PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

January 20^th 2009, the United States of America inaugurated its first African-American president, Barack Obama. As a young, Black man myself, this moment was full of hopes, fears, contradictions and confusion. I wanted to write a poem to capture these feelings. Upon attempting to scribe a single poem which could capture this complexity, I thought to myself it would take at least 100 poems to begin expressing what I felt.

Immediately after the inauguration, the corporate media nationwide began to watch what they called “the first 100 days of Barack Obama’s presidency.” This gave me the idea to write 100 poems in the first 100 days of Barack Obama’s presidency. I set out on a transformative journey.

Expectations were high. People expected President Obama to change problems hundreds of years in the making. As our president attempted to create daily miracles, I crafted poems.

I was in my first year of marriage and I was also struggling with many questions: What is it about you and this moment which inspires such profound hope? Do I believe your humility can inspire humanity to strike a new balance with our planet Earth? Is it that I think your experiences living in other countries will help bring forth my romantic vision of a world without war, where no child is left to go without food or family? Is it that I think America will finally celebrate me as a young, Black man, on my own terms? Do I believe that America’s election of a Black president means that it has the potential to fulfill on its promise of liberty and justice for all?

In addition to writing and performing poems, I began to hold Living Room Readings in people’s homes and community spaces. In addition to sharing poems from my series, I also had participants create ““Barack Obama Inauguration Speech Remix Poems,” taking the text from the president’s inaugural address to craft poems. As we shared poetry we discussed the complexities of our changing world.

As the days passed and the one hundredth day grew closer, I realized how insane it was to attempt to write 100 poems. If a poet crafted 100 poems in their lifetime they might be considered accomplished. What became clear in my process was the necessity for creating spaces for critical dialogue. What if all Americans wrote a letter to the president? What is we all stopped to reflect and write 100 poems?

As I completed the poems it became apparent that I needed to publish my books and continue conducting Living Room Readings far and wide. On July 2009, my wife and I self-published a collection of poems, From Auction Block to Oval Office. These poems are meditations and mantras, punch-lines and prayers.