I am often asked why I started to write poetry. The answer is that my motivation sprang from a visceral need to creatively articulate the experiences of the black youth of my generation, coming of age in a racist society.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the author's deep-seated desire to express and articulate the experiences of black youth in a racist society through poetry.
Linton Kwesi Johnson explains that his inspiration to write poetry comes from a profound need to voice the struggles and realities faced by black youth during his formative years. He emphasizes that his artistic expression is not merely a creative choice, but a necessary response to the societal challenges imposed by racism, highlighting the intersection of art and social consciousness.
In practice
During a poetry reading at a local community center, you can use this quote to emphasize the importance of art in addressing societal issues.
The idea that one might use art for 'instrumental' reasons tends to set off alarm bells at the heart of the cultural elite, who contend that it's not a pill, that it shouldn't be asked to perform some specific function, especially something as egocentric as to 'cheer you up' or to 'make you a more empathetic person.'
Only since the turn of the century has abstraction again become recognized as an artistic means of representation. It was then that one returned to the recognition of the immense role abstraction plays in the human mind by its power of concentration upon absolute essentials.
Making a film is hard because you're not dealing with the intangible. When you're writing, it's perfect because it's only in your head and then you have to take it into the physical world and that's where things drop off and things fall apart and you have to fix them.
I like to act in films, I like to shoot 'em, I like to direct 'em, I like to be around 'em. I like the feel of it and it's something I respect. It doesn't make any difference whether it's a crappy film or a good film. Anyone who can make a film, I already love. But I feel sorry if they don't put any thought in it because then they missed the boat.
Your red dress,’ she said, and laughed. But I looked at the dress on the floor and it was as if the fire had spread across the room. It was beautiful and it reminded me of something I must do. I will remember I thought. I will remember quite soon now.
Truly great images make all the other millions of images you look at unimportant. You gotta look at an image and understand it in a nanosecond.
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