2008 Woodie Awards
A poet hits with an ear for music
Thomas Sayers Ellis performs for New Writing Series
Kyle Kernan
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Style
His performances of "My Meter is Percussive" and "Or" reflected his use of rhythm and progression to denote a powerful, resonating meaning.
Ellis said his poems are reflections of the spoken word versus the written , and that "the line is a breathing walk of language."
"Poetry and writing is a dead object in need to be made alive." Ellis said.
Ellis' performances heighten his poetry as he "makes the word move on the page." Ellis believes that he can't read the same poem twice in the same way, and he's not accepting of linearity. He said that stanzas are in little boxes and are trapped in books.
"Performance is something that encourages the ideas of your poetry. How do you construct the intonation to the writing aspect of it?" Ellis said.
Ellis explained to the audience before his last poem that his father worshiped James Brown, and the first schooling he ever undertook was the school of James Brown and his music. He said his father might have only received a ninth grade education, but that he was a student of sound.
In writing a poem about James Brown for The Nation after his death, James Brown's family had to wait to bury him while he was in the process of figuring what to write about. He said "The godfather wouldn't go down," adding that it wasn't until he was buried that he had the idea for the poem.
During this poem, "Mr. Dynamite Splits," he inspired the crowd to shout "yeah," as he rhythmically spoke of the influence of James Brown on him and the society he lived in. To learn more about the New Writing Series visit http://nwsnews.wordpress.com/.
Ellis said his poems are reflections of the spoken word versus the written , and that "the line is a breathing walk of language."
"Poetry and writing is a dead object in need to be made alive." Ellis said.
Ellis' performances heighten his poetry as he "makes the word move on the page." Ellis believes that he can't read the same poem twice in the same way, and he's not accepting of linearity. He said that stanzas are in little boxes and are trapped in books.
"Performance is something that encourages the ideas of your poetry. How do you construct the intonation to the writing aspect of it?" Ellis said.
Ellis explained to the audience before his last poem that his father worshiped James Brown, and the first schooling he ever undertook was the school of James Brown and his music. He said his father might have only received a ninth grade education, but that he was a student of sound.
In writing a poem about James Brown for The Nation after his death, James Brown's family had to wait to bury him while he was in the process of figuring what to write about. He said "The godfather wouldn't go down," adding that it wasn't until he was buried that he had the idea for the poem.
During this poem, "Mr. Dynamite Splits," he inspired the crowd to shout "yeah," as he rhythmically spoke of the influence of James Brown on him and the society he lived in. To learn more about the New Writing Series visit http://nwsnews.wordpress.com/.
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