The Wit, Wisdom, and Genius of Ja A. Jahannes - Bright Skylark Literary Productions


Ja A. Jahannes (right) and Aberjhani signing copies of Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance at Barnes and Noble in Savannah, Georgia. (photo courtesy Bright Skylark Literary Productions)


Any attempt to write a biographical essay about someone as multi-talented and prolific as the late Ja A. Jahannes would be incomplete without immersion––or re-immersion––into a comprehensive sample of his works. In Jahannes’ case that would mean listening to diverse genres of music, going through numerous powerful poems, revisiting provocative essays, and revisiting intensely-original
memoirs, novels, and plays.

Getting it all done in the short amount of time allotted by deadlines would not be possible but enjoying the challenge would be. In the course of rising to meet that challenge by penning the essay 5 Ways to be Geniuses Together, Celebrating Ja Jahannes, I naturally looked for suitable quotes to include with the essay.

Upon finding more than I could use, I was inspired to create the three quotation graphics posted with the article. From that point, it wasn’t much of a leap to realize that our modern shell-shocked world could possibly benefit tremendously from a collection of quips and witticisms distilled from the glittering torrent of fiction, sermons, librettos, stories, papers, etc., that seemed to flow with such ceaseless determination from Jahannes’ inspired soul. A good title for the collection might be The Wit, Wisdom, and Genius of Ja A. Jahannes. Moreover, if I were a traditional publisher taking on such a project I would push for both an illustrated hardback edition and a primarily text paperback edition.

The Notion of Being Geniuses Together

The first part of the 5 Ways to be Geniuses Together essay contains a short discussion on my allusion to the notion of collective genius. Specifically, I identity the following as a central theme binding the larger body of multi-discipline works by Jahannes:

You can enjoy the entire free read by clicking here:
The Wit, Wisdom, and Genius of Ja A. Jahannes - Bright Skylark Literary Productions

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