Tag: Beat By Beat

“I didn’t really start off wanting to be a poet,” says Greensboro’s newest poet laureate, James Daniels. “I always wanted to be a rapper.”

But, says Daniels, “I had a Dead Poets Society moment.” That was while he was attending Johnston County Early College Academy. Just like the students in the film who were inspired by their professor (played by Robin Williams), Daniels remembers how a couple of his own teachers, Amanda Rowland and Dawn Blankenship, kindled the spark that ignited his love of poetry. They introduced him to Poetry Out Loud, a high school poetry recitation competition. And though his gut reaction was a big heck no, “I took the leap.” And, turns out, the spoken word spoke to him.

As he listened to poets and poetry, he recalls, “I started to absorb the power of the word — just understanding that there are so many different mediums it could go in. So I just started trying all of them and poetry was the one that stuck.”

Later, at N.C. State, where he was earning a B.S. in education, he discovered open mics, where anyone, from beginners to pros, can step up on a stage and share whatever is in their hearts and minds. Greensboro’s inaugural poet laureate, Josephus III, visited the campus, leading a Poetry Cafe session (an interactive open-mic event). “I went up and, of course, embarrassed myself on that mic, too. You know, you got to step out.”

Daniels got even more involved with Poetry Cafe while working on his M.F.A. at UNCG. At first, he says, he was “a table boy, bringing people in.” But soon Josephus was asking Daniels to teach at events for kids when he wasn’t available to do it himself.

When it came time for his two-year term as poet laureate to come to an end, Josephus III reached out to Daniels, who notes, “a bunch of dope poets in the city also got that call.”

At the time, Daniels was deep in the application process of another position — assistant professor and director of creative writing at N.C. A&T — which he soon landed. Thinking it might be too much to take it all on, he made calls to other poets, suggesting they go for it. But one question kept bouncing back to him: “You’re applying, too, right?”

His response? Of course, he told them, even though that wasn’t his intention. “But I was like, I can’t lie to 20 people,” he says. “Now you said it, so now you’re doing it.” He sat down and got to work on his own application after all.

He ran it by his most trusted critic, his wife of three years, Ajani Anderson, who “tore it up.” Through some tough love from Anderson, a visual artist who Daniels says “makes me better everywhere,” the application was ready to submit.

Loving metaphors as all poets do, Daniels is constantly talking about building bridges “between creatives, institutions and other artistic mediums — through the power of poetry.” A bridge, of course, is the sum of many trusses and supports. Daniels envisions a city where organizations and creative people across multiple genres reach out to each other collaboratively. One man cannot bear the load on his own, but he hopes to continue building on the foundation Josephus has laid.

“I’m grateful for this position. I’m grateful for all of the positions that I’ve received thus far,” he says. But don’t for a second think that he’s given up on his initial dream of becoming a rapper: “That’s still a goal,” he says.  OH

The following poems are by James Daniels.