Cave Canem » Blog Archive » Poet of the Week: Robin Caudell

Poet of the Week: Robin Caudell

Genetic Jazz

(For Harjo)
Joy
Silvers
Soprano-sax poems
Blue-blacking
Muskogee hearts
Raven wings

Joy
Raps true
Slaps hypocrite MITT
(More Indian Than Thou)
Who squint down
Not so brown or red
Nor chiseled noses
At breeds
Lacing 21st century moccasins
Beaded with ancestors’ eyes

Genetics:
A porcupine quill
You can’t shake

Africa calls you
Daughter, Sister Joy
Calls you beloved
Gifts you obsidian
Horses, horses, horses
With Pleiad eyes
DNA don’t lie
Oya smudges you
Yoruba ritual
Quetzalcoatl quest
You shine, shine, shine

Lift sax
Blow back
Blow back
Blow back
Stoke mud
Where red and black mixed
Juke jazz electric
Blue and rude
DNA don’t lie
Neither do Spirit

Genetics:
A porcupine quill
You can’t shake

Robin Caudell’s Poets Tour Profile

“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

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

“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

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

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

“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

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

“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

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