(Quotation poster of Ja Jahannes created by Posted Poetics) One self-penned definition of the word genius is: a focused intensification of individual intelligence resulting in works of exemplary creativity, visionary leadership, or uncommon spiritual depth and beauty. This definition is perhaps a fitting one to describe much of the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Ja A. Jahannes, who was born August 25, 1942. in Baltimore, Maryland, and died in Savannah, Georgia, on July 5, 2015. As recently as April 28, Jahannes (as he was known to many of his friends) had started a new blog in which he stated his intentions as follows: “This is the beginning of me putting my thoughts, observations, queries, photos and insights in one place for present, current, and past generations (it could happen…time travel) to read and witness that I made some small, if not minuscule, contribution to Planet Sol-3.” Unfortunately,  battles wit...

( "Tao of the Rainbow No. 12" graphic art-poem by Aberjhani ) Given the horrendous white-versus-black-motivated massacre in Charleston, S.C., on June 17, the jubilant rainbow celebrations that broke out following the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nation-wide on June 26, and increasing calls to cease flying the Confederate flag on government properties, colors have commanded a lot of attention during these changing times. The hues celebrated the most of course on July 4 in the United States are red, white, and blue. Many like to believe they stand for freedom, justice, and the American way. Officially, however, according to the House of Representatives’ publication Our Flag , red stands for hardiness and valor, white represents purity and innocence, and blue symbolizes vigilance. But long before the founding of America’s democratic republic, visual and literary artists have used colors to create realistic images of external en...

News about homegrown and foreign terrorism receives a lot of broadcast media airtime and focused attention online. It has become a pervasive theme in the developing story of our 21st century lives. Still, it is not something with which most us can ever afford to become so comfortable that we take it for granted in the same way that we take doing the laundry or drinking a cup of coffee for granted. Nor should we. I almost refused to allow myself to believe the reports about the shooting Wednesday (June 17, 2015) at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC. Six women and three men shot dead by one Dylann Storm Roof. I almost succeeded in believing the massacre had not occurred so close to where I grew up in Savannah, Georgia. Then I reminded myself that denial of evident truth is also something we cannot afford to indulge in today's socially and politically tumultuous climate. Please click the link to read the full essay : Shifting Points of View and...

(Image still from YouTube video of poet Claude McKay reciting “If We Must Die”) The summer of 2015  marks the 96th anniversary of the publication of Harlem Renaissance poet Claude  McKay’s masterful poem, “If We Must Die.” This essay is presented in  commemoration of that literary milestone and in remembrance of the Red Summer  of 1919 that inspired it. There were many good reasons to believe America had entered––or at least was about to enter––a golden era of post-racialism following the election of Barack Obama in 2008. Among them was the election of the country’s first African-American president itself, an increasingly diverse American population, and a sociopolitical landscape made more democratic (in appearance at least) by the various influences of technological innovation. Unfortunately, none of those good noble reasons were able to withstand the onslaught of reality as the number of hate   groups in the country began to increase almost...