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ENGL4302 SPOKEN WORD POETRY & PEDAGOGY
​CLASS BLOG

Feature Poet: Saul Williams (by Ian Cogswell)

10/12/2017

2 Comments

 
Picture
Saul​ ​Williams​ ​is​ ​a​ ​jack-of-all-trades.​ ​Along​ ​with​ ​doing​ ​slam​ ​poetry,​ ​Williams​ ​raps,​ ​writes music​ ​and​ ​prose,​ ​and​ ​acts.​ ​He​ ​was​ ​born​ ​in​ ​New​ ​York​ ​in​ ​1972.​ ​He​ ​earned​ ​a​ ​BA​ ​in​ ​philosophy​ ​and acting​ ​from​ ​Morehouse​ ​college​ ​and​ ​an​ ​MFA​ ​in​ ​acting​ ​from​ ​NYU.​ ​It​ ​was​ ​during​ ​his​ ​time​ ​in​ ​New York​ ​City​ ​that​ ​he​ ​entered​ ​the​ ​cafe​ ​poetry​ ​scene​ ​that​ ​sparked​ ​his​ ​interest​ ​in​ ​the​ ​art.​ ​Since​ ​then, he’s​ ​won​ ​the​ ​title​ ​of​ ​“Grand​ ​Slam​ ​Champion”​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Nuyorican​ ​Poet’s​ ​Cafe.​ ​He​ ​also​ ​competed​ ​in National​ ​Poetry​ ​Slam​ ​in​ ​Portland​ ​and​ ​was​ ​featured​ ​as​ ​the​ ​lead​ ​role​ ​in​ ​the​ ​movie​ ​​Slam.  

Poem 1: "His Dilemma"

every morning
I rise and face
the firing squad

every morning
there is one
who holds his fire

his dilemma
is my system
of belief

they fire rounds
but I am seldom
in their circle

a quiet mind
is labeled 'sound'
and colored purple

my little boy
has not yet learned
to color within lines

his jumbled diction
has not yet learned
our contradiction

we speak of art
with flaming passion
then do work
void of compassion

and wonder why
reality is bleeding fiction. ​
In​ ​this​ ​poem,​ ​Williams​ ​writes​ ​about​ ​facing​ ​a​ ​firing​ ​squad​ ​on​ ​a​ ​daily​ ​basis.​ ​Although​ ​he faces​ ​this​ ​firing​ ​squad​ ​every​ ​day,​ ​he​ ​is​ ​“seldom​ ​in​ ​their​ ​circle.”​ ​He​ ​later​ ​goes​ ​on​ ​to​ ​say,​ ​“a​ ​quiet mind​ ​is​ ​labeled​ ​‘sound.’”​ ​He​ ​says,​ ​“every​ ​morning​ ​there​ ​is​ ​one​ ​who​ ​holds​ ​his​ ​fire.”​ ​I​ ​think​ ​this​ ​is referring​ ​to​ ​prejudice​ ​he​ ​experiences​ ​every​ ​day,​ ​each​ ​day​ ​from​ ​someone​ ​else.​ ​He​ ​experiences​ ​the prejudice,​ ​but​ ​he​ ​isn’t​ ​the​ ​target;​ ​he​ ​stays​ ​quiet​ ​and​ ​doesn’t​ ​do​ ​anything​ ​overtly​ ​judgeable.​ ​I​ ​think his​ ​poem​ ​is​ ​condemning​ ​this​ ​sentiment. 

He​ ​then​ ​writes,​ ​“[my​ ​little​ ​boy]​ ​has​ ​not​ ​yet​ ​learned​ ​our​ ​contradiction.”​ ​Their contradiction​ ​is​ ​speaking​ ​“of​ ​art​ ​with​ ​flaming​ ​passion​ ​then​ ​do​ ​work​ ​void​ ​of​ ​compassion.”​ ​These lines​ ​show​ ​us​ ​that​ ​they​ ​live​ ​under​ ​a​ ​contradiction;​ ​two​ ​lives​ ​in​ ​which​ ​they​ ​are​ ​very​ ​passionate about​ ​black​ ​culture​ ​and​ ​art,​ ​but​ ​hide​ ​it​ ​so​ ​as​ ​to​ ​not​ ​be​ ​judged.​ ​He​ ​ends​ ​with,​ ​“and​ ​wonder​ ​why reality​ ​is​ ​bleeding​ ​fiction,”​ ​which​ ​means​ ​he​ ​thinks​ ​they​ ​don’t​ ​live​ ​to​ ​their​ ​truest​ ​instincts;​ ​they should​ ​be​ ​loud​ ​and​ ​proud.

Poem 2: "Language in Zoos"

In​ ​this​ ​poem,​ ​Williams​ ​uses​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​nature​ ​references.​ ​He​ ​speaks​ ​of​ ​his​ ​ability​ ​to memorize​ ​and​ ​recite​ ​the​ ​qualities​ ​of​ ​grass,​ ​the​ ​moon,​ ​clouds,​ ​storms,​ ​seasons,​ ​natural​ ​events,​ ​and the​ ​breeze,​ ​almost​ ​as​ ​if​ ​it​ ​were​ ​something​ ​he​ ​is​ ​required​ ​to​ ​do.​ ​He​ ​writes​ ​as​ ​though​ ​this​ ​is​ ​easy for​ ​him.​ ​After​ ​that,​ ​he​ ​uses​ ​sharper​ ​language.​ ​He​ ​says​ ​we​ ​put​ ​language​ ​in​ ​an​ ​inhumane​ ​sounding zoo​ ​in​ ​which​ ​we​ ​find​ ​“caged​ ​thought.”​ ​I​ ​think​ ​Williams​ ​is​ ​referring​ ​to​ ​philosophical​ ​limits​ ​on language.​ ​He​ ​wants​ ​to​ ​express​ ​inexpressible​ ​things,​ ​like​ ​what​ ​a​ ​color​ ​looks​ ​like​ ​or​ ​describe​ ​what it’s​ ​like​ ​to​ ​taste.  

​He​ ​finishes​ ​the​ ​poem​ ​by​ ​telling​ ​us​ ​that​ ​he​ ​tries​ ​his​ ​best​ ​to​ ​make​ ​people​ ​describe​ ​what​ ​he’s saying​ ​for​ ​him,​ ​much​ ​like​ ​in​ ​the​ ​way​ ​we’d​ ​describe​ ​blue​ ​as​ ​“cold;”​ ​because​ ​it’s​ ​impossible​ ​to describe​ ​blue​ ​outside​ ​of​ ​what​ ​color​ ​is​ ​scientifically​ ​and​ ​the​ ​things​ ​we​ ​associate​ ​with​ ​it.​ ​He​ ​also writes​ ​about​ ​how​ ​he​ ​balances​ ​his​ ​life​ ​between​ ​the​ ​mundane​ ​every-day​ ​aspect​ ​of​ ​his​ ​life​ ​with inspiring​ ​others​ ​and​ ​his​ ​children​ ​to​ ​think​ ​in​ ​a​ ​similar​ ​way,​ ​as​ ​if​ ​to​ ​break​ ​away​ ​from​ ​the​ ​cages​ ​we may​ ​find​ ​our​ ​creativity​ ​put​ ​in.  
2 Comments
Jawwsh
10/13/2017 03:02:12 pm

Awesome work! I enjoyed the analysis and portrayal of his work.

Reply
order research papers link
1/30/2020 05:27:55 am

Spoken word poetry is one of the most interesting in the entire world. I understand that people just do not like it, but it is not the point. If you want to use this to your advantage, then just try it out. I know lots of people who are making a name for themselves using spoken word poetry. I hope that we can just use this to make the world a better place, especially since it is all about sending a message.

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  • Home
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