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In this sound portrait, we meet poet Ayokunle Falomo. He talks about jotting down poems on everything from his hands to receipts, and the way in which his job as a school psychologist influences his writing. He reads his poem, "on power."
Ayokunle Falomo is a Nigerian, a poet who uses his pen as a shovel to unearth those things that make us human, a TEDx speaker, an American, and the author of kin.DREAD and thread, this wordweaver must! He and his work have been featured in print (Local Houston magazine, Glass Mountain) and online (The New York Times, Houston Chronicle, Hive Society, Squawk Back, Pressure Gauge Press). His work has also led him to venues and stages around and outside of Texas.
on power
if a statement about power
is to be a tree & i speak
of how powerful a voice is i know
there’ll be a question hanging
like a noose around one of its
branches waiting
for a neck to welcome
inside its endless loop
This poem is reprinted with permission by the author.
Music used: Rêverie by Claude Debussy (excerpt) and Prelude in D-flat major, op. 11, no. 15 by Alexander Scriabin (excerpt) from Timothy Hester: The Classical 91.7 Sessions; two Elliot Carter tributes (excerpt) by Jeffrey Mumford from through a stillness brightening.
To learn more about this series, go here.
