Poetic license - Editorial

Black Issues Book Review, March-April, 2002 by Jessica Care Moore

Poetry groups like Saturns Return and even the more supa popular artists with poetic songs like Jill Scott or India Arie are dominated by vocals, while the poetry is more of an afterthought. I'm still waiting to hear that poetry CD that marries the two art forms in a way that'll force poetry lovers to respect the word, while little hard rocks nod their head to the music. I know the idea of poets being "rock stars" curdles the stomachs of those purists, those writers who wanna stick only to the books, but why should we be limited? I can't keep my poetry, my black girl gangsta Detroit stories confined to the converted, the coffee drinkin' the bookstore junky. I'm already cool with them. We're friends. (lol)

The reason why I've been blessed with a career writing and performing poetry is because went to an unconventional stage and television show called It's Showtime at the Apollo and read a poem. Folks who worked late on the subways, women at the passport office, hair stylists, waiters--that's who started knowing my work. Later for the cliques, the boxes, the divisions, the boundaries, the page, the stage, whatever the debate, black folks been surviving on music for a long time, and poetry is rooted in every art form that exists.

I'm gonna continue writing and publishing lots of books to keep folks reading, trust me. Still, some of the greatest emcees I know are some of my favorite poets i.e., Nas, Kweli, Method, Lauryn, Common, Mos, Jay Z etc., and I can't wait to publish their poems in book form. But, don't get it twisted. The front-runners of this poetry music genre are those writers who've done their homework. We've traveled the ocean on Amiri Baraka's Blue Ark and sang to Jayne Cortez's Blues while listening to what Nikki Giovanni was gonna do to her lover with a full orchestra in the background. Ain't nothing new ya'll.

With a resurgence of poetry into the mainstream markets, there is a propensity for something great to happen in the music industry. I agree with poet Zac De La Rocha of Rage Against Machine. In order to hear good music these days you might need to turn off your radio. I'm waiting for the day we decide to turn it back on and the new soundtrack will sound something like "Easy Listening for Armageddon." The silent army is coming. Now, suddenly, I'm inspired.

--Jessica Care Moore is a poet. She is the CEO of Moore Black Press and the author of The Words Don't Fit in my Mouth, and the forthcoming The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto.