Catch The Fire!!: A Cross-Generational Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry

African-American poetry is an ever-growing and ever-changing art form… in coffee houses and night clubs… from the blues and be-bop, to rap and hip-hop. Catch the Fire!!! is more than a poetry anthology. It is a cultural event: the indroduction of a new generation of African-American poets by an established generation, and a celebration of contemporary African-American poetry. Through the themes of family, the city, revolution, the body, and the soul, included selections written by several noted poets and writers including the late Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Quincy Troupe, June Jordan, Ntozake Shange, Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets, and many others. discuss their own generation of poets and their thoughts about the emerging poets whose poems they are presenting here. The Revolution Will Be on the Big Screen My man Gil Scott Heron once said: The revolution will not be televised Well… Gil Scott may have a point The revolution may not be televised But… The revolution will be a major motion picture The revolution will not be televised But… The revolution will be on the big screen The Revolution will be a fifty million dollar production The Revolution will be written by John Grisham And directed by Oliver Stone The Revolution will star Kevin Costner and Julia Roberts And they will teach people of color How to revolt And how to fight and how to hide and how to kill And how to SCREAM The Revolution will be on the big screen, brother. The Revolution will have one Latino extra Playin’ a thief One Asian extra Playin’ a servant And one Native American extra runnin’ down Florence and Normandie yellin’ Geronimo. The Revolution will have one Black supporting actor Denzel Washington Who will be killed by Kevin Costner in the first three minutes For looking at Julia Roberts for more than one minute While Kevin Costner will have a picture of Whitney Houston Burnin’ in his wallet The Revolution will be on the big screen, sistah. The Revolution will be coming soon to a theatre near you And will get two thumbs up from Siskel and Ebert And will make more money than Jurassic Park and ET The Revolution will cost $70 to see or $50 if you got a student i.d. The Revolution will go good with popcorn, bon bons and licorice The Revolution will be on the big screen. The Revolution will have a multi platinum soundtrack Wtih revolutionary songs sung by Guns ‘N’ Roses, Metallica and Madonna The Revolution will be advertised on billboards, buses, t shirts and at Taco Bell and Micky Dees The Revolution will be on the big screen. The Revolution will be distributed internationally The Revolution will be seen in Cuba, Ruwanda and Haiti The Revolution will change the way the world thinks about Revolution And the way the world thinks about Change The Revolution will be on the big screen. The Revolution will have a sequel The Revolution will have a part III The Revolution will be too large for t.v. Too large for the little screen The Revolution will be larger than life Larger than large And larger than larger than large The Revolution will not be televised Will not be televised Not be televised Be televised The Revolution will be On the Big Screen. D-Knowledge (Derrick I.M. Gilbert)