Category: Arts & Culture
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A New War On Poverty
In their book, The Rich and the Rest of Us, noted public intellectual Cornel West & broadcaster Tavis Smiley challenge the presidential candidates to at least talk about poverty. Q. What was the motivation behind this book? Cornel West: There were a number of contributing factors that led to the writing of this book. First…
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Remembering Gil Scott-Heron
A powerful voice left us at a youthful age of 62 in late May of 2011 when long-term Harlem resident, poet and recording artist Gil Scott-Heron passed away. Scott-Heron was a rapper, poet and musician who was primarily known for his syncopated spoken words, harsh-blunt criticizing poetry performances in the 1970 ‘s and 1980’s expressing…
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Inaugural
Now is the time to be generous, now is the time to be brave and patient, to watch how the dove tails up, blinks, sits tight over invisible eggs. Now is the time to protect, a time to risk, now is the time to mother, to become curious, now is the time to father, the…
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Obama Is Not King
On January 20, 2009 Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. The inauguration, which set a record for attendance for any event on the Mall, drew an estimated crowd of 1.8 million people. According to Nielsen, approximately 37.8 million Americans view the inauguration from home. Millions also tuned in from…
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Corporations Are Not People
Election Day is right around the corner, but many voters in Massachusetts are unaware that their ballot will include a question about amending the U.S. Constitution to overturn the Supreme Court’s discredited decision in Citizens United v. F.E.C. The question asks voters whether they support a constitutional amendment that would affirm that 1) corporations do…
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The Fine Art Of Investing
It’s an interesting gamble. One of the most relevant fields of study today is Emergence Theory, the science of human cooperation. The Somerville Stock Exchange, an interactive art project, fundraiser, and neighborhood forum all in one, is a supple demonstration of Emergence Theory in purposeful practice. Created by artist Tim Devin, the project is a…
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Memo To Animal Lovers
Of the millions of hackneyed expressions, “you are what you eat” proves to be a double entendre with serious ethical implications. In the past few decades, the meat industry has been insidiously transformed into an entity with unrecognizable semblance to its former self as the practice of factory farming has infected our nation’s system of…
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Nature
Your supple hands caress my cheeks Like a loving mother Your breath twirls across my eyes and Slowly collapses like a graceful silhouette As the dirge of song birds echoes in the darkness echoes in the darkness echoes in the darkness Then there came a cold chill as a wave of winter dust descended deliberately…
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Op-Ed
As of September 1st, the state of Massachusetts has revised the conditions for Emergency Assistance, in particular, eligibility for shelter. Homeless patrons may now only enter a shelter if they have lost their home through natural forces, no-fault eviction, fleeing from domestic violence, or unsafe habitation for their children. I am writing today, not to…
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Hymn To The Sacred Body Of The Universe (Excerpt)
let’s meet at the confluence where you flow into me and one breath swirls between our lungs let’s meet at the confluence where you flow into me and one breath swirls between our lungs for one instant to dwell in the presence of the galaxies for one instant to live in the truth of the…