About the Poet: Patti Ross, Orator, Poet, Poor Peoples Advocate, Feminist Warrior
Why I write…
Much of my writing stems from my interest in social justice. I come from a family that has always believed in the basic right of a human being is to exist at a level of equity in society. My family also believes that it is our responsibility as citizens of this country and members of our communities to work toward inclusion of all persons. This nation wrote words in a constitution defining what it means to be citizen. I believe we must abide by those words. When we say “all men are created equal” it is our duty to put action behind it.
As a writer of poetry and a spoken word artist, I hope that in creating with both words and speech; I am putting to action the reminders we are all created equal–no man, no woman–is intrinsically better than the next. I hope to shed light on untold stories of history and survival of the black and brown people of this nation. I was told once to “write about what haunts you” and when I look over my life that has been what I have innately done. My poems and my spoken word are my way of paying reverence to those ancestors that sacrificed their lives for me to live and speak my mind. Through my poetry and spoken work, I hope to speak for them.
I try to be intentional in my writing. I adore writers like James Baldwin, August Wilson (the playwright), Gwendolyn Brooks, Eloise Greenfield, Rita Dove, Audre Lorde, and many others. I also am enamored with our local writers such as Lucille Clifton, Michael Collier, Ann Quinn, Grace Cavalieri, and our own Laura Shovan who started right here in MWA.
My chapbook will publish in August 2021 through Yellow Arrow Publishing out of Baltimore City. The series of poems are both poetry and spoken word and they encapsulate the time I spent living on one of the busiest streets going north to south and one block from North Avenue. St. Paul Street was my introduction to the city at a time that I wanted distraction from my life, and it provided plenty of opportunity to see how much our constitution had failed the poor and the inequalities that push people to the margins of society. I title the book St. Paul Street Provocations.
Finally,
writing allows me to take what is in my heart and my head and put it on paper.
Writing allows me to share my feelings with the world, holding no regret.
Writing. is the forum by which I can tell a story hoping someone listens and
then tells that story to someone and they then tell the story to someone and
even if it is not told exactly, the same, the story lives on hauntingly
reminding us of the lives behind it.
Deliah Lawrence:
In celebration of National Poetry Month, can you share with us a few of your
poems?
Patti Ross: Sure, here you go:
MY WEST
AFRICAN GRANDMOTHER
I hope to go to
Senegal
To see Lac Rose
A pink
(pee-seen) piscine of salt
Sun beaten and
gummy.
I linger
shoreside and watch
My guide Ahmed
rub Shea butter
Over his full
body, gliding into the sticky mere.
The everyday work
of the poor.
Salt catchers!
I am reminded
how mama sifted
boiled dough
into a small pot of butter
in preparation
for the salty bean broth.
I should go to
Goree Island.
Visit the
Maison des Esclaves and
See the white
sand beaches, the palm trees
Contrasting the
echo of screams
From a door
swinging solely one way.
I must go to
Bargny and watch
Mother Fatou
Smoke the fish
in small concrete tombs
Filled with
fire and ash daily,
The air heavy
and grave on her lungs.
They are
replacing the tombs now
Furnaces,
modern not aged
No smoke, no
ash, no tumeur maligne.
Will the
(thee-bo-den) Thieboudienne taste the same?
Jollof rice and
fish with no tang of smoke?
I want to meet
my grandmother,
Who has aged
and is dying,
Her salty bean
broth,
the smell of
smoked fish
a family
heirloom.
I hope to go to Senegal
(This poem has
appeared in the online zine - The Rising Phoenix River Review and Pen
In Hand Literary Journal)
PRAISE FOR COLEWORT
(green leafy plant of the species Brassica)
Hallowed the
scent of pig’s feet
Lining street
corners mowed
with
empty-bellied hounds
forestalling
fate of roadkill
Croon to wet
basements
poverty’s
stench where clothes hang
evading theft
and downpour
Glade tames the
damp and vermin
Revere relief
of anxiety
the fragrance
of peace
Hallelujah!
Holy are the Collard greens
(This poem appeared in the Oyster River Pages – Composite Dreams Issue)
DL: Where
can folks learn more about you and your poetry?
PR: They
can find out more here:
My Wordpress
Blog:
little pi's universe –
#poetry#spokenword#justiceforall#blackhistory#feminist
Book
Information and Publisher Pre-Sale Info:
St.
Paul Street Provocations, a chapbook by Patti Ross — Yellow Arrow Publishing
Facebook page
for poetry:
EC Poetry and Prose Open Mic | Facebook
DL: It’s
been a pleasure having you here with us today. I know my readers will enjoy
reading your poetry.
PR: Thanks
for the opportunity to be featured on your blog!
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