I heard this spoken word poetry, in the morning hours after our government attacked Iraq, yet again, early this year. The green night vision, highly edited, looping images of attacks across the desert were advancing across televisions not unlike the streaming green code of the Matrix movies. The “embedded” reporters were mouthing official military double speak nonsense to melodramatic action movie music piped in from the background.

In the disgust many felt that morning, I searched for other sources of information. As luck would have it I tuned to KPFA community radio (94.1 FM) and found Marc Bathmuthi Joseph. He was being interviewed and was speaking about life, death and the consequences of our actions, how racism and capitalism are intertwined and how they related to the attack on Iraq. His highly articulate baritone was just the antidote and perspective I needed to deal with the “propagenda” of the day.

As it is, I continually find myself inspired and awed by this kind of hard-hitting performance poetry. The moral strength and rhythmic alliterations of spoken word are right in time with my activist soul. There’s nothing like the love and conviction of this kind of poetry for me right now. It hits home. Some of the best social analysis and political commentary comes forth from this energy.