______ FEATURED POET |
| Poetry Corner |
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| COPYRIGHT © 2006-2020 rosalienebacchus.com. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS PAGE WAS LAST UPDATED ON: 5 FEBRUARY 2020 |
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| Fires rage no rain children to our borders flee. Upon us the storm. HAIKU POEM ROSALIENE BACCHUS |
When the storm remains distant
We are heroes of complacency
Puffed chest and swollen pride
We hate ourselves in ways
Only the deepest love could recognize
When the storm remains distant
There is no such thing as us
There is only dollar and dynamite
Gunpowder and fiery God
The churches are filled with women and children
The men pray only in case of emergency
We worship a foreign truth
And only death will stamp our passport
When the storm remains distant
There is no afterlife
Most die unborn
Most live unloved
Disappointment takes on new names and costumes
The future is stillborn and disfigured
The womb becomes an airtight safe
Darkness swallows darkness
When the storm remains distant
Nothing is as is
Songs are opiates
Sleep is the burial ground of dreams
Happiness is a lie
Sex is where love is not
When the storm remains distant
We are unreminded and dare to forget
School is a fashion show
Violence is comfort food
Family is nothing
And nothing is real
When the storm remains distant
Niggas are free to be Niggas
Niggers, Black, you name it
Anything but one thing
Everything but nothing
Even with a shitload of platinum
Wrapped around his neck
Like a southern tree gone petrified
Screw face pearly gate-mouth
Tangled nectar of the stars
When the storm remains distant
Stars are retired drug dealers nicknamed God
Rapists with pretty voices
And anyone but anyone who shines
When the storm remains distant
The sun is flawless in its magnitude
The heavens reflect breath of angels
The people bask in themselves
The storm is forgotten
...
When the storm is forgotten
The struggle ends
May the storm never be forgotten.
Written in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, September 2005.
SOURCE: The FADER, a New York-based music publication.
When the Storm is Forgotten (Excerpt) Saul Williams |
| IN DENIAL |
SAUL WILLIAMS,
born 1972 in New
York, is a poet,
songwriter, and
performing artist.
In his poetry,
Williams blends
the rhythms and
themes of Beat
and Black
alternative hip hop.
He has published
five books of
poetry: The
Seventh Octave
(1998), She
(1999), Said the
Shotgun to the
Head (2003), The
Dead Emcee
Scrolls (2006),
and Chorus (2012).
In the mid-1990s,
he gained
attention of open-
mic audiences
with his passionate,
tongue-twisting
poetry.
In 1996, after
becoming the
grand slam
champion at the
Nuyorican Poets
Cafe in New York,
he led the four-
person New York
team to the finals
of the National
Poetry Slam
Competition, held
that year in
Portland, Oregon.
Two years later,
he gained national
and international
acclaim with his
role as an
imprisoned poet
in the award-
winning film, Slam,
which featured
many of his
poems.
born 1972 in New
York, is a poet,
songwriter, and
performing artist.
In his poetry,
Williams blends
the rhythms and
themes of Beat
and Black
alternative hip hop.
He has published
five books of
poetry: The
Seventh Octave
(1998), She
(1999), Said the
Shotgun to the
Head (2003), The
Dead Emcee
Scrolls (2006),
and Chorus (2012).
In the mid-1990s,
he gained
attention of open-
mic audiences
with his passionate,
tongue-twisting
poetry.
In 1996, after
becoming the
grand slam
champion at the
Nuyorican Poets
Cafe in New York,
he led the four-
person New York
team to the finals
of the National
Poetry Slam
Competition, held
that year in
Portland, Oregon.
Two years later,
he gained national
and international
acclaim with his
role as an
imprisoned poet
in the award-
winning film, Slam,
which featured
many of his
poems.
[P]oetry is not something that’s fixed, liked the amount of
gasoline on this planet or something like that; it’s an endless
source. There are endless sources of inspiration, there are
countless things to say and be said. Because it doesn’t belong
to some sort of religious ideology, it’s not about “well we
have the anthology and the canon here, so nothing else can
be said.” There’s always going to be a million things to say
and a million ways to say them.
~ SAUL WILLIAMS, Interview with Respect Magazine, September 2013.
Never before has the power of the word and our ability to
dictate our reality been expressed so clearly and creatively at
once. Saul’s poetry represents an evolution of thought,
artistry and spiritual consciousness delivered with the lyrical
fervor of hip-hop and the grace and linguistic mastery of
Shakespeare. Saul channels the voice of the postmodern age,
yet allows a wide-ranging stream of consciousness to distort
the melody like some sort of lyrical Hendrix.
~ INTEGRAL LIFE on the poetry of Saul Williams.
| AMETHYST ROCK STAR SAUL WILLIAMS |
| WATCH & LISTEN |
| CODED LANGUAGE SAUL WILLIAMS DEF POETRY JAM APRIL 2007 DURATION: 4:02 MINUTES |
| SOL GUY IN CONVERSATION WITH SAUL WILLIAMS MANIFESTO TV TORONTO CANADA FEBRUARY 2013 MIXED WITH LIVE FOOTAGE FROM SAUL'S PERFORMANCE AT THE GREAT HALL SEPTEMBER 2012 DURATION: 50:44 MINUTES |
| SAUL WILLIAMS NEW ALBUM "MARTYR LOSER KING" INTERVIEW WITH AMY GOODMAN DEMOCRACY NOW! APRIL 2016 DURATION: 46:53 MINUTES |