Poem: I Madman

I, MADMAN

I, madman
That I am.

I, the lyricist of pondering
Amongst the people wandering
For gold and gifts,
Searching a language
Of nothing.

I, madman
That I am.

I, of course,
Perform a task
Of study
Knowing little,
Drawing weary
Of messages and apologies.

I, madman
That I am.
I, the saint of confessionism,
The artist of experimentalism,
And the gatherer of contradictionism,
Am no madman
At all.

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©1998, 2009 Torrence King. All rights reserved.

from Dead Artists Symmetry - To view and order go to:

http://torrenceking.blogspot.com/2011/08/dead-artists-symmetry-poetry-art.html

Profile: Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928) is an American author and poet who has been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly acclaimed, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her first seventeen years. It brought her international recognition, and was nominated for a National Book Award. She has been awarded over 30 honorary degrees and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her 1971 volume of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie.

Angelou was a member of the Harlem Writers Guild in the late 1950s, was active in the Civil Rights movement, and served as Northern Coordinator of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Since 1991, she has taught at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where she holds the first lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies. Since the 1990s she has made around eighty appearances a year on the lecture circuit. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration, the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961. In 1995, she was recognized for having the longest-running record (two years) on The New York Times Paperback Nonfiction Bestseller List.

With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou was heralded as a new kind of memoirist, one of the first African American women who was able to publicly discuss her personal life. She is highly respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women. Angelou's work is often characterized as autobiographical fiction. She has, however, made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books, centered on themes such as identity, family, and racism, are often used as set texts in schools and universities internationally. Some of her more controversial work has been challenged or banned in US schools and libraries.

READ MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou

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Great Quotes:

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.
Maya Angelou

Nothing will work unless you do.
Maya Angelou

Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.
Maya Angelou

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou

All great achievements require time.
Maya Angelou

I believe that every person is born with talent.
Maya Angelou

Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.
Maya Angelou

Kingsington Journal: April 4 1968

Martin Luther King, Jr., a prominent American leader of the African-American civil rights movement and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39.

In March 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. went to Memphis, Tennessee, in support of striking African American sanitation workers. The workers had staged a walkout on February 11, 1968, to protest unequal wages and working conditions. At the time, the city of Memphis paid black workers significantly lower wages than whites. In addition, unlike their white counterparts, blacks received no pay if they stayed home during bad weather; consequently, most blacks were compelled to work even in driving rain and snow storms.

On April 3, King returned to Memphis to address a gathering at the Mason Temple (World Headquarters of the Church of God in Christ). His airline flight to Memphis was delayed by a bomb threat against his plane. With a thunderstorm raging outside, King delivered the last speech of his life, now known as the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" address. As he neared the close, he made reference to the bomb threat:

“And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats... or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. [applause] And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! [applause] And so I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!”

April 4, 1968

King was booked in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, owned by black businessman Walter Bailey (and named after his wife). King's close friend and colleague Reverend Ralph David Abernathy, who was King's roommate in the motel room the day of the assassination, told the House Select Committee on Assassinations that King and his entourage stayed in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel so often that it was known as the "King-Abernathy Suite."

According to biographer Taylor Branch, King's last words were to musician Ben Branch, who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was going to attend: "Ben, make sure you play 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty."

The Lorraine Motel, where King was assassinated, now the site of the National Civil Rights Museum.

At 6:01 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, 1968, while he was standing on the motel's second floor balcony, King was struck by a single .30 bullet fired from a Remington 760 Gamemaster. The bullet entered through his right cheek, breaking his jaw, neck and several vertebrae as it travelled down, severing the jugular vein and major arteries in the process. Abernathy heard the shot from inside the motel room and ran to the balcony to find King on the floor.

King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where doctors opened his chest and performed manual heart massage. He was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. According to Taylor Branch, King's autopsy revealed that though he was only 39 years old, he had the heart of a 60 year old man.

READ MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.

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"One man come in the name of love / One man come and go / One man come he to justify / One man to overthrow...." - Pride - U2 - Tribute to Martin Luther King -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56mjwycKuXA

Profile: Marvin Gaye (1939 - 1984) - Singer-Songwriter and Musician

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a four-octave vocal range. Starting as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late fifties, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960 signing with the Tamla Records subsidiary of Motown Records. After starting off as a session drummer, Gaye ranked as the label's top-selling solo artist during the sixties.

Because of solo hits such as "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)", "Ain't That Peculiar", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and his duet singles with singers such as Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell, he was crowned "The Prince of Motown"and "The Prince of Soul". His work in the early and mid-1970s, including the albums What's Going On, Let's Get It On, and I Want You, helped influencing the quiet storm, urban adult contemporary, and slow jam genres. After a self-imposed European exile in the early eighties, Gaye returned on the 1982 Grammy-Award winning hit, "Sexual Healing" and the Midnight Love album before his death. Gaye was shot dead by his father on April 1, 1984. He was posthumously inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

In 2008, the American music magazine Rolling Stone ranked Gaye at number 6 on its list of The Greatest Singers of All Time, and ranked at number 18 on 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. 

READ MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Gaye

In early 1967, Gaye scored his first international hit with the duet, "It Takes Two", with Kim Weston, who ironically had already left the label when it became a hit. Only one televised performance of the song showed Gaye singing the song to a puppet. That year, Motown hooked Gaye up with veteran Philadelphia-based singer Tammi Terrell, who had an early stint with James Brown. Gaye would later say of Terrell that she was his "perfect partner" musically.

Terrell and Gaye's first major hit was the Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson composition, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". The duo quickly followed up with the top five hit ballad, "Your Precious Love". Despite rumors of a romantic relationship - Gaye was married to Anna Gordy and Terrell was dating Temptations lead vocalist David Ruffin - both singers denied such a relationship with Gaye saying later that they had a brother-and-sister relationship, a statement reiterated by Ashford & Simpson.

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Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - You're All I Need To Get By  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FlV3g2ASeA

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 Marvin Gaye - Where Are We Going? 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56AgF4gSSZQ

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 Marvin Gaye - I Want You 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RRCZ0QjM2k

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 Marvin Gaye - Heard It Through The Grapevine (Live at Montreux) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7dGdrP3pms

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 Marvin Gaye - Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology) (With Lyrics)  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMuWmU1iNJo

  

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ALBUM OF THE DAY: The Joshua Tree - U2

"This is a band that believes rock music has moral imperatives and social responsibilities. There is no one better than U2 at bringing "over there" back "over here," and setting it down right by the front door, where no one can miss it." - Time Magazine, 1987

I had long heard about the music of U2 among truly die-hard music fans for years before I took the plunge and purchased the much talked about and critically acclaimed album The Joshua Tree.

From the moment I heard the CD completely, I was overwhelmed at the shear magnitude of the poetry in their lyrics and the urgency of the music. It was one of the many factors that contributed to my venture into poetry that continues to influence me even now.

It wasn't long before I would hunt down their complete catalog up to that point in the early 90's and become a committed fan.

The album is almost concept in its approach and a testament of the musicality and vision of these four "angry" young men. Melodic and retrospective. Songs about sin and redemption. This is the music of legends. They even threw in a love song "With or Without You" just for good measure.

The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release The Unforgettable Fire, U2 aimed for a harder-hitting sound on The Joshua Tree within the limitation of strict song structures.

READ MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joshua_Tree