poem
GRITtv: Joy Harjo: Poem for Lena Horne
Actress and activist Lena Horne passed away this week at the age of 92. She was memorialized around the U.S. and the world as a beloved entertainer, but some have noted her background in work with the NAACP and the Civil Rights movement--as John Nichols wrote at The Nation, "Such appearances earned Horne a reputation, she joked, as the 'bad little Red girl.'" Poet and musician Joy Harjo joined us in studio and performed some of her poems for us; this poem, "Equinox," she dedicated to Lena Horne. We'll have more from Joy soon! GRITtv with Laura Flanders brings participatory democracy onto your computer screen and into your living room, bridging the gap between audience and advocates. Watch any show, at any time: http://grittv.org Distributed by Tubemogul.
Email this pageGRITtv: Haiti: Every Drop Counts
Carvens Lissaint is a Haitian-American poet and performer from New York City. Here he performs his poem, "Haiti," written a year ago, with a startling prophetic tone in the wake of recent tragic events in Haiti. Thanks to Every Drop Counts for the video.
GRITtv: F Word: One Small Step For An Editor, A Giant Leap For Our Mediascape
I've been meaning to mention it before, but now's perhaps the perfect moment. 'Men Walk on the Moon'... Forty years ago this week, the banner headlines couldn't get big enough. The pictures don't look as striking as they did first time around, of course. So maybe that's why, looking at a reprint of page one produced by a New York Times advertiser this July 21, I was struck by something else entirely. Bottom left, front page, in a special box, appeared a poem. "Voyage to the Moon" by Archibald MacLeish. According to the index, more poems appeared deeper inside the paper. Poetry on page one? When did we stop doing that? Call me corny but I couldn't help but be struck. Talk about space: poetry leaves space for the reader; with rhythm and phrase and tone, a good poem prods, invites, reaches out for the reader. But it doesn't lecture.
