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a literary journal published by the Black Earth Institute dedicated to re-forging the links between art and spirit, earth and society

Children of Hope

Karl W. Carter, Jr.


Karl W. Carter, Jr.
Culture
 
 

Culture -For Mercer Cook, the Mentor Of Our Times—                                     There’s a rhythm in our lives                A spirit of union forged                                                     by years oppression  As a common expression grounded                                in our sense of reality                                      Sings its songs into the earth                                              weeps its sorrow in minor keys                                       Through blues riffs written in                                                     shacks behind                                                                                     rail road tracks                                        A dancing in our way of being                                                   through rotations in time                                                                        to our perception of                                         Tides released from Africa                                                                to wash upon this shore                 A slow movement of Chord progression    From New Orleans, to Memphis                                   to Chicago, to New York There’s a rhythm in our being                                                          of speech and verse                                                                                               of protest   and love                   Born from souls with shackle’s scars.  —Karl Carter

 
 
 

Karl W. Carter, Jr. was born in New Orleans, LA and grew up in Los Angeles, CA. He is the author of two books of poems, Sojourner and Other Poems (CreateSpace, 2010), and A Season in Sorrow (Broadside Press, 1972) and the poetry broadside Three Poems (Broadside Press, 1972). His poetry appears in numerous anthologies, including: Understanding the New Black Poetry: Black Speech and Black Music as Poetic Reference (William Morrow, 1973); Synergy D.C. Anthology (Energy Black South Press, 1978); The Poet Upstairs: An Anthology of Washington Area Poets (Washington Writers Publishing House, 1979); Off the Record: An Anthology of Poetry By Lawyers (Legal Studies Forum, 2004); Freedom In My Heart: Voices From the United States National Slavery Museum (National Geographic, 2009); and Words of Protest, Words of Freedom, Poetry of the American Civil Rights Movement (Duke University Press, 2012). Delaware Poetry Review (2013) and Beltway Poetry Quarterly. (2014)

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