Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Curwen Best

I was searching for Caribbean science fiction, which is frustrating because most of the first results are for Pirates of the Caribbean (ugh!), but anyway, I stumbled across Bajan scholar Curwen Best and his analyses of the intersections between technology, the internet, social and other media, and Caribbean culture and identity. He has written a […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Poem in Process – “A Mad Man with a Box”

Last week, I received some inspiration to write a new poem. I was watching an episode of Mysteries at the Museum and saw I segment on Henry “Box” Brown, the enslaved man who mailed himself to freedom. For some reason, the story stayed on my mind. The next morning when I watched a Doctor Who […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Prentice Powell + Marshall Davis Jones (Verses and Flow) + Kysha Brown Robinson

Below are two more poets from Verses and Flow: Prentice Powell – “The System” His stylizing of the poem is like a another version of Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Poets Verb + Reggie Eldridge

While watching the past two episodes of the spoken word series, Verses and Flow, on TV One, two poets stood out to me, Verb and Reggie Eldridge. Verb spoke a critique of our current dependency on hi-tech technology and it reminded me of Louis C.K. rant on smartphones. It does make you think about how […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Anthony Joseph

“Aranguez” from The African Origins of UFOs While looking for Caribbean afrofuturists, I found this poet, novelist and musician, Anthony Joseph. Joseph, who has been featured in the anthology Dark Matter, is Trinidadian-British man and has written three books of poetry as well as an experimental novel, The African Origins of UFOs (click on link […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: My Poetry 4

This is the last day of National Poetry Month and I wanted to share a couple of the poems I wrote for the NaPoWriMo challenge this month: Prosthetic Conscience We are the abominations: _ And like a bomb in nations We go off as we enter their spaces _ The sight of us Blowing off […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Napo Masheane

As a poet, I am always looking for new poets to love, and I came across South African poet, playwright, director, and producer Napo Masheane on Poetry Potion (their latest issue, On Being Human). Masheane’s poetry has a magical and mythical feel to them as she writes about black women and her own heritage. Her […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Sekou Sundiata

Starting this month until October, there will be several events celebrating poet, playwright, educator and activist Sekou Sundiata, all part of Blink Your Eyes: Sekou Sundiata Revisited, a New York City-wide retrospective. There have been a few events this month already, including one with Tracie Morris, and during next two weeks will be events at […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Sun Ra Poetry

Many know Sun Ra for his cosmic, avant-garde music and costumes as well as a pioneer in afrofuturism, but there is not as much discussion of the poetry he wrote, which he often put together with his music. He did say, “Poems are music: some of the songs I write are based on my poems,” […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Tracie Morris

This is national poetry writing month. Yay! So, here is one poet I would like to dedicate this month to: Tracie Morris! Last Friday, I went to Speaking the Blues: An Evening of Poetry at the Whitney Museum. The event featured Harryette Mullen, Cornelius Eady, Patrica Smith, Fred Moten and Tracie Morris and her band. […]