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Rachel Wiley is one of my favorite poets and this is a poem of hers that I love because it is so funny! I'm not sure why some men feel a need to announce their "type", but sometimes it can come across the wrong way. This poem expresses that hilariously. Even if you're not a "big woman", I think you'll enjoy.
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When Kamala Harris was named this weekend as the new Vice President-elect of the United States, it was an extremely prideful moment for so many. My newsfeed immediately flooded with tributes my village made to commemorate this historic feat, and then photos of my friend's daughters watching Kamala's speech, and then my AKA friends strolling and celebrating in the streets. But then, of course, there were other posts. Some of the celebration posts were co-opted by Trump supporters who wanted to shame my Christian friends for celebrating what they believed to be an immoral woman. Read More...
I have always greatly admired Joshua Bennett and Carvens Lissaint individually because they are both such phenomenal poets. I've had the pleasure of meeting Carvens a couple times and he was always incredibly humble, even after snagging that dream role in HAMILTON. When two poets with this level of skill and profound thought combine, the expectation is of a powerful performance. As they detail their evolution on the subject of fighting, and how best to win, they do not disappoint. Listen and enjoy!
It's been about two weeks since I reactivated my Facebook profile after leaving for over a year to focus on school and on healing. Upon my return, I was reunited with friends and introduced to others. Facebook's "people you may know" feature gave me daily suggestions about who to (re)connect with based on mutual friends we shared. Imagine my chagrin when my ex-boyfriend popped up, who is the literal last person I would ever want to think about. I quickly blocked him with the wrath of God and continued on my Facebook shenanigans for the day. For Kevin Kantor, the person that Facebook suggested he "may know" was actually his rapist. His poem about what ensued absolutely brings me to tears every time that I listen to it. Not simply for his powerful individual story, but for all of the young men who have been victims of sexual abuse who are afraid to tell their stories. It is because of this shroud of silence, this defective and toxic societal misunderstanding of masculinity that these horrors continue to happen to our young men. We don't allow them to speak about it, so those who victimize them go unpunished and typically go on to victimize others. We need to normalize letting men share their stories. We need to normalize allowing men to be human. I cannot force society to do that, but I can start by doing that here in sharing Kevin's poem. May he inspire young men across the world to acknowledge their own stories to whoever they trust. You are not alone. We love you!
There are times when I miss performing on the spoken word poetry circuit. Not just because I miss the money, or the feeling of sharing myself so vulnerably, but because I miss hearing the work of other quality artists. I miss watching them share vulnerable pieces of themselves that invited the audience into vulnerable spaces within themselves. Hearing Rudy Francisco's "Scars/ To the New Boyfriend" takes me back to that feeling. The idea that a man could bravely share how he processed his break-up and his residual emotions is refreshing. Take a listen to this beautifully-written piece. I am sure that you will love it as much as I do. Enjoy!
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