Sekou Sundiata
Sekou Sundiata | |
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Birth name | Robert Franklin Feaster |
Born | Spoken Word | August 22, 1948
Sekou Sundiata (August 22, 1948 – July 18, 2007) was an
His subjects included Jimi Hendrix, Nelson Mandela, and reparations for slavery.
Sundiata was a Sundance Institute Screenwriting Fellow, a Columbia University Revson Fellow, a Master Artist-in-Residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, the first Writer-in-Residence at The New School university in New York, and a professor at Eugene Lang College. He was a featured poet on two occasions at the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, most recently in 2006.
Early life and education
Sekou Sundiata was born Robert Franklin Feaster in Harlem, New York, but changed his name in the late 1960s to honor his African heritage. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from the City College of New York in 1972, before successfully undertaking a master's degree in creative writing from the City University of New York.[1]
Performance
In 1977, Sundiata together with poets including
Sundiata's works combined poetry, music and drama. His musical influences included jazz, blues, funk and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. He worked closely with Craig Harris on works such as Udu, about slavery in modern Mauritania, and The Circle Unbroken is a Hard Bop about African Americans reaching adulthood in the 1960s.[1]
Sundiata based his one-man show Blessing the Boats on experiences of heroin addiction (back in the 60s), a car crash and a kidney transplant from a friend. He toured the show around the United States and internationally.[4] The impact of the show inspired members of the audience to volunteer to become organ donors.[5]
His last work, the 51st (dream) state, featured music, dance, video and poetry about the responses to the
Recorded works
Sundiata recorded a number of works. His first album, The Blue Oneness of Dreams (Mouth Almighty Records 1997) was nominated for a Grammy. He toured with
Sundiata's work was featured on
Teaching career
Sundiata taught writing at The New School in New York City. DiFranco was one of his students and claimed at the time of his death that Sundiata "taught me everything I know about poetry."[2]
Mike Doughty also studied under Sundiata in DiFranco's class. He wrote "Screenwriter's Blues", which was a minor hit for his band Soul Coughing in the 1990s, while studying in Sundiata's class.[6]
Another musician/poet who studied with Sundiata (at Eugene Lang College at The New School for Liberal Arts) was Spin Doctors' lead singer Chris Barron. In fact, it was Sekou that coined the name "Spin Doctors" for the newly formed band in 1988/89.
Death
Sekou Sundiata died of heart failure at a hospital in Valhalla, New York on July 18, 2007. He had struggled with many life-threatening conditions throughout his life, including cancer, kidney failure, a kidney transplant, pneumonia, and a broken neck sustained in an auto accident.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Margalit Fox, "Sekou Sundiata Dies at 58; Performer of Text and Sound", The New York Times, July 20, 2007.
- ^ a b c AP via Topix.net "Poet, Performer Sekou Sundiata Dies"[permanent dead link], July 20, 2007.
- ^ Louis Reyes Rivera, "Obituary: Gifted Poet Sekou Sundiata", Our Time Press, August 1, 2007.
- ^ The Australian "Poets passing a profound loss" July 20, 2007 accessed through the Australia New Zealand Reference Centre
- ^ The Melbourne Age, July 20, 2007
- ^ Mike Doughty blog.
- ^ "Poet's passing a profound loss", The Australian, July 20, 2007.
External links
- Margalit Fox, "Sekou Sundiata Dies at 58; Performer of Text and Sound", The New York Times, July 20, 2007
- Sekou Sundiata's "the sound of the memory", Salon, October 6, 2000
- A 2002 Fresh Air "Performance Poet Sekou Sundiata" (interview), Fresh Air, NPR, November 20, 2002
- A 2006 KadmusArts interview with Sekou Sundiata interview with Sekou Sundiata
- Sekou Sundiata at AALBC.com (African American Literature Book Club)
- "Sekou Sundiata" at Righteous Babe record label
- MultiArts Projects
- "Remembering Sekou Sundiata, Poet of Sound", Fresh Air, National Public Radio, July 20, 2007
- "Remembering Sekou Sundiata", Bill Moyers Journal, July 20, 2007
- "Sekou Sundiata, 1948–2007", obituary by Vernon Reid, Village Voice, July 17, 2007.