April 1, 2010
“Yet do I marvel at this curious thing:
To make a poet black, and bid him sing!”
- from Yet Do I Marvel by Countee Cullen
Inspired by the success of Black History Month, the Academy of American Poets established National Poetry Month – a month-long, national celebration of poetry. The concept is to widen the attention of individuals and the media—to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our complex poetic heritage, and to poetry books and journals of wide aesthetic range and concern.
The purpose is to increase the visibility and availability of poetry in popular culture while acknowledging and celebrating poetry’s ability to sustain itself in the many places where it is practiced and appreciated.
I have always been a huge poetry fan. I have volumes of poetry on my bookshelves and I’ve been known to write a few verses from time to time.
All of this poetry talk, makes me think about my college poetry professor, Dr. Jon Woodson. He was an eccentric, intellectual who taught us how to deconstruct a poem in order to really appreciate it’s merits. He also taught us about the creative process that goes into writing poetry.
On the first day of class, he told us to pull out a sheet of paper because we were having a pop quiz. We all groaned and reluctantly pulled out our notebooks.
Dr. Woodson reached under his desk and puled out a brown paper bag. He placed the bag on his desk and said, “Here is your quiz.”
We all looked at each other puzzled. One brave student asked what we were supposed to do.
“Tell me what’s in the bag,” said Dr. Woodson. “You have five minutes to complete the quiz.”
We all looked around the room still unsure about what we should be doing. We wrote answers on our papers and passed them to Dr. Woodson at the end of the allotted period.
“Now I will read your answers aloud and grade the papers,” said Dr. Woodson.
“The first one says, ‘Your Lunch,’’ Dr. Woodson said. “F!” He went through a few more papers that said things like, air, some pens, and a few more lunch responses. All F!
Finally, Dr. Woodson found a response that made him smile.
“Finally,” he said. “This paper says, ‘Pink Cadillac.’ A!”
I will always remember that exercise because it made me think differently. Many of the poets that I admire, Sonia Sanchez, Haki R. Madhubuti, Amiri Baraka, Nikki Giovanni, Pablo Naruda, e.e. cummings, and my all-time favorite poet, Langston Hughes thought differently about poetry and about life.
To celebrate National Poetry Month, Soul Portrait Magazine will publish a poem a day. Many talented, contemporary black poets are languishing in obscurity. This April, they will finally receive the credit and attention they deserve.
Peace and Blessings,
F.J. Goodall, Editor
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