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A Funk Reader (#1)
a literary collage on African-American culture and history
every poem
always
begins w/
sir joe q’s most famous:
“i’ve got so much trouble on my mind…”
my head back & forth like a cameo song…
What is Funk?
“…Funk music was the social protest discourse of the young Black poor and working-class community after the euphoria of the civil rights movement faded, a period defined as “the decade of the detached…” (Chang, 2005).
“an aesthetic of deliberate confusion, of uninhibited, soulful behavior that remains viable because of a faith in instinct, a joy of self, and a joy of life, particularly unassimilated black American life…” (Rickey Vincent)
Funky Life: A History
Growing up in Washington D.C. was “unassimilated Black American life,” as Rickey Vincent wrote in his book Funk.
We also did what felt natural without thinking; it was just how the world was constructed around us. It helped that our elders were not shuffling around like they were taking orders from those who hated us. They stood up for themselves, so we stood up for ourselves. I feel so blessed to have grown up at…
