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SONIA: Hello and welcome
to First and Last Words.
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I'm your host, Sonia Sanchez.
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Today's feature...
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profiles poet Essex Hemphill
with Larry Duckette.
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ESSEX: To Some Supposed Brothers.
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ESSEX: You judge a woman
LARRY: by the length of her skirt
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ESSEX: by the way she walks
BOTH: talks, looks, and acts
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ESSEX: by the colour of her skin you judge
and will call her "bitch!"
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"Black bitch!"
if she doesn't answer your
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"Hey, baby, whatcha gonna say
to a man"
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ESSEX: You judge a woman
LARRY: by the job she holds
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ESSEX: by the number of children she's had
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LARRY: by the number of digits
on her cheque
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BOTH: by the many men
she may have lain with
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and wonder what jive murphy
you'll run on her this time
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you'll run on her this time
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ESSEX: You judge a woman
LARRY: by what she can do for you alone
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ESSEX: but there's no need
LARRY: for slaves to have slaves
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ESSEX: You judge a woman
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LARRY: by impressions
you think you've made
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BOTH: Ask and she gives
take without asking
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beat on her and she'll obey
throw her name up and down the streets
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ESSEX: like some loose whistle
LARRY: knowing her neighbours will talk
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BOTH: Her friends will chew her name
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Her family's blood will run loose
like a broken creek
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ESSEX: And when you're gone
LARRY: a woman Is left
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BOTH: healing her wounds alone
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ESSEX: But we so-called men
LARRY: we so-called brothers
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BOTH: wonder why It's so hard
to love our women
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ESSEX: when we're about loving them
LARRY: the way America
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ESSEX: loves us
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ESSEX: You judge a woman
LARRY: for slaves to have slaves
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ESSEX: by what she can do for you alone
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LARRY: but there's no need
ESSEX: for slaves to have slaves
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SONIA: With shouts, screams,
songs and show...
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performance poet Essex Hemphill...
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vocalises sexual and political themes...
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with candour, humour, and sensitivity.
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A native of Washington, D.C...
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Essex founded BeBop Books...
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which has published several of his works:
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Earth Life, Conditions, Heavy Breathing,
and Soft Targets.
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Always looking for ways to,
as Hemphill puts it...
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“take poetry out of that sedate,
sleepy-time arena”...
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he uses several voices,
along with multimedia devices...
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to work in words and emotions
among people.
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His performances include Voicescapes,
Earth Life...
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From the Potomac to the Anacostia...
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and his most recent work...
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Brother to Brother: Words from the Heart.
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Hemphill has collaborated
and performed with the trio Cinque...
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comprised of himself, Wayson Jones,
and Larry Duckette...
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as well as with artists
like Michelle Parkerson...
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Chris Prince, Brenda Files,
and Sylvia Thompson.
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In this profile, musician Larry Duckette
shares with Hemphill...
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in conversation and duo
as well as solo recitations of his works.
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ESSEX: The work that I do,
in terms of performance poetry...
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is surely different
from what other performance poets...
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in this area and even in this region present.
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The evolution of music in the work...
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the involvement of voices in the work...
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all of that's been a process of elimination,
of bumping around.
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When Larry and Wayson and I
were doing Cinque...
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there was nothing like it in Washington
or even the surrounding area.
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I think what set us apart...
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was taking a risk
with the kind of material I was writing.
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So I think that if I hadn't had...
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Larry's and Wayson's support with Cinque...
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I might still be a few years back
because a lot of...
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my homosexual blossoming, if you will...
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or my "coming out” in my work began there.
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Because I would say
that when I began to write...
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I was writing
from a Black Nationalists perspective...
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which I have grown to basically deny now...
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only in terms
that the Black Nationalist's perspective...
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So why should I pay loyalty to It...
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if it's not going to accept
where I'm coming from?
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So I'm looking now for a more humane...
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look at the troubles and the conditions,
if you will...
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that we all live under...
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realising that it's not always white people
that are the problem...
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but that Black people, we ourselves...
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can be much, much more destructive...
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only because we're so close
to that destruction...
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Just by being Black.
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Heavy Breathing, excerpts.
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I am only sure of this
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I continue to awaken
in a rumpled black suit
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Pockets bulging with tools
and ancestral fossils
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LARRY: A crusty wool suit
with salt on its collar
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ESSEX: I continue to awaken shell-shocked
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LARRY: wondering where I come from
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ESSEX: Beyond Mother's womb
LARRY: Father's sperm
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ESSEX: My past may be lost
beyond the Carolinas North and South
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LARRY: I may not recognise the authenticity
of my Negritude
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ESSEX: So slowly I awaken
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LARRY: Science continues
dismantling chromosomes
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LARRY: Tampering with genetic codes
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LARRY: I am sure of this
as I witness Washington
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change Its eye colour from brown to blue
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ESSEX: What kind of mutants are we now?
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Why is some destruction so beautiful?
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BOTH: Do you think I could walk pleasantly
and well-suited towards annihilation
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with a scrotal sack full
of primordial loneliness
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swinging between my legs
like solid bells?
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ESSEX: At the end of heavy breathing
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At the beginning of grief and terror
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On the X2, the bus I call a slave ship
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The majority of its writers, black
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pressed to journey to Northeast
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Into the voodoo ghettoes
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festering on the knuckles
of the Negro dream
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The X2 is a risky ride
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A cargo of block boys, urban pirates
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The Colt 45 and gold neck-chain crews
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are all part of this voyage
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Like me, rooted to something here
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The women usually sit at the front
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The unfortunate ones who must ride
in the back with the fellas
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often endure foul remarks
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The fellas are quick
to call them out of name
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as If all females between eight and 80
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are simply pussies with legs
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The timid men scattered
among the boat crew and crack boys
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LARRY: The frightened men
pretend invisibility
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ESSEX: or fake fraternity with a wink or nod
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LARRY: But they look the other way
ESSEX: They have a sister on another bus
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LARRY: A mother on some other train
ESSEX: enduring the same treatment
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LARRY: There Is never any protest
ESSEX: no chemistry
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LARRY: No peer restraint
ESSEX: no control
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BOTH: no one hollers, "Stop!"
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For Mrs Fuller, for Mrs Fuller
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LARRY: A Black mother murdered
in an alley near home
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ESSEX: Her rectum viciously raped
with a pipe
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BOTH: Repeatedly sodomised before a crowd
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that did not holler, "Stop!"
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ESSEX: Some of those watching knew her
LARRY: knew her children
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ESSEX: knew she was a member of the block
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LARRY: Every participant was Black
ESSEX: Every witness was Black
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BOTH: Some were female and Black
Some were female and Black
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Now don't get me wrong
Some were female and Black
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Some were female and Black
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BOTH: There was no white man nearby
shouting, "Black man
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"take some crack, shove It in her ass
take some crack, shove it in her ass
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ESSEX: "and the rest of you watch”
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ESSEX: I think we'd better chill.
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[Larry laughing]
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ESSEX: Larry, let's slow it down a little bit.
LARRY: Yeah.
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ESSEX: "Cause it's going
like it's Family Jewels.
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LARRY: I know.
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[Larry laughing]
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ESSEX: Larry and I--
LARRY: Same old story.
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ESSEX: I know. This Is in the archives.
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[Larry laughing]
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ESSEX: Larry auditioned
for a collaborative work...
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Michelle Parkerson and I were working on...
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Murder on Glass...
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which played at
Washington Project for the Arts.
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Larry was one of the performers
who came out and auditioned...
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but there were certain character types
that we were looking for...
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and he wasn't able to make it in
for that particular production.
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I at that time had also begun to work out
The Brass Rail...
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and I realised,
through Michelle's suggestion...
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that perhaps I should turn to Larry...
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in regard to his being the second voice,
in terms of the duet...
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that The Brass Rail is.
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For instance The Brass Rail Is a poem done...
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upside-down and right-side-up...
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and then combined in a duet fashion.
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Which you would not typically think:
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"Oh, well, I'm going to read this poem
from the bottom up”...
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because you're trained to read
from the top of a page...
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down to the bottom.
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So that in and of itself
challenged Larry and I both, and then...
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the history of The Brass Rail...
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and the fact that we both knew
and had our own experiences in that place.
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You know, it just brought
more pressure on that piece.
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The Brass Rail.
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ESSEX: I saw you last night
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LARRY: Many occupants are never found
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ESSEX: in the basement
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LARRY: Many canoes overturned
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ESSEX: of The Brass Rall
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Your dark, diva's face
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a lake
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I hear the sea
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LARRY: Your voice
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LARRY: screaming
ESSEX: falling from the air
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LARRY: Behind your eyes
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ESSEX: Dancing with the boys
on the edge of funk
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LARRY: Twilight
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ESSEX: The boys dance, darling
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BOTH: touching you indiscreetly
My tongue walks
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ESSEX: along your thighs like a hermit
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LARRY: Your body, a green light
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ESSEX: I have been naked with you
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LARRY: Urging them
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ESSEX: Dear diva darling
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ESSEX: You were in the mirrors
LARRY: The light
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ESSEX: Their arms
LARRY: The boys whispered about you
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ESSEX: Singapore Slings toasted you
202
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LARRY: Under the music
pumping from the jukebox
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ESSEX: They were promises
chilled by ice cubes
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LARRY: They were promises
chilled by ice cubes
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BOTH: The boys whispered about you
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BOTH: under the music
pumping from the jukebox
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ESSEX: You were in the mirrors
LARRY: The light
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ESSEX: Their arms
LARRY: Your body a green light
209
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Dear diva darling
I have been naked with you
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00:10:04,381 --> 00:10:07,294
My tongue has walked along your thighs
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00:10:07,381 --> 00:10:09,133
I have found the scent
212
00:10:09,221 --> 00:10:13,055
Twilight
I hear the sea screaming behind your eyes
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00:10:13,141 --> 00:10:15,860
LARRY: Your dark, diva's face, a lake
ESSEX: I saw you last night
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00:10:15,941 --> 00:10:18,694
BOTH: Many canoes overturned
in the basement of The Brass Rall
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00:10:18,781 --> 00:10:21,341
LARRY: Many occupants are never found
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ESSEX: In the instance of The Brass Rail...
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00:10:23,901 --> 00:10:26,814
we went back and forth,
even though I had it broken down...
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Larry coached me in terms of...
219
00:10:29,381 --> 00:10:32,260
kinds of feeling to give through that piece.
220
00:10:32,341 --> 00:10:35,936
He had feelings as well, emotion as well.
221
00:10:36,021 --> 00:10:38,854
And over time we just groomed It
and got it...
222
00:10:38,941 --> 00:10:43,378
to the point that it's a science between us.
We breathe The Rail.
223
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And that's what happens
if the collaboration is sincere.
224
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The work begins to live
between the both of you...
225
00:10:51,061 --> 00:10:54,656
in a sort of symbiotic fashion over time.
226
00:10:54,861 --> 00:10:58,616
You can't expect that kind of result
in a short-term way.
227
00:10:58,901 --> 00:11:00,812
LARRY: Cordon Negro.
228
00:11:02,781 --> 00:11:06,695
1 drink champagne early in the morning
229
00:11:06,781 --> 00:11:08,738
instead of leaving my house
230
00:11:08,821 --> 00:11:12,451
with an M-16 and nowhere to go
231
00:11:13,301 --> 00:11:15,815
I die twice as fast
232
00:11:15,901 --> 00:11:17,653
as any other American
233
00:11:17,741 --> 00:11:20,335
between 18 and 35
234
00:11:20,861 --> 00:11:22,454
This disturbs me
235
00:11:22,581 --> 00:11:25,095
but I try not to show It in public
236
00:11:25,981 --> 00:11:29,861
Each morning I open my eyes is a miracle
237
00:11:30,781 --> 00:11:35,332
The blessing of opening them
is temporary on any given day
238
00:11:36,141 --> 00:11:38,610
I could be taken out
I could go off
239
00:11:38,701 --> 00:11:41,341
I could forget to be careful
240
00:11:42,181 --> 00:11:45,537
Even my brothers, hunted, hunt me
241
00:11:46,661 --> 00:11:49,779
I'm the only one who values my life
242
00:11:49,981 --> 00:11:53,736
and sometimes I don't give a damn
243
00:11:54,501 --> 00:11:56,617
My love life can kill me
244
00:11:56,941 --> 00:12:00,536
I'm faced daily with choosing violence
245
00:12:00,701 --> 00:12:03,932
or a demeanour that saves every other life
246
00:12:04,021 --> 00:12:05,932
but my own
247
00:12:06,301 --> 00:12:08,451
I won't cross-over
248
00:12:09,141 --> 00:12:11,655
It's time someone came to me
249
00:12:11,741 --> 00:12:13,937
not to patronise me physically
250
00:12:14,421 --> 00:12:17,015
sexually, or humorously
251
00:12:17,901 --> 00:12:21,690
I'm sick of being an endangered species
252
00:12:21,901 --> 00:12:25,257
sick of being a goddamn statistic
253
00:12:26,141 --> 00:12:27,939
So what are my choices?
254
00:12:28,341 --> 00:12:31,971
I could leave with no intention
of coming home tonight
255
00:12:32,461 --> 00:12:37,137
go crazy downtown and raise hell
on a rooftop with my rifle
256
00:12:38,021 --> 00:12:42,254
I could live for a brief moment
on the six o'clock news
257
00:12:42,741 --> 00:12:47,178
or masquerade another day
through the corridors of commerce
258
00:12:47,501 --> 00:12:49,412
and American dreams
259
00:12:50,621 --> 00:12:53,181
I'm dying twice as fast
260
00:12:53,261 --> 00:12:55,457
as any other American
261
00:12:56,341 --> 00:13:00,858
So I pour myself a glass of champagne
262
00:13:01,301 --> 00:13:04,532
I cut it with a drop of orange juice
263
00:13:06,021 --> 00:13:09,093
After I swallow my liquid Valium
264
00:13:09,421 --> 00:13:11,697
my private celebration
265
00:13:11,781 --> 00:13:14,341
for being alive this morning
266
00:13:14,941 --> 00:13:16,852
I leave my shelter
267
00:13:17,501 --> 00:13:20,732
I guard my life with no apologies
268
00:13:21,781 --> 00:13:26,412
My concerns are small and personal
269
00:13:27,781 --> 00:13:28,976
That's one piece that...
270
00:13:29,061 --> 00:13:32,417
I relate well to.
I don't know what that says about me.
271
00:13:32,501 --> 00:13:35,141
But there's a lot of tension in that piece.
272
00:13:35,221 --> 00:13:37,098
There's a lot of confusion.
273
00:13:37,181 --> 00:13:39,218
There's a little desperation there.
274
00:13:39,301 --> 00:13:42,259
I see this attitude all the time.
275
00:13:43,781 --> 00:13:47,900
This character is just maybe a few days
or maybe a week...
276
00:13:48,141 --> 00:13:52,339
from maybe taking that M-16 out into public.
277
00:13:53,581 --> 00:13:56,380
But I think he represents
a lot of Black men...
278
00:13:56,461 --> 00:13:59,101
and what they're trying to deal with.
279
00:13:59,181 --> 00:14:01,411
Some of them make mistakes
in dealing with that.
280
00:14:01,501 --> 00:14:03,492
That's why we have so many murders.
281
00:14:03,581 --> 00:14:05,777
ESSEX: In terms of turning self....
LARRY: Mm-hmm.
282
00:14:05,861 --> 00:14:08,057
ESSEX: Even in some instances,
self-hatred back.
283
00:14:08,141 --> 00:14:10,735
The first time Larry presented that piece...
284
00:14:10,821 --> 00:14:13,654
was at a house party here in Washington.
285
00:14:14,021 --> 00:14:15,011
Remember?
286
00:14:15,101 --> 00:14:17,900
ESSEX: You did that impromptu reading?
LARRY: Yeah.
287
00:14:17,981 --> 00:14:21,019
ESSEX: That was the very first time
he touched that piece.
288
00:14:21,101 --> 00:14:25,015
So it has been a stamp of his. Chris Prince...
289
00:14:25,101 --> 00:14:29,732
who has also performed my work
and does an excellent job as well...
290
00:14:29,821 --> 00:14:33,291
has performed that piece.
But I must say that Larry gives it...
291
00:14:33,381 --> 00:14:35,657
all the dimension that it's supposed to have.
292
00:14:35,741 --> 00:14:38,017
That tension, that anger, that confusion...
293
00:14:38,101 --> 00:14:40,536
that being right near the edge of it.
294
00:14:40,621 --> 00:14:43,420
He gives It.
I've seen other men approach It...
295
00:14:43,501 --> 00:14:45,731
but he does give it supreme.
296
00:14:45,821 --> 00:14:49,291
So it's that kind of thing
that the work has to do.
297
00:14:49,381 --> 00:14:51,736
I'm not conscious of that when I write.
298
00:14:51,821 --> 00:14:55,052
When I sit down and write,
I'm really working out my problems.
299
00:14:55,141 --> 00:14:57,701
You know what I'm saying? It's my therapy.
300
00:14:57,781 --> 00:15:02,378
I don't have to pay someone $75 an hour
to sit there and tell me what's wrong...
301
00:15:02,501 --> 00:15:06,620
when I can sit there and struggle
over my typewriter until I figure out...
302
00:15:06,901 --> 00:15:09,620
what's wrong.
And if that energy Is sincere...
303
00:15:09,701 --> 00:15:14,138
and if I'm being purely honest,
1 think the next person who picks it up...
304
00:15:14,261 --> 00:15:17,811
will get that energy, too.
They'll feel something, a jolt...
305
00:15:17,901 --> 00:15:19,300
a connection.
306
00:15:19,381 --> 00:15:22,658
Even If they connect but don't like the idea,
the fact that...
307
00:15:22,741 --> 00:15:25,733
the purity is there is what's important.
308
00:15:26,061 --> 00:15:27,381
LARRY: In the Life.
309
00:15:27,941 --> 00:15:28,976
Mother
310
00:15:29,901 --> 00:15:33,212
do you know I roam alone at night?
311
00:15:34,221 --> 00:15:35,620
Wearing colognes
312
00:15:36,661 --> 00:15:38,060
tight pants
313
00:15:38,901 --> 00:15:40,938
chains of gold
314
00:15:42,061 --> 00:15:44,621
Searching for men
315
00:15:44,701 --> 00:15:47,659
willing to come back to candlelight
316
00:15:48,821 --> 00:15:50,971
I'm not scared of these men
317
00:15:51,501 --> 00:15:55,415
Though some are killers of sons like me
318
00:15:56,061 --> 00:15:57,460
I learned
319
00:15:57,701 --> 00:16:01,535
there is no tender mercy
for men of colour
320
00:16:02,581 --> 00:16:05,494
for sons who love men
321
00:16:05,941 --> 00:16:07,170
like me
322
00:16:08,421 --> 00:16:11,891
Do not feel shame for how I live
323
00:16:12,301 --> 00:16:15,896
I chose this tribe of warriors and outlaws
324
00:16:16,941 --> 00:16:21,174
Do not feel you failed
some test of motherhood
325
00:16:22,341 --> 00:16:23,615
My life
326
00:16:23,701 --> 00:16:27,456
has borne fruit no woman
could have given me anyway
327
00:16:29,061 --> 00:16:33,339
If, one of these thick-lipped wet
328
00:16:34,101 --> 00:16:37,617
black nights
while I'm out walking
329
00:16:38,581 --> 00:16:40,857
I find freedom In this village
330
00:16:41,821 --> 00:16:45,371
If I can take it with my tribe
331
00:16:45,621 --> 00:16:47,373
I'll bring you here
332
00:16:48,381 --> 00:16:52,340
And you will never notice
the absence of rice
333
00:16:53,461 --> 00:16:55,179
and bridesmaids
334
00:16:56,861 --> 00:17:00,820
What inspired that was Joe Beam's
In the Life.
335
00:17:00,901 --> 00:17:05,816
When Joe was working on that anthology,
In the Life kept playing in my head.
336
00:17:05,941 --> 00:17:10,492
“In the life" is a phrase
that was used during Bessie Smith's era...
337
00:17:10,581 --> 00:17:14,939
and probably sometime prior to that.
It was a code...
338
00:17:15,181 --> 00:17:19,140
to refer to people who were sleeping
with same sex.
339
00:17:19,341 --> 00:17:22,379
What was so inspiring was to see Joe...
340
00:17:22,461 --> 00:17:26,056
finally pulling together Black gay men
around the country and saying:
341
00:17:26,141 --> 00:17:28,610
“Look, it's time for us to speak.”
342
00:17:28,701 --> 00:17:32,012
Because for the longest time
as a writer here in Washington...
343
00:17:32,101 --> 00:17:34,172
and I think Larry will tell you this...
344
00:17:34,261 --> 00:17:39,097
I felt isolated
because there are not many Black gay men...
345
00:17:39,181 --> 00:17:41,741
who are writing, who are willing...
346
00:17:41,821 --> 00:17:45,655
to come forth and deal
with their sexual experiences...
347
00:17:45,741 --> 00:17:50,656
or the experiences that their sexuality
will lead them to encounter in life.
348
00:17:50,901 --> 00:17:53,939
So when Joe came on the scene, it was, like:
349
00:17:54,021 --> 00:17:57,013
"Oh, there's a saviour here.
I'm not the only one.”
350
00:17:57,101 --> 00:18:00,412
And then I discovered
the men in New York writing.
351
00:18:00,501 --> 00:18:03,573
And so In the Life evolved...
352
00:18:03,661 --> 00:18:07,017
and sort of paid tribute to not only him...
353
00:18:07,101 --> 00:18:10,981
in an indirect way,
but very much so to our mothers...
354
00:18:11,061 --> 00:18:13,780
who many of us tend to be very close to...
355
00:18:13,861 --> 00:18:16,614
who we tend to have
very strong rapports with...
356
00:18:16,701 --> 00:18:18,851
who tend to be very protective of us...
357
00:18:18,941 --> 00:18:21,979
even when they discover
that we are "in the life."
358
00:18:22,061 --> 00:18:25,292
Because they know
that not only as Black men...
359
00:18:25,381 --> 00:18:27,895
what kind of shit we're going to face
in this country...
360
00:18:27,981 --> 00:18:30,655
but then to be Black men and gay.
361
00:18:32,021 --> 00:18:34,854
ESSEX: Just take a gun and put it
to your head and pull the trigger.
362
00:18:34,941 --> 00:18:37,979
And we want to continue
to include our mothers in our lives.
363
00:18:38,061 --> 00:18:40,177
LARRY: Exactly.
ESSEX: Despite the fact that...
364
00:18:40,261 --> 00:18:42,457
we have an alternate lifestyle.
365
00:18:42,541 --> 00:18:45,693
There's still that need to have her there.
366
00:18:46,461 --> 00:18:48,372
For My Own Protection.
367
00:18:50,261 --> 00:18:52,172
I want to start
an organisation
368
00:18:52,261 --> 00:18:53,535
to save my life
369
00:18:53,621 --> 00:18:55,931
We should be able
to save each other
370
00:18:56,021 --> 00:18:59,013
LARRY: If whales, snails dogs, cats
371
00:18:59,101 --> 00:19:00,978
Chrysler, and Nixon can be saved
372
00:19:01,061 --> 00:19:03,132
ESSEX: the lives of Black men
are priceless
373
00:19:03,221 --> 00:19:04,211
and can be saved
374
00:19:04,301 --> 00:19:06,815
LARRY: We should be able
to save each other
375
00:19:06,901 --> 00:19:08,335
ESSEX: I don't want to be
the living dead
376
00:19:08,421 --> 00:19:10,412
LARRY: pacified with drugs
and sex
377
00:19:10,541 --> 00:19:12,657
I don't want to wait for the Washington Post
378
00:19:12,741 --> 00:19:16,735
ESSEX: To publish an article stating,
"Black men are almost extinct”
379
00:19:16,861 --> 00:19:18,454
If a human chain
can be formed
380
00:19:18,541 --> 00:19:19,611
around missile sites
381
00:19:19,701 --> 00:19:22,011
LARRY: then surely Black men
can form human chains
382
00:19:22,101 --> 00:19:26,174
BOTH: around Anacostia, Harlem
South Africa, Wall Street
383
00:19:26,261 --> 00:19:28,332
Hollywood, each other
384
00:19:28,421 --> 00:19:31,573
ESSEX: If we have to take tomorrow
with blood are we ready?
385
00:19:31,701 --> 00:19:34,090
I'm not concerned
about the attire of a soldier
386
00:19:34,181 --> 00:19:36,821
LARRY: Do our S-curls,
dreadlocks and Phillies
387
00:19:36,901 --> 00:19:40,656
make us any more ready
than a bush or a conkalene?
388
00:19:40,741 --> 00:19:42,652
ESSEX: I don't want to be
the living dead
389
00:19:42,741 --> 00:19:45,460
LARRY: I'm not concerned
about the attire of a soldier
390
00:19:45,541 --> 00:19:47,532
ESSEX: I want to start
an organisation
391
00:19:47,621 --> 00:19:49,020
to save my life
392
00:19:49,101 --> 00:19:51,297
LARRY: All I want to know
for my own protection
393
00:19:51,381 --> 00:19:53,258
ESSEX: If a human chain
can be formed
394
00:19:53,341 --> 00:19:55,855
Is are we capable
of whatever
395
00:19:55,941 --> 00:19:57,011
whenever?
396
00:19:57,101 --> 00:19:58,614
LARRY: If a human chain
can be formed
397
00:19:58,701 --> 00:19:59,691
ESSEX: Whatever
398
00:19:59,781 --> 00:20:01,294
LARRY: If a human chain
can be formed
399
00:20:01,381 --> 00:20:02,416
ESSEX: Whenever
400
00:20:02,501 --> 00:20:03,935
LARRY: If a human chain
can be formed
401
00:20:04,021 --> 00:20:05,136
ESSEX: When?
402
00:20:05,581 --> 00:20:10,132
ESSEX: Larry and I, in all of
the collaborations, I'll take the work in.
403
00:20:10,581 --> 00:20:13,733
I'll have preconceived ideas and instances.
404
00:20:14,301 --> 00:20:17,100
At other times, I'm wide open, I'm fresh.
405
00:20:17,181 --> 00:20:19,218
"What do you think we should do to this?"
406
00:20:19,301 --> 00:20:23,340
If we all agree we want to do it first.
We got to all agree we want to do It.
407
00:20:23,501 --> 00:20:28,371
I cannot say
that any particular work has solely...
408
00:20:28,621 --> 00:20:32,501
in the performance sense,
been solely created by me.
409
00:20:32,581 --> 00:20:35,892
Larry will say,
"Okay, let's do these lines this way.”
410
00:20:35,981 --> 00:20:38,450
I'll say, "Okay, let's do these lines this way.”
411
00:20:38,541 --> 00:20:40,771
Whoever I'm collaborating with...
412
00:20:40,861 --> 00:20:44,172
we bring to bear upon the work...
413
00:20:44,261 --> 00:20:46,252
all of our resources.
414
00:20:46,701 --> 00:20:48,931
LARRY: Well, with Essex's work...
415
00:20:50,021 --> 00:20:54,891
I'm aware of some of the inspiration,
some of the motivations.
416
00:20:55,741 --> 00:20:58,859
I'll read a line and I know what it means.
417
00:20:59,581 --> 00:21:03,893
I can identify the emotion.
And that's what I go after...
418
00:21:04,221 --> 00:21:07,737
that emotion. Because it's a turn-on.
419
00:21:07,821 --> 00:21:11,018
And to be able to take
somebody else's emotion...
420
00:21:11,101 --> 00:21:13,820
and work on relating to It...
421
00:21:13,901 --> 00:21:17,178
and selling it as If it were your own
is a challenge...
422
00:21:17,261 --> 00:21:19,730
and it's a challenge I like meeting.
423
00:21:20,061 --> 00:21:21,335
ESSEX: Do another one.
424
00:21:23,301 --> 00:21:24,655
LARRY: [Singing] Horoscopes
425
00:21:26,261 --> 00:21:27,490
BOTH: [Singing] Horoscopes
426
00:21:28,221 --> 00:21:29,541
ESSEX: A little higher.
427
00:21:29,821 --> 00:21:31,095
BOTH: [Singing] Horoscopes
428
00:21:31,181 --> 00:21:32,216
ESSEX: Not that high.
429
00:21:32,781 --> 00:21:34,215
LARRY: [Singing] Horoscopes
430
00:21:34,301 --> 00:21:36,099
ESSEX: A town bewitched
by mirrors
431
00:21:36,181 --> 00:21:38,013
BOTH: [Singing] Horoscopes
432
00:21:38,181 --> 00:21:40,650
ESSEX: Not that high.
LARRY: Do it again.
433
00:21:40,821 --> 00:21:42,732
ESSEX: A town bewitched
by mirrors
434
00:21:42,821 --> 00:21:44,732
BOTH: [Singing] Horoscopes
435
00:21:44,861 --> 00:21:46,340
ESSEX: No, we do it higher than that.
436
00:21:46,421 --> 00:21:47,411
[Singing] Horoscopes
437
00:21:47,501 --> 00:21:48,571
LARRY: [Singing] Horoscopes
438
00:21:48,661 --> 00:21:50,095
ESSEX: Yeah.
LARRY: Okay.
439
00:21:51,541 --> 00:21:52,815
Family Jewels.
440
00:21:53,541 --> 00:21:55,054
BOTH: I live in a town
441
00:21:55,301 --> 00:21:57,292
I live in a town-town
442
00:21:57,381 --> 00:21:58,974
I live in a town
443
00:21:59,061 --> 00:22:01,098
where pretence and bone structure
444
00:22:01,181 --> 00:22:02,501
prevail as credentials
445
00:22:02,581 --> 00:22:05,380
of status and beauty
446
00:22:05,741 --> 00:22:09,496
A town bewitched
by mirrors, horoscopes
447
00:22:09,581 --> 00:22:11,618
and corruption
448
00:22:11,701 --> 00:22:13,851
I intrude on this nightmare
449
00:22:13,941 --> 00:22:15,773
Arm outstretched from kerbside
450
00:22:15,861 --> 00:22:18,421
I'm not pointing to Zimbabwe
451
00:22:18,541 --> 00:22:19,736
I want a cab
Damn
452
00:22:19,821 --> 00:22:20,856
I want a cab
Damn
453
00:22:20,941 --> 00:22:21,976
I want a cab
454
00:22:22,061 --> 00:22:26,055
to take me to Southeast
80 I can visit my mother
455
00:22:26,581 --> 00:22:29,380
I'm not ashamed to cross
the bridge that takes me there
456
00:22:29,621 --> 00:22:31,737
No matter where I live
or what I wear
457
00:22:31,821 --> 00:22:33,573
the cabs speed by
458
00:22:33,661 --> 00:22:37,017
Or they suddenly brake
a few feet away
459
00:22:37,261 --> 00:22:40,299
spewing fumes in my face
to serve a fair skinned fare
460
00:22:40,381 --> 00:22:41,974
a fair skinned fare
461
00:22:42,141 --> 00:22:43,540
I live in a town
462
00:22:43,701 --> 00:22:46,739
where everyone Is afraid
of the dark
463
00:22:46,821 --> 00:22:48,971
I stand my ground unarmed
464
00:22:49,061 --> 00:22:50,893
facing a mounting disrespect
465
00:22:50,981 --> 00:22:54,611
a diminishing patience
a need for defence
466
00:22:54,781 --> 00:22:57,819
In passing headlights
I appear to be a criminal
467
00:22:57,981 --> 00:23:00,450
Shaggy green hair sprouts all over me
468
00:23:00,541 --> 00:23:04,057
My shoulders hunch and bulge. I growl
469
00:23:04,141 --> 00:23:07,372
as blood drips from my glinting fangs
470
00:23:07,461 --> 00:23:10,419
My mother's flowers are wilting
while I wait
471
00:23:10,501 --> 00:23:13,095
Our dinner
is cold by now
472
00:23:13,181 --> 00:23:14,774
I live in a town
473
00:23:15,021 --> 00:23:18,332
where pretence and structure
are devices of cruelty
474
00:23:18,581 --> 00:23:20,492
A town bewitched
by mirrors
475
00:23:20,581 --> 00:23:22,538
[Singing] Horoscopes
476
00:23:26,101 --> 00:23:28,377
LARRY: The process is rough sometimes.
477
00:23:28,661 --> 00:23:32,939
I'll express an idea, Essex will express
an idea and what we get Is:
478
00:23:34,661 --> 00:23:36,618
"Gee, we never thought about that.”
479
00:23:37,901 --> 00:23:41,337
The preconceived ideas
usually aren't the ones...
480
00:23:41,421 --> 00:23:43,412
that we end up using.
481
00:23:43,901 --> 00:23:47,496
[Laughing] I guess that's why we deal
with the shouting.
482
00:23:47,581 --> 00:23:49,731
We're two intense people.
483
00:23:50,021 --> 00:23:52,297
We have strong convictions.
484
00:23:52,381 --> 00:23:54,816
LARRY: And we believe in our own ideas.
ESSEX: Mm-hmm.
485
00:23:55,061 --> 00:23:58,497
LARRY: And so It's necessary for us
to knock heads a couple of times.
486
00:23:59,101 --> 00:24:02,492
Which, I think, helps the work ultimately,
‘cause I think If it was...
487
00:24:02,581 --> 00:24:05,778
easy, smooth sailing all the time,
we would be bored.
488
00:24:06,181 --> 00:24:10,493
And I found that to be the case with almost
everyone I've personally collaborated with.
489
00:24:10,581 --> 00:24:14,654
If it's easy, then it doesn't work.
490
00:24:14,861 --> 00:24:19,219
If it's got just a little bit of feistiness in it,
a little bit of a tension...
491
00:24:19,301 --> 00:24:21,656
somehow you take that to the stage...
492
00:24:21,741 --> 00:24:24,540
and that just makes the work come out
that much more.
493
00:24:24,621 --> 00:24:26,259
LARRY: But we throw away a lot, too.
ESSEX: Mm-hmm.
494
00:24:26,341 --> 00:24:29,299
LARRY: Like in the instance of
Brother to Brother: Words from the Heart.
495
00:24:29,381 --> 00:24:31,258
The piece we did at the kitchen...
496
00:24:31,341 --> 00:24:35,619
that program was changing up to the time
the curtain went up.
497
00:24:35,701 --> 00:24:37,374
We want, and Essex does.
498
00:24:37,461 --> 00:24:39,771
You're getting ready to go on stage, he says:
499
00:24:39,861 --> 00:24:41,898
"Strike the second line from the bottom."
500
00:24:41,981 --> 00:24:45,895
[Laughing] And he's cutting up
until the time you go on stage.
501
00:24:46,141 --> 00:24:49,816
ESSEX: Because I'm looking
for the best impact.
502
00:24:49,901 --> 00:24:52,097
On the page, it's one thing.
503
00:24:52,181 --> 00:24:55,856
I write to make sure
the work will make it into a book.
504
00:24:56,061 --> 00:24:59,975
But when we go onto the stage,
if you've got to scream...
505
00:25:00,061 --> 00:25:01,972
scream It like in Heavy Breathing
where we go....
506
00:25:02,061 --> 00:25:03,051
[Essex grunting]
507
00:25:03,141 --> 00:25:05,371
ESSEX: And all of that,
that's not written down on the page.
508
00:25:05,461 --> 00:25:08,294
But because it's not for the page, then...
509
00:25:08,381 --> 00:25:12,090
but for the air, for you to feel and witness...
510
00:25:12,181 --> 00:25:14,900
then we got to make it that much more alive.
511
00:25:14,981 --> 00:25:19,452
The way we say it, you know,
"Times are lean, pretty baby."
512
00:25:19,741 --> 00:25:24,019
Or Larry may give that tight,
sort of restrained edge...
513
00:25:24,101 --> 00:25:27,617
to things, or a very soft and loving stroke.
514
00:25:27,701 --> 00:25:32,013
I mean, those are things that just come
out of working it out and working it out.
515
00:25:32,101 --> 00:25:35,981
And If we don't like it in our own heads,
we know y'all are not gonna like It.
516
00:25:36,341 --> 00:25:40,255
So we throw it out.
And I'm famous for throwing it out.
517
00:25:40,341 --> 00:25:42,491
LARRY: Oh, yes.
ESSEX: I'll throw it out in a minute.
518
00:25:43,141 --> 00:25:45,701
But you have to admit...
519
00:25:45,781 --> 00:25:48,011
LARRY: What?
ESSEX: ...over time, it's worked.
520
00:25:48,141 --> 00:25:49,131
LARRY: [Laughing] Yeah....
521
00:25:50,021 --> 00:25:54,140
ESSEX: But see, my whole approach
Is that whatever is here....
522
00:25:54,221 --> 00:25:57,930
I mean, there are times when there are
some lines that do need to be taken out.
523
00:25:58,101 --> 00:26:00,490
ESSEX: Particularly when we're playing
a character...
524
00:26:00,581 --> 00:26:01,776
LARRY: Yes.
525
00:26:01,861 --> 00:26:05,650
ESSEX: And the description of the character
does not fit your own physical description...
526
00:26:05,741 --> 00:26:08,733
but with me, I see It as a challenge.
527
00:26:08,821 --> 00:26:11,779
Let's find some way to make it work.
528
00:26:12,301 --> 00:26:13,700
My father is a book
529
00:26:13,781 --> 00:26:15,579
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
530
00:26:15,861 --> 00:26:17,772
ESSEX: I am 9 years old
531
00:26:17,861 --> 00:26:19,260
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
532
00:26:19,461 --> 00:26:21,099
ESSEX: I am 20 years old
533
00:26:21,181 --> 00:26:22,580
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
534
00:26:22,861 --> 00:26:24,772
ESSEX: I was Illiterate
535
00:26:24,861 --> 00:26:26,260
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
536
00:26:26,581 --> 00:26:28,379
ESSEX: Every morning he leaves
537
00:26:28,461 --> 00:26:29,815
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
538
00:26:29,901 --> 00:26:32,859
ESSEX: I wonder,
should the world be careful?
539
00:26:32,941 --> 00:26:35,933
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
540
00:26:36,061 --> 00:26:38,701
ESSEX: Or should he be careful
of the world?
541
00:26:38,781 --> 00:26:41,170
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
542
00:26:41,541 --> 00:26:44,135
ESSEX: My father is a magic fountain
543
00:26:44,221 --> 00:26:46,656
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
544
00:26:46,741 --> 00:26:48,698
ESSEX: My sisters go to him
545
00:26:48,781 --> 00:26:50,374
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
546
00:26:50,461 --> 00:26:51,974
ESSEX: Close their eyes
547
00:26:52,061 --> 00:26:53,051
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
548
00:26:53,141 --> 00:26:54,290
ESSEX: Toss new pennies
549
00:26:54,381 --> 00:26:56,054
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
550
00:26:56,141 --> 00:26:58,701
ESSEX: And wait for their wishes
to come true
551
00:26:58,781 --> 00:27:01,341
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
552
00:27:01,421 --> 00:27:03,219
ESSEX: My father is a sunset
553
00:27:03,301 --> 00:27:04,894
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
554
00:27:05,421 --> 00:27:07,173
ESSEX: And just because it's dark
555
00:27:07,261 --> 00:27:08,535
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
556
00:27:08,621 --> 00:27:10,055
ESSEX: We don't be afraid
557
00:27:10,141 --> 00:27:11,461
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
558
00:27:11,541 --> 00:27:13,418
ESSEX: Every time he falls
559
00:27:13,501 --> 00:27:14,900
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
560
00:27:15,261 --> 00:27:16,331
ESSEX: He rises
561
00:27:16,421 --> 00:27:17,820
[Larry repeating in Spanish]
562
00:27:18,941 --> 00:27:21,501
SONIA: We hope that you have enjoyed
listening to words of...
563
00:27:21,581 --> 00:27:23,697
Essex Hemphill and Larry Duckette.
564
00:27:23,861 --> 00:27:28,219
First and Last Words is engineered
by Miyoshi Smith...
565
00:27:28,301 --> 00:27:30,895
Lee Stevens and Joseph Waters.
566
00:27:31,261 --> 00:27:33,172
Musical textures by Doctor Gibbs.
567
00:27:33,261 --> 00:27:34,456
[Soft jazzy instrumental music]
568
00:27:34,541 --> 00:27:37,613
SONIA: I've been your host, Sonia Sanchez.
569
00:27:37,821 --> 00:27:40,495
ESSEX: Poetry is probably
my strongest weapon.
570
00:27:40,941 --> 00:27:45,014
If I had to tear down a society...
571
00:27:45,101 --> 00:27:49,140
or a community or a house,
I would do it with a poem...
572
00:27:49,221 --> 00:27:51,735
because I never have to put
my hand on you...
573
00:27:51,821 --> 00:27:55,291
the police can never come after me
for bodily harm.
574
00:27:55,381 --> 00:27:59,215
They can only come after me
for my mind and my heart.
575
00:27:59,301 --> 00:28:01,099
And that would be the extent of it.
576
00:28:01,181 --> 00:28:05,220
So all I try to do Is be truthful to my work.
577
00:28:05,301 --> 00:28:08,612
1 try to just do the best I can with my art.
578
00:28:08,701 --> 00:28:11,693
Basically, to help other people
after I help myself.
579
00:28:11,781 --> 00:28:13,419
I have to be...
580
00:28:13,501 --> 00:28:16,812
worthwhile as a human being first...
581
00:28:16,901 --> 00:28:21,020
and then if I can be that,
hopefully, through the work...
582
00:28:21,381 --> 00:28:23,179
other people can find...
583
00:28:23,261 --> 00:28:26,413
the kinds of relief or support or affirmation...
584
00:28:26,501 --> 00:28:30,256
or even a place to cry or love in the work.
585
00:28:30,501 --> 00:28:34,654
I thank God every day,
not only for being alive...
586
00:28:34,981 --> 00:28:37,336
but that I'm still a vessel...
587
00:28:37,421 --> 00:28:40,652
worthy of receiving creative energy.
Because you have to maintain that.
588
00:28:41,061 --> 00:28:45,976
You can't assume that your creativity...
589
00:28:46,141 --> 00:28:50,658
[Laughing] is going to just be there
like your eyes, or like your nose.
590
00:28:50,861 --> 00:28:54,934
You just can't assume that
because it's such an intangible thing.
591
00:28:55,021 --> 00:28:58,173
And I think if I ever stop writing,
I'll know that I'm dead.
592
00:28:58,301 --> 00:29:02,420
Even if I'm walking on the earth,
if I can't write, I'll be dead.
593
00:29:02,501 --> 00:29:04,174
[Soft jazzy instrumental music]
594
00:29:04,261 --> 00:29:07,731
SONIA: First and Last Words was produced
by Miyoshi Smith...
595
00:29:07,821 --> 00:29:11,212
for New Liberty Productions
and Triumph Productions.
596
00:29:11,301 --> 00:29:14,896
This project was funded in part
by a grant from...
597
00:29:15,101 --> 00:29:17,217
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts...
598
00:29:17,301 --> 00:29:21,579
Pennsylvania Radio Theatre
and the PIFA Subsidy Programme.
599
00:29:21,901 --> 00:29:24,654
Special thanks to Marty Ehrlich
for theme music...
600
00:29:24,741 --> 00:29:28,177
from his Pliant Plaint album
on Enja Records...
601
00:29:28,581 --> 00:29:29,980
Homer Jackson...
602
00:29:30,061 --> 00:29:31,813
E. Ethelbert Miller...
603
00:29:31,901 --> 00:29:33,699
Richard Nichols...
604
00:29:33,781 --> 00:29:35,499
Barbara Sheehan...
605
00:29:35,581 --> 00:29:38,141
and a very special thanks
to Michael Simmons...
606
00:29:38,221 --> 00:29:39,973
for the remix of this profile.
607
00:29:40,061 --> 00:29:41,495
[Soft jazzy instrumental music continues]
608
00:29:41,581 --> 00:29:44,494
Please forward all comments
and enquiries to:
609
00:29:44,621 --> 00:29:46,817
First and Last Words...
610
00:29:46,901 --> 00:29:51,737
5700 North Woodstock Street...
611
00:29:52,101 --> 00:29:53,774
Philadelphia...
612
00:29:53,861 --> 00:29:57,980
Pennsylvania, 19138.
49263
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