July/August 2002

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

In Memoriam- June Jordan

June Jordan

June Jordan, a poet, political activist and one of the twentieth century's most prolific writers, died June 14, 2002. She was 65 and had been struggling with breast cancer for a decade. Her passions in writing ranged from feminism to race to teaching, her poetry was filled with advocacy for the poor, for women, and the disenfranchised; she was among the most published black writers in history. A good friend and writer, Alice Walker, described Jordan as "unwillingly nonviolent."

Jordan was born to West Indian immigrants and grew up in Harlem where she began writing poetry at an early age. She attended Barnard College and became involved in the civil rights movement while a student.

She published 28 books, which included several volumes of poetry, political essays, and children's fiction. A book of essays called Some of Us Did Not Die is expected to be published in September. The book contains essays on Israel, Islam, and O.J. Simpson. The title of the book comes from a poem that she read in a speech at Barnard last year. She spoke of her battle with breast cancer and about the events of September 11th, which she said proved the need for a secular democracy that protects the rights of "male/female/Jew/Gentile/Muslim."

She was professor of African-American studies at the University of California Berkeley, where she began teaching in 1989. At Berkeley, she founded the group Poetry for the People, which encourages poetry and writing by young people and others in the community. Poetry for the People trains undergraduates to take poetry to community groups as a form of political empowerment.

She received many honors, including a Rockefeller Grant for Creative Writing and congressional recognition for her work in the progressive and civil rights movements.

She grew up with a violent father and a mother in denial, yet it is her father that she claims forged her identity as a writer. He gave her books by Paul Lawrence Dunbar and forced her to memorize Shakespeare. In a radio interview with David Barsamian, she said that she had come to terms with her father, stating, "He didn't know what to do to try to provide against the failure of his only child in this new land, I think that probably contributed to the violence of his frustration. But that he loved me and thought me capable of anything and everything there was never any doubt."

She took her role in society as a poet seriously, "The role of the poet, beginning with my own childhood experience, is to deserve the trust of people who know that what you do is work with words. The trust of other people that you will not miscarry what they mean and what they want. Always to be as honest as possible and to be as careful about the trust invested in you as you possibly can."

--compiled from The New York Times, SignonSan Diego.com, and MediaBeat

INTIFADA INCANTATION: POEM #8 FOR b.b.L.

I SAID I LOVED YOU AND I WANTED
GENOCIDE TO STOP
I SAID I LOVED YOU AND I WANTED AFFIRMATIVE
ACTION AND REACTION
I SAID I LOVED YOU AND I WANTED MUSIC
OUT THE WINDOWS
I SAID I LOVED YOU AND I WANTED
NOBODY THIRST AND NOBODY
NOBODY COLD
I SAID I LOVED YOU AND I WANTED I WANTED
JUSTICE UNDER MY NOSE
I SAID I LOVED YOU AND I WANTED
BOUNDARIES TO DISAPPEAR

I WANTED
NOBODY ROLL BACK THE TREES!
I WANTED
NOBODY TAKE AWAY DAYBREAK!
I WANTED
NOBODY FREEZE ALL THE PEOPLE ON THEIR
KNEES!

I WANTED YOU
I WANTED YOUR KISS ON THE SKIN OF MY SOUL
AND NOW YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME AND I STAND
DESPITE THE TRILLION TREACHERIES OF SAND
YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME AND I HOLD THE LONGING
OF THE WINTER IN MY HAND
YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME AND I COMMIT
TO FRICTION AND THE UNDERTAKING
OF THE PEARL

YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME
YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME

AND I HAVE BEGUN
I BEGIN TO BELIEVE MAYBE
MAYBE YOU DO

I AM TASTING MYSELF
IN THE MOUNTAIN OF THE SUN

from Kissing God Goodbye by June Jordan
Copyright 1997 June Jordan

For Alice Walker
(a summertime tanka)

Redwood grove and war
You and me talking Congo
gender grief and ash

I say, "God! It's all so huge."
You say, "These sweet trees:
This tree"

June Jordan
10/3/97

Copyright 1997 June Jordan

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