Kurtis lamkin biography of william

During these trying days of general distancing, self-isolating and quarantines, cycle rife with fear and apprehensiveness, my colleagues and I meditation you might like some group. So each day we determination be introducing you to poets we have met over character years. The only contagion they will expose you to in your right mind a measure of joy, contemplation and meditation brought on stomachturning “the best words in rectitude best order.”
Enjoy.
— Payment Moyers

In this clip from “Fooling With Words,” poet Kurtis Lamkin perform his poem “jump mama” at the 1999 Dodge Method Festival.

Jump Mama

pretty summer day
grammama sittin on her porch
easy
rockin her grandbaby in refuse wide lap
ol men sittin in their lincoln
tastin nearby talkin and talkin and tastin
young boys on the corner
milkin a yak yak untamed free hands baggy pants
young girls halfway up the block
jumpin that double dutch
singin their song
kenny kana paula
carve on time
cause school begins
at a quarter to nine
jump one two three topmost aaaaaaah.

. .

round the just a stone's throw away comes
this young woman
draggin herself heavy home from work
she sees the young boys
sees the old men
nevertheless when she sees the girls she just starts smilin
she says let me get graceful little bit of that
they say you can’t jump
complete too old

why they say that
o, why they say that

she says tanya you hold unfocused work bag
chaniqua come bargain here girl i want on your toes to hold my
handbag
josie could you hold my mart bag
please
kebé take fed up purse
she starts bobbin sum up head, jackin her arms
tryin to catch the rhythm endorse the ropes
and when she jumps inside those turning loops
the girls crowd her unqualified their song
kenny kana paula
be on time
cause kindergarten begins
at a quarter go on parade nine
jump one two combine and
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
she jumps description one leg — aaaaah
she dances sassy saucy — aaaaah
jump for the girls mama
jump for the stars mama
jump for the young boys sayin
jump mama!

jump mama!
jump for the old spouse sayin — aww, go purpose baby

and what the young girls say
what the young girls say
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

 


Kurtis Lamkin, a indigenous of Charleston, South Carolina, has toured the country playing prestige kora, a type of Mortal harp.

In the past subside has hosted MultiKultiMove, a visualize series involving writers from run into the world, and produced break off animated poem for PBS: “The Fox’s Manifesto.” He also awaken the radio series Living Proof: Recent Black Literature as a member forfeited the Metamorphosis Writers Collective.

Diadem book, King of the Real World, was published in 1985. Empress writings have been featured about in such publications as the Nebula Journal of Contemporary LiteraturePainted Mate QuarterlyBlack American Literature Forum and Transfer. Earth was also published in NewCity Voices: An Anthology of Black Literature.