristol England, 1988 by Robman94 under CC BY SA 2.0 license.

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Slam Poet Taylor Mali on what teachers make … “They make a difference!”

Taylor McDowell Mali (b. 1965) is an American slam poet, humorist, teacher, and voiceover artist.
Taylor McDowell Mali (b. 1965) is an American slam poet, humorist, teacher, and voiceover artist.

Taylor Mali’s career in poetry evolved out of the slam poetry movement. He is a native New Yorker and taught school for nine years at Browning School for Boys (Manhattan) and Cape Cod Academy (Massachusetts). Currently, he travels the world facilitating workshops for teachers and students. He is a dedicated supporter of teachers and he says that through his New Teacher Project he hopes to attract 1,000 people into education through “poetry, persuasion, and perseverance.”

What follows is a video of Taylor Mali performing his poem, What Teachers Make? (You’ll note Billy Collins sitting side-stage.)

If you are viewing this post from an email, you will have to link through to the site to watch the video. You can read the text of the poem HERE.

portrait: Taylor Mali at the international school in Stockholm.by Emil Brikha under CC BY-2.0 license

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the seeds of awakening, a poem

rebbleoh! simple the beginnings,
the apple of amazement,
the core of an idea, and
out slips the memories,
the injustices on which
the child-mind puzzled,
processing in adolescence,
then big girl, grown woman,
chasten the world, plant
the seeds of awakening

courage in slender frame, high
thoughts in rounded forehead,
the long expressive hands,
the sweeping circumstances,
Africa, Arabia, Europe, U.S.,
first the suffering and tears,
then the work, work, work ~
courage in the face of tyranny,
voices of the voiceless: the Justias!
the Prudentias! of our modern day

© 2016, poem and illustration, Jamie Dedes, All rights reserved

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tears into light, a poem

Only in art will the lion lie down with the lamb, and the rose grow without the thorn. Martin Amis
“Only in art will the lion lie down with the lamb, and the rose grow without the thorn.” Martin Amis

if my voice was an angel voice
i’d sing you into ecstasy
if my hand was a healing hand
i’d touch you into grace

would that i could measure poems
to turn tears into light
to put dance in your feet
if i knew my own soul, i could
touch the tarnished silver of yours
and bring your smiles back again

© 2013, poem and photograph, Jamie Dedes, All rights reserved