As poet, Camille Roy, recently said,
“LANGUAGE IS THE LAST COMMONS THAT THEY HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO ENCLOSE. YOU CAN SELL PAINT BUT YOU CAN’T SELL WORDS.”
So, in that spirit and inspired by the poets and the radical poetic thinking of the Occupy/Decolonize/Liberate movements across The U.S. and around the world, we invite you to contribute a piece of your own poetic thinking to an Oakland Commune Poetry Anthology. Please interpret this as you will. Whether you've ever set foot in Oakland let alone Oscar Grant Plaza, your thoughts about our collective historical moment are welcome.
Steven Boyer and Filip Marinovich have created an Occupy Wallstreet Poetry Anthology and we want to do the same here. Steve Orth and Lindsey Boldt will act as point people for this anthology and work to coordinate with you and with Occupy Oakland librarians to make the anthology available. Additionally, we hope to create monthly poetry zines including recent work that we’ll make available as a downloadable pdf and in print form. All are welcome and encouraged to contribute and to (yes, please!) help with the process of compiling the anthology.
What part can/does poetry play in these burgeoning movements? As Aaron Gell wrote in his article in the New York Observer,
“Occupy Wall Street is actually, it turns out, occurring in the realm of poetry and spirit. It’s a sort of waking dream. Which is why it’s so strangely powerful and cannot be sneered away or shoveled over with cynicism (not that we didn’t try) or kettled into history, and may even survive the winter in New York.”
So, to start, “Poems from the Oakland Commune” will consist of a 3-ring binders and an email account. As you may know, our camp was been raided and dismantled three times as of the writing of this letter. We had planned to make the anthology available at the commune’s lending library, but we are as yet unsure what the state of the library is or will be. We’re working with commune librarians to make the anthology available asap. We’ll also keep a digital archive of all contributions that are sent to us via email. If people are feeling saucy, we can type up the handwritten poems too. Successive binders and locations may be added as the anthology grows.
All contributions will be accepted. Please spread the word!
To Contribute:
Send a Word Doc or PDF file to oaklandcommunepoetry@gmail.com
OR
Bring a hardcopy (typed or handwritten) to Oscar Grant Plaza lending library (If/When it is re-established). There will be a box marked “Poems to & from The Oakland Commune”.
OR
Come down to Oscar Grant Plaza, hang out and write a poem directly into one of the notebooks provided (inside the anthology).
Sound good? Let’s do.
yours,
Lindsey & Steve
Monday, November 28, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Wishlist or: What you Can Get Me on Black Friday
1. I already mentioned this, but I'll say it again: An MC Hammer led flash dance at Oscar Grant Plaza.
2. A van with a Blue's Brothers style sound system (that means huge) strapped to the roof touring the streets of Oakland, blasting greetings, news, b.s. and poems. For example: "Helloooo, Oakland! It's a rainy Sunday morning and if you're not in church already, then welcome to it because the Lord is speaking through me this morning just to say, "Hallelujah, the rigtheous revolution has come. Hop on the party bus to liberation town..." and then someone would read a poem or announce the mind-blowingly productive upcoming news & events of the week.
3. A bail fund
4. An adult & youth literacy tutor training involving the expertise of both the Second Start Adult Literacy Program and the L'il Bobby Hutton Literacy Project. (I'm going to get on this, but here it is as a reminder. Lindsey, you owe me.)
5. A movie night in which we watch "Robo Cop" and "Blues Brothers" at least. (I know second mention, but that car chase scene that ends in piles upon piles of cop cars is truly sublime.)
6. A masquerade ball in the streets at nighttime with candelabras and maybe...contradancing?
7a) A boycott of the BART and Muni transit sytstems, since they killed two people (just lately).
7b) The replacement of all ads within the BART and Muni transit systems with alternative messages such as, "What would happen if BART cops didn't have guns?" followed by "What would happen if there were no BART cops?" followed by "What would happen if there were no cops and it was our job to hold ourselves accountable?" OR
"If there were no ads, would you still know what you want?"
8a) A 24 hr free medical clinic
8b) A 24 hr free mental health clinic.
8c) A 24 hr free veterinary clinic.
9. A permanent location for the Raheim Brown Freeschool and "As-yet-to-be-named-Library".
10. One of the highrises in downtown Oakland (how about the Wells Fargo Building) filled floor to ceiling with people who couldn't give a shit about how the stock market is doing and a gangload of medics, teachers, artists, poets, musicians, dancers, carpenters, therapists, community organizers, librarians, cooks, photographers, journalists and anyone else with something they want to get done all busy doing what they do without interruption.
11. And other things that defy but ultimately rely upon the imagination.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Things My Mother Told Me That May or May Not Apply to the Occupation Movement
1) "Look like you're having fun and they'll join you."
This statement feels very applicable. Remember the student protests in Chile in which it looks like thousands of students gathered (on June 24, 2011 in Santiago, Chile. Outside the presidential institution "La Moneda" to protest for improvements to education) and all simultaneously busted out in a coordinated dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller". WHAT?! So fun, so striking, I so wished I was there just watching it on my laptop screen. How could you be anywhere near that demonstration and not want to join in, let alone smile?
So, Oakland, I was up late watching MC Hammer videos last night, and had a thought: what if we could get MC Hammer to come to Oscar Grant Plaza and lead the Oakland Commune in a choreagraphed dance? To which song? We'd have to consense on that or leave it up to Hammer, I think. To what purpose? Remind folks how very organized we rabble rousers can be and how dang much fun it is to usher in the fall of Capitalism!
2) "Kill 'em with kindness."
This can be a tough one. Depends on who the "em" is right? I'm trying to think how I put this into use as a kid. This was not one of my favorite methods because it felt disingenuous at core, or at least required me to swallow my ample pride and idealism to work the system a bit. I still have trouble employing this method in my life, but do find myself "shining it on" a bit for my bosses. Although, there's something truly unique about my mother's approach. Usually when she demonstrated this method, I don't think she was "shining it on", I think she was genuinely trying to connect with the person who was making her life difficult. She would introduce herself, use the person's name, ask how her day was going, and say things like, "This must be very frustrating for you." or "So, Dereck, help me understand this..." I'm thinking of a video I recently watched in which the videographer approaches a group of OPD right before a raid of Occupy Oakland. The speaker notices that one of them has covered his name badge with black electrical tape and very calmly and inquires why his name is covered. "Simple question, just a simple question." says the speaker. The cop ignores him, so the speaker moves on, "Excuse me, Sargeant, Mr. Wong." Note the use of the officer's name. Then asks, "May I speak with you, sir?" then, "Is it against policy to hide their name badges? Shouldn't it be in plain view?". Mr. Wong, walks over to the first cop, sort of plays eye tag with him, while the videographer continues to ask, "Isn't that against policy?" and peels the tape off of the cop's uniform revealing his name. Much has been said about how fucked up it is that this cop covered his name before the raid, but I haven't heard anyone remark on how skillfully the videographer worked that situation.
I'm not personally interested in attempting one on one conversations with cops, trying to persuade them that what they're doing is wrong. That feels like a waste of energy, honestly, but addressing a cop directly, using his or her name, and pointing out that what they're doing is illegal, that might be affective. I don't think I'll be kissing any cops anytime soon, but also, kuddos to Russian performance artists 'Voina' (or War) who focused their efforts on reforming Russian women police officers via guerrilla smooching. I don't know how affective the "killing with kindness" tactic can be in terms of really winning over the person who you are trying to "kill with kindness" but it might win over some people watching by making an already dialectical relationship even more obvious.
Also, important to note that this tactic probably works best in relatively low-risk, low-stress situations, not for example, during a direct confrontation with police, while doing potentially "illegal" things or when cops are violently raiding your encampment.
3) "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
Mmm...now this one is especially tough. At first, I want to dismiss it out of hand, BUT, I think there is a useful tidbit buried here. Clearly, this phrase sets itself up as almost diametrically opposed to the entire concept of protest, but, BUT, here's how I choose to apply it to our current situation: what messages do we tend to hear or read most in protest movements? "Stop___", "End ____", "No more ____". Why? Because there's SO MANY things that need to STOP & END. But, BUT, I would advocate for some messaging that explains what we're doing well, what's working, what we can do MORE of. Why? Because people want to be part of something that's working, that's making real change. Questions I would like to ask each committee at "Occupy/Liberate/Decolonize Oakland" is: What are you doing well? What are you most proud of? What are you doing that's most effective and how are you doing it?
Getting angry, getting fucking OUTRAGED is so important. Expressing that anger collectively can be incredibly liberating and galvanizing too. My point is just that we need to remember to recognize what we're doing well and what other movements, organizations, etc. have done or are doing well. Build up. I feel like a cheerleader here, I feel like my mom, so I'm just going to try to rock it.
4) "Ignore."
Everyone hates to be ignored and they may fuss and fight at first, but my mom's theory was that they will eventually either leave you alone or decide to play nice just to avoid being alone. I would like to add to that the possibility that "they" may become so frustrated that they will make a mistake and then, BAM! you have instant recourse and sympathy.
This strategy seemed to work well with my older brother, Chris. We'd be in the back seat of our car and my brother would get bored and decide to harass me for entertainment. He'd be poking me or telling me I was adopted or something and I'd yell into the front seat, "Mom, Chris is bugging me!" and she'd tell him not to touch me, so he'd just hold his hand about 1/4 inch away and wave it in front of my face or around my head or near my arm or leg, and I would just try not to implode. I would close my eyes and ignore him. He would wave his hand faster, get closer, start saying things like, "Lindseeeey, Lindseeey, I'm not touching you, Lindsey." and I would stay cool, burrow deeper into the darkness of my brain until I couldn't hear him anymore and one of two things would either happen a) he would get bored and stop or b) he would get frustrated, screw up and touch me, then, "MOM, Chris touched me!"
So, how does this relate to the occupation movement? Autonomy. Ignore the city, ignore their "eviction notices", ignore, ignore, until they get so frustrated that they screw up and brutalize their citizens with tear gas, flashbang grenades and rubber bullets. Now, clearly, this is not the result we hope for, the brutalization of citizens, but, BUT, the city had a choice and their choice won us some serious public sympathy. Just sayin'.
That's all for now. Thank you, Mom.
This statement feels very applicable. Remember the student protests in Chile in which it looks like thousands of students gathered (on June 24, 2011 in Santiago, Chile. Outside the presidential institution "La Moneda" to protest for improvements to education) and all simultaneously busted out in a coordinated dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller". WHAT?! So fun, so striking, I so wished I was there just watching it on my laptop screen. How could you be anywhere near that demonstration and not want to join in, let alone smile?
So, Oakland, I was up late watching MC Hammer videos last night, and had a thought: what if we could get MC Hammer to come to Oscar Grant Plaza and lead the Oakland Commune in a choreagraphed dance? To which song? We'd have to consense on that or leave it up to Hammer, I think. To what purpose? Remind folks how very organized we rabble rousers can be and how dang much fun it is to usher in the fall of Capitalism!
2) "Kill 'em with kindness."
This can be a tough one. Depends on who the "em" is right? I'm trying to think how I put this into use as a kid. This was not one of my favorite methods because it felt disingenuous at core, or at least required me to swallow my ample pride and idealism to work the system a bit. I still have trouble employing this method in my life, but do find myself "shining it on" a bit for my bosses. Although, there's something truly unique about my mother's approach. Usually when she demonstrated this method, I don't think she was "shining it on", I think she was genuinely trying to connect with the person who was making her life difficult. She would introduce herself, use the person's name, ask how her day was going, and say things like, "This must be very frustrating for you." or "So, Dereck, help me understand this..." I'm thinking of a video I recently watched in which the videographer approaches a group of OPD right before a raid of Occupy Oakland. The speaker notices that one of them has covered his name badge with black electrical tape and very calmly and inquires why his name is covered. "Simple question, just a simple question." says the speaker. The cop ignores him, so the speaker moves on, "Excuse me, Sargeant, Mr. Wong." Note the use of the officer's name. Then asks, "May I speak with you, sir?" then, "Is it against policy to hide their name badges? Shouldn't it be in plain view?". Mr. Wong, walks over to the first cop, sort of plays eye tag with him, while the videographer continues to ask, "Isn't that against policy?" and peels the tape off of the cop's uniform revealing his name. Much has been said about how fucked up it is that this cop covered his name before the raid, but I haven't heard anyone remark on how skillfully the videographer worked that situation.
I'm not personally interested in attempting one on one conversations with cops, trying to persuade them that what they're doing is wrong. That feels like a waste of energy, honestly, but addressing a cop directly, using his or her name, and pointing out that what they're doing is illegal, that might be affective. I don't think I'll be kissing any cops anytime soon, but also, kuddos to Russian performance artists 'Voina' (or War) who focused their efforts on reforming Russian women police officers via guerrilla smooching. I don't know how affective the "killing with kindness" tactic can be in terms of really winning over the person who you are trying to "kill with kindness" but it might win over some people watching by making an already dialectical relationship even more obvious.
Also, important to note that this tactic probably works best in relatively low-risk, low-stress situations, not for example, during a direct confrontation with police, while doing potentially "illegal" things or when cops are violently raiding your encampment.
3) "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
Mmm...now this one is especially tough. At first, I want to dismiss it out of hand, BUT, I think there is a useful tidbit buried here. Clearly, this phrase sets itself up as almost diametrically opposed to the entire concept of protest, but, BUT, here's how I choose to apply it to our current situation: what messages do we tend to hear or read most in protest movements? "Stop___", "End ____", "No more ____". Why? Because there's SO MANY things that need to STOP & END. But, BUT, I would advocate for some messaging that explains what we're doing well, what's working, what we can do MORE of. Why? Because people want to be part of something that's working, that's making real change. Questions I would like to ask each committee at "Occupy/Liberate/Decolonize Oakland" is: What are you doing well? What are you most proud of? What are you doing that's most effective and how are you doing it?
Getting angry, getting fucking OUTRAGED is so important. Expressing that anger collectively can be incredibly liberating and galvanizing too. My point is just that we need to remember to recognize what we're doing well and what other movements, organizations, etc. have done or are doing well. Build up. I feel like a cheerleader here, I feel like my mom, so I'm just going to try to rock it.
4) "Ignore."
Everyone hates to be ignored and they may fuss and fight at first, but my mom's theory was that they will eventually either leave you alone or decide to play nice just to avoid being alone. I would like to add to that the possibility that "they" may become so frustrated that they will make a mistake and then, BAM! you have instant recourse and sympathy.
This strategy seemed to work well with my older brother, Chris. We'd be in the back seat of our car and my brother would get bored and decide to harass me for entertainment. He'd be poking me or telling me I was adopted or something and I'd yell into the front seat, "Mom, Chris is bugging me!" and she'd tell him not to touch me, so he'd just hold his hand about 1/4 inch away and wave it in front of my face or around my head or near my arm or leg, and I would just try not to implode. I would close my eyes and ignore him. He would wave his hand faster, get closer, start saying things like, "Lindseeeey, Lindseeey, I'm not touching you, Lindsey." and I would stay cool, burrow deeper into the darkness of my brain until I couldn't hear him anymore and one of two things would either happen a) he would get bored and stop or b) he would get frustrated, screw up and touch me, then, "MOM, Chris touched me!"
So, how does this relate to the occupation movement? Autonomy. Ignore the city, ignore their "eviction notices", ignore, ignore, until they get so frustrated that they screw up and brutalize their citizens with tear gas, flashbang grenades and rubber bullets. Now, clearly, this is not the result we hope for, the brutalization of citizens, but, BUT, the city had a choice and their choice won us some serious public sympathy. Just sayin'.
That's all for now. Thank you, Mom.
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