Cave Canem » Blog Archive » Mercer , Ernesto

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Ernesto Mercer

Website
Years: 1997 | 1998 |1999

Biography

Ernesto Mercer is a poet-multidisciplinary artist, teaching-artist and an independent scholar. His work incorporates many of the written and verbal arts from around the Atlantic African-American diasporas. For over 20 years he has created art works and performed across the US and beyond. A Cave Canem Alumni Fellow, since 2008 his performance works have been commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African Art at the. Published in various anthologies and journals, he has performed his work at Whitney Museum, The Smithsonian Folk Life Festival and The Split This Rock Poetry Festival, among others.

Poem

TRANSIT OSTEND

Anything may be achieved even a great nothing if

a man sets his mind right he can undo that too [LA]

/

gone [Devil] who said? [$$$$$$$$$$$] didn’t do it

+ [the nastynasty] broke down + bottles+ things poor

/

brothers never dream of just takes distance [nigger

colorednegroblackafro] incognito & incognizance park

/

+ bench like this you don’t even need to eat every day

unthinking [Genius] park bench cold & the water you

/

can even [Jesus] [Jesus][Jesus] you may erode in

what remains of sunlight before the park gets dark

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clean as a [Ghost] when no one living says its name

buy time against [Trouble]mumble ditties now just

/

for yourself [Motown] this time long vowels half time

hand pat you may even have time to believe yourself

/

that sparrow scrapping the crumbs laid round your

feet may just have time before this smiling white man

/

leads you to back to the warm room with the piano

insisting again in English Your name is Marvin Gaye

“By the time I leave a CC Retreat, I can feel that the internal imperative to Write! has shifted from an obsessive, isolating quality to one of deep communal rites and responsibilities – what healthier transition exists for an artist?

Geffrey Davis

2015-11-26T15:51:22-04:00

Geffrey Davis

“By the time I leave a CC Retreat, I can feel that the internal imperative to Write! has shifted from an obsessive, isolating quality to one of deep communal rites and responsibilities – what healthier transition exists for an artist?

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/geffrey-davis/

“There is nothing like being seen by the eyes of those who, without explanation, understand why you do what you do when you do it. There is nothing like not having to decode or apologize for the sweet pleasure of a word or phrase that will not let loose of your ear.”

Nikky Finney, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South

2015-11-26T15:29:19-04:00

Nikky Finney, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South

“There is nothing like being seen by the eyes of those who, without explanation, understand why you do what you do when you do it. There is nothing like not having to decode or apologize for the sweet pleasure of a word or phrase that will not let loose of your ear.”

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/nikky-finney-the-ringing-ear-black-poets-lean-south/

“While I can't even begin to measure Cave Canem's value to me personally (community, friendship, rigor), we all can see the radical movement it’s occasioned in American poetry. To be plain: it's changed—and is changing—the face(s) of our literary landscape. How often in our lives will we be able to participate in something as important and beautiful? It's a joy to support this."

Ross Gay, Fellow

2015-11-26T15:44:48-04:00

Ross Gay, Fellow

“While I can't even begin to measure Cave Canem's value to me personally (community, friendship, rigor), we all can see the radical movement it’s occasioned in American poetry. To be plain: it's changed—and is changing—the face(s) of our literary landscape. How often in our lives will we be able to participate in something as important and beautiful? It's a joy to support this."

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/285/

“Cave Canem is a kind of heaven, yes. It’s not just that we are speaking to each other there as black people; it’s that we’ve lived the lives of black poets. We’ve faced the fears, the hurts, and we’re still poets. To undertake and stay with this task, usually so unrewarded, creates a kind of strength and compassion that is enormous.”

Toi Derricotte

2015-11-26T15:31:58-04:00

Toi Derricotte

“Cave Canem is a kind of heaven, yes. It’s not just that we are speaking to each other there as black people; it’s that we’ve lived the lives of black poets. We’ve faced the fears, the hurts, and we’re still poets. To undertake and stay with this task, usually so unrewarded, creates a kind of strength and compassion that is enormous.”

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/toi-derricotte/

“Back in 2000 when I was first accepted at Cave Canem, I was working part-time at a bookstore making less than $7 an hour. The scholarship I received was the only reason I was able to attend, and it changed my writing life by introducing me to mentors like Toi Derricotte and Nikky Finney and eventually connecting me to the editor who published my first book. Please consider changing another poet's life by supporting Cave Canem financially.”

Traci Dant, Fellow

2015-11-26T15:44:16-04:00

Traci Dant, Fellow

“Back in 2000 when I was first accepted at Cave Canem, I was working part-time at a bookstore making less than $7 an hour. The scholarship I received was the only reason I was able to attend, and it changed my writing life by introducing me to mentors like Toi Derricotte and Nikky Finney and eventually connecting me to the editor who published my first book. Please consider changing another poet's life by supporting Cave Canem financially.”

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/284/