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I admire Jamaica as a word-crafter. I admire her bravery in the edgy political and taboo subjects she offers us. Her beautiful singing voice and her Spoken Word invokes her beloved Hawaii. At eighteen she was invited to recite her poetry at the White House for the Obamas. That kind of opportunity for some – that moment of fame – is a flashy feather in the hat. For Jamaica, it seems to have sobered her, given her a chance to be a true and serious artist of the spoken word. She seems to have dedicated herself to speaking truth to power. I have written of her before. I met her two years ago at a Stanford Slam. Here she is again.
Jamaica at the Loft
Jamaica Osorio at the Loft Literary Center
in Minneapolis December 3, 2011. This is a half hour piece on Youtube with Jamaica.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxwEzMQm2xI>
The last poem of the evening is THREE CROWS A WEDDING Spoken Word. Here is an excerpt.
One crow means sorrow two crows mean joy, three crows a wedding, four crows a boy, five crows mean silver, six crows mean gold, seven crows a secret that’s never been told… … Do stars leave traces of the places they’ve traveled Do the other stars remember them when their gone or are there enough to fill the darkness left Are people like stars, easily forgotten unless in constellations Do the ones that make pretty pictures ever die If I was a piece of the big dipper would I be immortalized Shine there even after my space was filled with night…
Jamaica, apologies for punctuation errors… I leave for the islands tomorrow (on business) and will be sending you ALOHA and mahalo for all you do and are!
CompleteWord 