Poetry We Like: Javon Johnson

Written by Willie Casarez

Javon Johnson is a Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at San Francisco State University. He is a back-to-back National Poetry slam champion.  He has also made appearances on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and BET's Lyric Café.

He has proven that he is not afraid to touch sensitive subjects in his poetry. In his poem "PTSD," Johnson and Terisa Siagatonu speak on the subject of a wartime disease, and young teenagers living in a "war zone."

Watch full poem here: Javon Johnson & Terisa Siagatonu - "PTSD"

"We're learning a lot about this thing called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This wartime disease. This combat fatigue diagnosis.
 And we read something worth sharing -
Fact: Urban youth are twice as likely to get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder than soldiers who are coming home from war."

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental condition triggered by experiencing or seeing a terrible event.

Most treatments for veterans with PTSD include therapy and medication.

"So tell me, what is the difference between homicide in the streets and bloodshed 

on the battlefields of Iraq?"

Every day, young people across the U.S. fight a constant battle on the streets with gang-related violence. Every day, we lose young lives due to the senseless violence on the streets.

"The only difference there is between a tank and a police car 
is the speed in which innocent civilians can run when profiled."

You never learn, you fail the test!
You never learn, you fail the test!
You never learn, you drop out.

Money gets cut from school districts, and the students in lower class cities suffer the most.
The sense of community in lower class public schools is non-existent.

"When is his teacher going to stop sending him

to the principal and start sending him to the counselor?

Why do we fire the counselor?

What happened to the art classes, to P.E., and

health center?

Because trauma is an STD, a 'Socially Transmitted Disease',

Meaning my trauma is your trauma,

and her/his trauma is mine,

And that's what it means to be in a community!

The only difference there is between a soldier with PTSD

and one of my students with it, is that a soldier gets

to leave the battlefield, while my kids go home to it!"

Javon Johnson speaks out against the unjust acts in America towards minorities. Reminding me of a modern day George Jackson, Johnson is uniquely unafraid to speak his mind.

 

In November 2014, Officer Darren Wilson was not convicted for the killing of teenager Michael Brown.  This caused an unrest in many cities such as Ferguson,  New York City,  Los Angeles and Chicago. Protests and riots lasted for weeks on end.

Javon Johnson was asked about the verdict in Ferguson and only had one thing to say:

Watch poem here: Javon Johnson - "cuz he's black"

"Most black men have had to learn how to survive in white America, where the chips seem like they are often stacked against us in every aspect of life – especially in the area of law enforcement."

In his poem "cuz he's black," Javon Johnson speaks out on being black in white America.

"So I'm driving down the street with my 4-year-old nephew. He, knocking back a juice box, me, a Snapple, today y'all we are doing manly shit. I love watching the way his mind works. He asks a million questions.

Uncle, why is the sky blue?

Uncle, how do cars go?

Uncle, why don't dogs talk?

Uncle, uncle, uncle, he asks, 
Uncle, uncle, uncle, he asks, 
Uncle uncle uncle, as if his voice box is a warped record.

I try my best to answer every question, I do."

In America, one in every three black males born today can expect to go to prison at some point in their life, compared with one in every six Latino males, and one in every seventeen white males.

According to the 2010 U.S Census, 3,036 out of every 100,000 black males ended up in state prison across the nation. And the percentages keep on rising.

"He smiles, looks out the window, spots a cop car,  drops his seat and says, 
'Oh man, Uncle, 5-0, we gotta hide.'

I'll be honest.
I'm not happy with the way we raise our black boys.

Don't like the fact that he learned to hide from the cops well before he knew how to read.

Angrier that his survival depends more on his ability to deal with the authorities than it does his own literacy.

'Get up,' I yell at him. 'In this car, in this family, we are not afraid of the law!'

I wonder if he can hear the uncertainty in my voice.

Is today the day he learns that Uncle is willing to lie to him?"

Javon Johnson reminds us that discrimination is still live and well in America.  He reminds us that in 2014, 55% of African Americans were victims of stop and frisk in New York City.  He makes us remember that America is white America.

Poets such as Johnson keep spirit in young minorities alive, by letting them know they are not alone.

"We both know too many black boys who disappeared.

Names lost.

Know too many Trayvon Martins, Oscar Grants, and Abner Louimas, 
Know too many Sean Bells and Amadou Diallos.

Know too well that we are the hard-boiled sons of Emmett Till.

Still, we both know it's not about whether or not the shooter is racist,

It's about how poor black boys are treated as problems well before we are treated as people.

Black boys in this country cannot afford to play cops and robbers if we're always considered the latter,

don't have the luxuries of playing war if we're already in one."

Johnson never talks about his writing process, but it's clear where his inspiration comes from.

Though his poetry may be offensive to some, it's poetry that needs to be written; words that need to be said. 

We are very lucky to have amazing poets such as Javon Johnson.

Instead of ignoring the reality of what is going on, we should acknowledge the truth and make this world a better place for generations to come. 

I respect Javon Johnson for acknowledging this reality and being brave enough to speak up about it.

In Oakland, California, the NAACP reported that out of 45 officer-involved shootings in the city between 2004 and 2008, 37 of those shot were black. None were white. One-third of the shootings resulted in fatalities. Although weapons were not found in 40% of cases, no officers were charged. (These numbers don't include 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who was shot and killed by a transit authority officer at the Fruitvale BART station on New Year's Day of 2009.)

We love Javon Johnson for not letting those innocents die and be forgotten.

We recommend that you take a day to listen to Javon's poetry and make a decision for yourself.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/javonism

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/javonisms

Neil Hilborn, Poetry We Like.

Poetry We Like

Neil Hilborn 

Written By: Willie Casarez 

Neil Hilborn Is a College National poetry slam champion, and graduate with honors from Macalester College with a degree in creative writing. Neil was a member of the 2011 Macalester Poetry Slam team, which ranked first in the nation at the 2011 College National Poetry Slam. He co-coached the 2012 Macalester team, leading them to a second place finish nationally. He was also a member of the Minneapolis adult National Poetry Slam team in 2011, which placed 5th out of 80 teams from cities across the country at the adult National Poetry Slam. He is the co-founder of Thistle, a Macalester literary magazine, and has run numerous writing workshops with college and high school students. 

Neil Hilborn suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions), or behaviors that make them feel driven to do something (compulsions). Neil Hilborn expressed how having Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder has affected his life in his poem, "OCD".

In this poem he expresses how his illness began easy to handle in a romantic relationship.

"She loved that I had to kiss her goodbye sixteen times or twenty-four times or if it was Wednesday.
She loved that it took me forever to walk home because there are lots of cracks on our sidewalk.
When we moved in together, she said she felt safe,
like no one would ever rob us because I definitely locked the door eighteen times."

But later on became a burden.

"She’d close her eyes and imagine that the days and nights were passing in front of her.
Some mornings I’d start kissing her goodbye but she’d just leave cause I was
just making her late for work...
When I stopped in front of a crack in the sidewalk, she just kept walking...
When she said she loved me her mouth was a straight line.
She told me that I was taking up too much of her time."

In a interview with Neil Hilborn he explained his writing process...

"I write something down, even if it sucks, even it's the worst thing that i've ever written; i write it just to get it out of my head. So you have to write a lot of garbage before you can get to that really gold stuff."

When Neil was asked what his philosophy on writing was he said...

"My Philosophy on writing has always been not to beat yourself up. I spent to long feeling like 'This poems trash, i'm trash and i can't write for S**t.' and that's just not productive. One of the absolute things i've ever done for myself as a writer was forgive myself for not being perfect."

In a poem written "One Color" by Neil Hilborn & Ollie Renee Schminkey, Neil and Ollie touched the topic of Sexual Abuse, Sexual Manipulation and The Fears Of Coming Forward.

This poem was a work of art and a shinning example of poetry collaboration.

Renee: "Yeah, we learned about roofies."

Neil: "We learned to respect when a woman says ‘No.’"

Renee : "We learned about protecting your drink, carrying pepper-spray."

Neil : "We learned what to do when a woman is assaulted."

Both : "But not that this could happen to me."

Neil and Renee make it understood that not all stories are the same. When you listen to the poem, you can feel the emotion hitting you in the chest. The life stories exposed in one poem took a lot of courage to write and read it at the 2013 National Poetry Slam in Boston. Even though the poem didn't make to third place, it doesn't make it any less amazing.

Renee : "They didn't teach me that I wouldn't know how to protect myself."

Both : "That my lungs would close up, and we would make pretend husband and wife,

Make pretend love."

Neil : "The thing about pretend."

Both : "Is that it flattens everything to one color."

Neil : "It makes it too simple."

Renee : "It makes it one syllable."

Both : "And that syllable is always captioned as a ‘yes’."

Neil : "They didn't teach me that I could wanna be with someone, but not always want them."

Renee : "That being curious about sex doesn't mean that I was asking for it."

Both : "What I’d learned."

Neil : "Was that I was supposed to want it."

Renee : "I was supposed to feel stolen; I was supposed to feel like less of a human being."

Neil: "I learned that if you don’t scream."

Both : "No one will listen to you."

Neil : "They don’t write about the ones that got away!"

Neil Hilborn is one of the most influential poets of our time. He amazingly digs into your heart and relates to your deepest darkest fears, He makes you feel better about yourself because he proves that you're not alone in this world.

In Neil Hilborns poem "The Future" a chunk of it stuck to me like super glue.

"I think a lot about killing myself, not like a point on a map, but rather like a glowing exit sign at a show that's never been quite bad enough to make me want to leave. See, when I'm up I don't kill myself because holy shit! there's so much left to do! And when I'm down, I don't kill myself because then the sadness would be over and the sadness is the old paint under the new. I'd still be me without it, but I'd be so boring! "

A lot of us wonder this world feeling alone, feel that we face these problems by ourselves everyday. Neil Hilborn reminds you that you are not alone, that you are worth so much more.
If you ever have a couple hours to yourself, i highly recommend you listen to some or all of Neils poetry.

Dead Aesthetics announce Infestation 2015.

Coming Spring 2015.

Existentialism Release Party

Poolside Presents: EXISTENTIALISM, Zine Release Party

By: Michael Kidd
Photography: Gravity Blast Photos

            On December 6^th, Poolside opened its gates to a celebration of the human experience; Existentialism. “Existentialism” is a zine by Guadalupe (Lupe) Bustos, an accomplished musician in the San Fernando Valley as the bass player for the recently dissolved pop-punk band “Between The Years” and vocalist for recently founded emotive-hardcore outfit “Swan”. In his latest photographic/poetic effort, “Existentialism” Lupe sought to capture the essence of life through the lenses and pens of his and his friends. Other contributors to the content of the zine were Damian Melara, Manny Valenzuela, Chase Rivera and many others. existentialism.bigcartel.com

            Your average Poolside show would consist of you first wondering if you’re at the right house. Then, after checking your gps a few times, you walk through a gate to meet friendly faces sitting at a round table as soon as you walk in; frequents of Poolside who congregate in the front to keep track of attendance and keep an eye on the front of the house. Adjacent to that group, there is a narrow path you follow to the backyard where you see the charm of Poolside, which would be the empty pool where bands/artists perform. This show however, took place next to the pool, around a fire, in front of a makeshift stage of wooden pallets. A textbook acoustic show, if there ever was one. There were Christmas lights tied around trees, friends in different groups chatting away, plenty of free pizza for everyone and a chance to pick up “Existentialism” for the first time.

            The performances kept the crowd close and very much entertained. Opening was Furthest From the Sun, which consisted of Manny Valenzuela playing acoustic guitar and singing. Following him were several other solo acoustic acts, such as The Sound Asleep, Ambulance, CRCLS and a spoken word performance by Chase Rivera. I had a chance to speak with Raul Esquivel from CRCLS and ask him a few questions. He enjoys music production, recording and his personal clothing line, Aetheraeon Clothing, which you can find at Aetheraeon.com. His acoustic project, CRCLS is lightly influenced by early Thrice and City & Color. You can find music from CRCLS at “CRCLSMusic” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

            My first look inside “Existentialism” was a joyride. There is content to keep your attention for lengthy periods of time, anytime you decide to open the massive 80 paged full color zine. There are beautiful photos from all over the state of California and riveting poetry from fantastic young writers. In a chat with Lupe, I asked him what his plans were for the future of “Existentialism” and he responded “…I made it all out of pocket and I’m [confident] I was going to make my money back, but then once I make that back I want to distribute it. Maybe Backside Records, Bridgetown DIY! That’s my next goal, that’d be cool. Like, tonight my high school teacher came and wanted some and I said ‘yeah, I’ll send some your way!’ and I can get some high schoolers to read it, have it in the library.”

            The performances came to an end with a solo acoustic performer hailed as The JT Project. He played a cover set that consisted of songs from Saves the Day and Say Anything, which the audience received in ecstasy. A set list that appeared to be packed with songs everyone who came in knew the lyrics to and sang along around the fire. It was an existential experience and you had to be there.

      EXTRA NOTES: Poolside is a house venue in Sylmar, CA. located at 13263 Wheeler Ave. The owner is rumored to have sold the house, so if you’d like to attend a show there, please go to the next one. It may be the last. 

Lock/Jaw "The Ballad of Customer Service" - Music Review

     With intensifying hits of the drums and penetrating feedback escalating into a roaring power-chord, Lock/Jaw’s latest single “The Ballad of Customer Service” proves that punk is alive and well (and wants to quit from its minimum wage job). 

     Reminiscent of early 90’s punk, “The Ballad of Customer Service” is unapologetically fast from the first yell to the last, and that goes hand in hand with the raw anger carried through the lyrics. The honesty in “So call me an idiot again, and a box cutter will become my friend…” perfectly encapsulates how exasperating a customer service job can be, coupled with the symbolism of the “box cutter." The anarchy of “The Ballad of Customer Service” seems to have a lot of thought behind it. “I feel this song is something that a huge audience can relate to. We can definitely relate to it”, said guitarist Guillermo Memo Hernandez.

                

This single comes at an important time, as it’s the first single since their Rusty Nails EP. “Nate, our vocalist, thought of the song and riff a few days after he left for his 2 year mission in the Philippines”, said Hernandez, “He had to constantly keep this song stuck in his head for two whole years before he could transcribe it to its current form.” Not only is this the first single since Rusty Nails, but is also Lock/Jaws first single with Enteledon Records.

               

The sound of “The Ballad of Costumer Service” is very much punk influenced and when asked for thoughts on its sound, Hernandez said,” As for the sound, I feel this song really expresses what we want people to hear. I feel like this is what Lock/Jaw, for the most part, should sound like.” If this is any indication, we should be able to look forward to more punk music coming from Lock/Jaw as they continue to hit the studio.                

You can find Lock/Jaw's single "The Ballad of Customer Service" via:

Bandcamp

Visit Lock/Jaw's Facebook Page.

The Unending Thread "Like Water" - Music Review

The Unending Thread released a new single this past month. The band also released a a full length album earlier this year titled "The Forum" with such songs as Daisy Chain, FUN, and Winnebago. This was a big step for the band.

While talking about "The Forum" Cesar Alas said "Some of the singles from the Forum really showed me how people could connect to our music on a real level. With this new album we're hoping to do the same but reach even more people." which is exactly what he's doing.

Cesar Alas is the start point of The Unending Thread, he started the band while he attended Van Nuys High School.

The band has been in and out of the studio these past couple of months, and on November 18th they released their "Self Titled Sampler" which can be found on their BandCamp. The Sampler included three songs, I Mean I Guess, Rational Voices and the newest single, Like Water, which is now streaming courtesy of "WithHeartMedia". Like Water is a new sound for The Unending Thread. The vocals of Kim Reyes along with the instrumentals of Cesar Alas, Julian Rogantini and Jeremy Amato play in sync so perfectly, like it was a well formed equation of music.

"We have a new album that is almost finished and I'm really excited because it is gonna be the first album that is a true collaboration of me and my band mates. So it's not just my ideas, it's our ideas." Said Cesar Alas.

I really like the new sound that comes with Like Water and hope that the Self Titled brings more of this to fans. The Self Titled is due to come out sometime in January of next year. We will bring you more news on it in the new year!

You can now stream The Unending Thread's  "Like Water" via WithHeartMedia.
Click here to hear the track.

- Willie