Sacrifice
I came across this short video of Ethan Hawke excerpted from his Ted Talk ‘Give Yourself Permission to be Creative’ online a few weeks ago. It gave me a light bulb moment AND made me more respectful of poetry as an art form.
Occasionally I have done or do write poetry. It's only ever in response to something. In fact it's only in response to one person. Himself a poet. It comes out of me quickly, pain filled or angry. Since I started writing poems about 4 years ago I had come to perhaps undervalue it as an artform, as I find it so easy.
Every other creative thing I do is in some ways torturous. Films take meticulous planning, editing them takes thousands of hours. Writing takes painstaking research, and editing the product is a chore. DJing took years of practice, as did the piano, the cello and the double bass. Poetry comes easy and quickly. But that's probably because I am not that good at it.
So I began to question if poetry had a use. I am a great believer in the power of words. Politics is words turned into policy. Policy affects people. What policy does poetry affect? Nothing. Thus how does it affect people? However I have realised/recognise that poetry is inter-personal. It does matter personally. And the person matters a lot.
So I took umbrage a couple of days ago when I saw a poet tweet this:
It seems quite innocuous right, but I had an immediate and visceral reaction when I read his tweet because I felt the only person he was really thinking about was himself.
I asked him or really anyone on twitter who reads my page,
"Ever considered why those women were in prison? The majority of women are there for non-payment of fines and because they can't pay their TV licence fee. Somehow you poets think it's enough just to "inspire". But with your profiles you could actually DO some material good. Campaign."
Followed by, "And check your fucking egos"
I wasn't polite. I didn't see the need to be. Like I explained in my essay about friendship and the mad ones here, to me, he like Owen Jones is an example of his ‘type’ or ‘industry’. Useful.
I've been concerned about the seeming selfishness of creative people with profiles for months, probably years when it comes to all the good they could do in opposing draconian policies that the Tories relentlessly throw at us. I wrote about it here , here, and here. It’s why I was so happy when I saw Riz Ahmed oppose the Nationality and Borders Bill .
..and Emma Thompson and others oppose Priti Patel’s anti-refugee agenda.
So I didn't even really care if the poet saw or took it in. I try and reach larger audiences than one when on my soapbox. I knew it would eventually reach DM groups for derision and discussion and duly it did.
In April from the Media Diversified twitter account I wrote that it is not enough to keep getting awarded, be a gatekeeper to others, get payslips filtered through charities from the state for your 'creative' work in prisons, when many of them are being kept there long beyond their initial sentence (tariff), or should never have been imprisoned in the first place.
Of course it looks great to the world "I work in prisons, I inspired prisoners". Oh, how laudable, the liberals say knowing they will never step foot in one. So fine. Well done, BUT I think it is your moral duty if you DO work as a creative in prisons, or get any money from state funding that you oppose the state's carceral agenda, loudly and with vim. Educate yourself on abolition. Back up other's campaigns, start your own, make your honest thoughts known and stop patting yourself on the back. It's not a good look.
The reason there were so many OBE, CBE, and MBEs on this joint statement signed by 100 civil society leaders in January opposing the Nationality and borders bill is because I actively sought them out. The optics to the every man on the street of someone awarded by the Queen going against the state is powerful.
I worked with a brilliant journalist at the New Statesman to get him this exclusive on the morning after the statement was published at Media Diversified. We stayed up late the night before plotting the best way to do it. There was a short time where it looked like it might not happen as it was a busy news day so I let him know and then he let his bosses know that Channel4 news had been in touch and were planning to run it too. That pushed it over the edge and into publication. Ultimately the New Statesman went with 'charity heads oppose' the bill as their top line, which was fine with us because that's powerful too.
I mean I don't know what good it all did in the end. Ultimately we failed other than raising awareness. BUT we all tried our best. Hundreds of hours of work by tens of grassroots activists.
The reason I asked writers such as Caitlin Moran, Suzanne Moore, Laurie Penny and Owen Jones to sign this joint statement opposing indefinite prison sentences for public protection was so that they would hopefully write about #JusticeForIPPs themselves and also share the work IPP Committee in Action has done and the articles written about it at openDemocracy I asked my editor specifically, please can you leave their names in the article as then they will be more likely to share it, playing to their egos.
So I am and have been for months honestly sick to my back teeth of those who have profile who sit on their laurels accruing awards and judging others whilst taking money from the state or Rupert Murdoch and doing next to nothing when the Tory’s bills are about to decimate the lives of millions.
In his article Why Do We Need Activism? Shane Thomas said,
'The truth is activism – when done right – isn’t a symptom of having too much time on your hands, being a killjoy, or manufacturing problems that don’t exist. It’s love actualised."
'When I say love, this shouldn’t conjure fluffy images of mawkish pop music, sunny meadows, or forced politeness towards those who treat you without respect. You can’t positive-think your way out of oppression. I mean love in the way it’s described by Yasmin Mohamed Yonis: “Love is hard work, it is a commitment every day, it is doing what is necessary to make sure the other person is ok. My father somehow took care of a family of 12+ on a taxi cab driver’s salary and studied by a lamp’s light every night. My mother raised 10 children in a country hostile to their very existence with nothing but pure wit and strength. So I learned early on that love must manifest in actions.”
“Love ain’t just something you say, just this word. It’s something you do.” – Emteaz Hussain
When James Baldwin said, "The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover. If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see." it must have resonated with many; lovers, friends, comrades and peers and probably still does. And I get it, but for me, sometimes it's just pure disdain. I WISH I could be as noble as Baldwin. I'm not. Sometimes petty, often wrong. But always steadfast in my values and politics. I don't get how you can say anything about women prisoners, any prisoners being inspired by your work, without first saying they shouldn't be prisoners in the first place. I've tried to understand, and it is beyond me. Knowing too that they could be incarcerated by charges trumped up by sadistic employers like this:
Or be kept from getting parole for political reasons like here. I don’t think I'll ever get it.
In March I watched the Netflix series ‘Barbarians’ for the second time. It was revelatory. Basically lots of marginalised people come together to fight their oppressor, the Romans. It's more or less my ethos for life. And I think that all activists, campaigners and organisers should watch it.
Since then I have realised the reason I keep alluding to it, is because one scene has stuck in my mind. The 'Barbarians’ are preparing to fight the Romans and the main woman character who is something of a soothsayer wants to rally the troops. They've already taken some actions, won some small victories but they are about to fight the biggest battle. They need to all rally together and forget their differences. The cause is what's important.
Earlier in the program they had talked about the sacrifices warriors and others had made. So she makes a sacrifice. Her eye. Cuts it out herself. Right in front of all these warriors. She wants and needs all these men to follow her and others into battle.
I am not telling anyone to cut out their eye but yes, you may have to make some sacrifices if you actually want this country to do and be better. You may lose a client or two, you might not get that award, or that publishing contract but you may just make this Island a little bit of a better place for us all to live in. 🙏🏾
I sadly still need to raise funds to go to the writing residencies I've been offered. Getting some peace and quiet outside of London is the only way I am going to get these books finished I’ve realised.
A link to a thread that explains more:
Sam
P.S I know there is going to be some non-black women and /or middle class women who try to take my experiences and use them as their own. Trust me, I will hunt you down if you do and you will catch these hands