Map of Austin Poetry #172-1
Featured Poetry Supplement
Theme: Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance
Upcoming themes:
#173 - The Beats Go On: Tribute to Gregory Corso
#174 - Dude, Where's My Karma Part 2
#175 - The Women of Bright Circle (submissions closed)
#176 - Velvet Elvis
#177 - Young Poets of Namibia (submissions closed)
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Throughout February, which is Black History Month,
Austin's Ebony Poets' "Teas and Cheez" venue at
Mitchie's Fine Black Art and Gifts has been running
a series of Langston Hughes themes. Who better to
celebrate among the great African American
writers/poets than Langston Hughes? (That was
rhetorical, folks.) Catch the final reading in the
series this Sunday at Mitchie's, 3 p.m.
Also this week, Saturday to be exact, is the 4th
annual Salute to African American Writers, lovingly
founded, coordinated and hosted by Shia Shabazz
Barnett. Austin Lyric Opera, Saturday, Feb. 24,
beginning at 6 p.m. A must, free admission.
Lorraine Hansberry's celebrated play, "A Raisin in The
Sun," directed by Boyd Vance (Pro Arts Collective) is
still running weekends at the Santa Cruz Center,
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, for the next two weeks. Cast
includes my beloved friend Marla Fulgham, whose poetry
has graced more than one MAP, and Ian Bernard (son of
Mada Plummer) making his stage debut. Santa Cruz
Center for Culture, 1805 E. Seventh. $12 ($10,
students and seniors). 454-TIXS
To prepare myself for this week's "Langston Hughes and
the Harlem Renaissance" featued poetry supplement, I
checked out a library copy of "The Langston Hughes
Reader" © 1958. Short stories, poems, children's
poetry, song lyrics, plays, articles and speeches,
omigod what a read! Now I'm jazzed to
present this week's selections:
1. "Destiny (for Langston Hughes)" by LeVan D. Hawkins
2. "Deep Rivers" by Maritza Rivera
3. "Jass" by Jerry Hoff
4. "Shh! whisper beat" by James M. Thompson
5. "Langton Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance" by
Marvin G. Kimbrough
6. "R U a Brudder" by Danzr Von-Thai
7. "Langston Hughes Weary Blues" by Larry Jaffe
1. Standing first is LeVan Hawkins.
Destiny
(for Langston Hughes
Excuse me for disturbing your peace
But I rob dead men's graves seeking
Bones of wisdom.
Angry fists on the periphery
Have left me wanting.
The women who do men's work
Cannot teach me what it is to be a man.
I migrated north seeking the manna
Father withheld from my dinner table.
Northern men versed in Leviticus
Slammed their door upon my arrival.
I have wept ink upon a forest
But the brethren would not hear.
I scraped my words from the page
And returned them to my heart
Still, they would not listen.
So, I have come to you, Poet
To learn what it is to be man.
The poet replies:
I cannot teach you what is God-ordained
But I will tell you
The brethren will become lost
And a scout will come searching;
The words will be there.
Thousands will stay behind
But someone
Will come searching.
I welcome
You, friend.
No apology is necessary
I, too have wept ink upon a forest.
A table has been set for your arrival -
Smile and accept your fate.
There are workers in the watchtower -
They will guide you.
Unleash your words and
Turn them into a simple song
Take your heart and let it play.
© LeVan D. Hawkins

2. Maritza Rivera intros her poem: "When I first read
the line "My soul has grown deep like rivers", it
conjured this image:"
Deep Rivers
Like rivers that flow
etched deeply in the earth...
(my nails grow long with anticipation).
Like rivers that crest
after a long awaited rain...
(they eagerly imbed your ready flesh
and slowly drag along the smoothness of your skin).
Like rivers that ebb
in the calm of a storm...
(they leave silent streaks of evanescent pain
that fade and disappear in the absence of my touch).
My nails have grow long
like rivers.
© Maritza Rivera

3. Next up is Jerry Hoff
jass
what a time to be a man langston
to be
on the edge
of a moment in harlem
to be free to live
without notice
and travel and write
and find a way through the
alchoholic haze (and
other poisons)
of the lost generation
you and richard
should have been nicer
to Hurston--she didn't even
know any whites
till she went to high school
she wasn't sucking up
they were just
interesting
she was an anthropologist
not a politician
how deep and wide
was the pride langston
what was that like
that trumpet man from chicago
and the duke
nobody ever played
that way before
nobody what a time
© 2001 Jerry Hoff

4. James Thompson chimes in
Shh! whisper beat
Shh!
whisper beat
slow toe piano stroll
quiet monk
down the keys
through the stacks
oh the horn
so soft and sweet
down aisles
past miles, so dizzy
gentle pads
and jazzy verse
snap the fingers
tap the tap
syncopate
but shh! shh!
quiet rhythm
langston rhymes
and a soulful moan
saxophone
the trane and bird
between the pages
in the books
finger dance with me
jazz library
© James M. Thompson

5. And it keeps getting better, oh yeah! From
marvelous Marvin Kimbrough
Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance
The un-Civil was was over
And WW I was over and the "Red Summer" was, too
And Frederick Douglass was dead
And Booker T. Washington was dead
And the Ku Klux Klan was onmipresent
And Jim Crow was crowned King
And Lady Day was singing sad songs
About "Strange Fruit" hanging from trees
And W. E. B. DuBois was putting an African song in his
book With words he didn't understand
But he put them there because his African grandmother
sang them And the sons and daughters of Africa
ascended onto Harlem The Mecca, the dream catcher,
keeper of dreams, the protector of dreams
And Langston Hughes instructed them to "Hold Fast to
Dreams" And James Weldon Johnson bid the African sons
and daughters to: "Lift every voice and sing till
earth and heaven ring, ring with the harmonies of
liberty" And they did And they came to Harlem, the
ordinary and the extraordinary came They came from all
points, north and south, east and west Claude McKay
from Jamaica, Zora Neale Hurston from the all-black
town of Eatonville, Florida; Mata Warrich Fuller and
Alain Locke from Philadelphia, Aaron Douglas from
Kansas, James Van Der Zee from Massachusetts, Louis
Armstrong from New Orleans by way of Chicago and
Gwendolyn Benett from Giddings, Texas And they all
held fast to their dreams Marian Anderson built a
career in classical music Thomas A. Dorsey introduced
gospel, while Nathaniel Dett, Harry Burleigh and
J. Rosmond Johnson composed spirituals and William
Grant Still composed symphonies And Langston Hughes,
the "Shakespeare" of Harlem, composed poems and plays,
sories and essays, arias and operas.
And Van Der Zee recorded Harlem life on film.
And the people, the sons and daughters of Africa,
danced the lindy, the shimmy, the snake hips and the
Susie Que and the trucked and they held down day jobs
and night jobs, and week-end jobs And when times were
hard and money was "tight", the sold plate after plate
of chittlins and collard greens and sweet potatoes at
rent parties And they sang and prayed and praised God
on Sunday But, in time, the Great Depression came
And Langston and all the sons and daughters of Africa
realized "Dreams can lie"
And Harlem became a "Dream Deferred"
© 2001 Marvin G. Kimbrough

6. Danzr Von-Thai unthais
for Langston Hughes
...without madness one knocks at the doors of poetry in vain
-- Plato (Phaedrus)
R U a Brudder
warship of azure
burn ebony roots to smoke
dome hovering blue
take no pride in yesterday
we all stand as slaves today
hi jack dead as christ
must join the resurrection
right now is tomorrow's war
light the way and torch the hue
thus dam the ignorant fool
for hour free dumb is prison
that future bastard kicks wombs
innocence rarely protects
spend every dime
leave ya blind
what ain't stolen
be borrowed in time
© Danzr Von-Thai
http://home.infospace.com/woodstkr1

7. If you know Larry Jaffe, then you know he loves Langston
Langston Hughes Weary Blues
Langston Hughes sings them
weary blues and my heart just wants
to break at his lines.
© 2001 lgjaffe

And now you know why I love doing what I do. Soulfelt
thanks to all who contributed.
Some late breaking announcements that refused to wait
until next Monday's MAP:
1. Sara Sutterfield Winn asked me to relay:
Trigger Happyjacks has had to cancel their show due to
unforeseen circumstances. There is no show at Hyde
Park Theatre this week. We apologize for the
inconvenience. We hope to be travelling 'round Texas
in the next couple months and have tentative shows in
the works for Dallas, San Antonio and College Station.
We also have a website.
http://www.triggerhappyjacks.com Any information
about upcoming shows will be on that website.
Thanks to everyone. We hope to have a full length
show this year, most likely in the summer, and will
inform everyone when that event arises.
Love,
Sara Sutterfield Winn
Administrative Amazon
Trigger Happyjacks
2. Sunday, Feb 25 at Resistencia Bookstore, 1801-1 S.
First, Austin (Corner of S. First and W. Annie) 3 to
10 p.m. Red Salmon Arts & Encanto Productions
present Rafael Cancel Miranda, Puertorican author and
one of the longest held nationalist political
prisoners in the U.S., celebrating the release of his
fifth book, "Mis Dioses Llevan Tu Nombre." with
selected readings, discussion, music & refreshments.
Rafael Cancel Miranda's Texas tour is sponsored by
Encanto Productions, the Esperanza Peace and Justice
Center, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, the
Indigenous Women's Network, and Red
Salmon Arts. fmi call 416-8885.
New readers welcome. Anyone wanting off the mailing
list, (why wouldja?) e me at stazja@aol.com
The MAP and featured poetry supplements are posted online at:
The Poets' Porch: www.poetsporch.com
Dream Forge: www.pcisys.net/~drmforge/poems.htm
Austin Metro: www.austinmetro.com/poetpage.html
Sun Poets Society http://clik.to/SunPoets
Much love,
Stazja



