Amazing Piece ... (The Suicide Letter MJ Should've Written) ...

Tis the season to be jolly ... Fa lala illaaa ha illallaah ...

Eid Mubarak !!!

Muslim ...

If a person knew to what extent he was surrounded by God's Mercy ...
He would never raise his head from prostration ...

Wicked Poem ...

Beauty Manifest ...

Capoeira ...

Ornette Coleman ... Paris, October 9, 1969 ...

No, you can’t do nothin’ by yourself ...

We live in a world where someone can ask who the richest man in the world is and be given a name. But you can’t name the poorest man in the world. They come in the millions. If you can do something by yourself, you are automatically above the others. What you must try to do is bring the ones who are down up to the level of what you believe it could be for everybody. Not that you’re there yourself, but you just know what the level could be. If more people supported that level, you would have others to work with. Unfortunately, people think, What’s in it for me? They can all calculate that very quickly.

What’s very strange about music is that there isn’t any measuring point. You can’t know how good someone is unless you have something to check what you have already accepted. Like myself—I have never in my life seen anyone explain how and what I’m doing in music. But everybody knows that it’s not important enough to back. It’s strange; they don’t do that with material values. If something is rare, then it’s more important than anything common; but that isn’t the way it goes in human affairs. That’s funny, huh?

Its backward.

Yeah, that’s what it is. I think if people know you’re doing something well and they know that you’re not trying to destroy them, they will support you. I grew up in a white society with white rules and white philosophy, but I grew up with a black conscience. My consciousness of myself as a black man makes me realize that unless I can be integrated into white society and its values, I can’t achieve the wealth they have created. They have created a society where any unknown white person can put something on the market and become successful. I don’t see why a black person can’t do that. They have to control what you do first, then give it to you like welfare.

Maybe it’s in the nature of a white person to be against anybody who is not white. But in that case they shouldn’t have schools and rules. They should say no black person is allowed to read and write. They should let you know what your limitations are. They shouldn’t say you can succeed if you can learn, because you can’t.

I haven’t had a booking agent or a manager in ten years. Every gig I’ve had I got myself. I haven’t made any money, but I haven’t been without too many meals. People see me with new clothes on and think I have lots of money and that I’m successful. I was born in the black community, where the best thing to do is be clean and not let anybody know what your problems are. I have walked the streets wearing silk suits when I was hungry. I know that if you’re clean, at least the dignity of being human is still there. I would rather think human first than think of being defeated because I’m black. I met a white guy the other day who accused me of being an agent for some secret black society. I said: “Man, you got to be crazy.” They can’t put their finger on me, because I don’t belong to any organization. People don’t realize you needn’t belong to an organization for the betterment of this or that just to do something you believe in. You can do it without joining anything.

From Notes and Tones: Musician to Musician Interviews by Arthur Taylor

Mahmoud Darwish ... A People With No Poetry Is A Defeated People

Amazing Story ...

One of my favourite Jiu Jitsu players ...

Beautiful Ending ...

An Article Review For My Book ... 08/20/2011

Interview and Article by: Rabia Khokhar: www.keepingithalal.com

R: I feel like you use such simple words to say such grand things. In a sentence or a few words how would you describe your own writing style ?

J: My friend once told me that when people are in need of soul food, they don't need something complicated ... Just something simple, that goes straight and direct to the heart ... I would say my writing style is refreshing and original with a range that's horizan wide ...

R: How long have you been writing for ?

J: I've been writing for 5 years ...

R: What do you like best about writing ?

J: I write because of my emotional need to ... Writing is a very painful process sometimes ... The root of why I started writing is very organic ... There was never an intention ... I never set out to be good at it ... I kind of did it cause I thought of it as survival at the time ... Poetry, unlike many other art forms, it's primary base is the fact that you're vulnerable ... I mean, you have to be in a vulnerable place in order to be effective ... It embraces all the ideas about vulnerability ...

R: What specifically inspired you to put this book together ?

J: My need to want to give myself ... My need to connect to people ... To try and get closer to humanity ... The humanity that connects us all together ... I believe books are a passionate affair ... And a collection of them is an affair of passion ...

R: After reading your poems I believe that your poetry is quite global, by this I mean that it highlights many of the issues faced in the world yet at times these are subtle messages that the reader him/herself have to decipher them. Through your writing what message are you trying to convey ?

J: I want people to be unafraid to examine their convictions ... To always recreate themselves ... To get out of the exile ... To love yourself enough to lift each other up ... To trust the divinity of life ...

R: From this book which are your 2 favourite poems ? Why ?

J: The two that stand out are "Handala" and "Why" ...

- "HANDALA", because I feel it speaks to so many who are voiceless ... And because I was able to use a piece of my late friend Ahmed Hussain's poem as the opening verse ...

- "WHY", because it was one of the most humbling, intense and emotional experiences I've ever had ...

Those are the ones that stand out to me ... But my favourites, are any of the poems that I've written for my friend Maryam ... She's the reason this book came about ... She introduced me to poetry and taught me how to write it ... There's a part of her in every poem I write ... She is like the sunrise, and the poems are like the sunset ... Each beautiful in their own way ...

R: How long did it take you to put this book together ?

J: The poems were written over a period of 4 years ... And compiling it into book form took about 6 months ...

R: Are you going to write another book ?

J: God willing, yes ... I'm almost finished writing my second anthology of poetry, and I intend on writing several more books of, not only poetry, but novels and short stories as well ...

R: If people want to learn more about your work where can they find you ?

J: On my website at: www.jafaralam.com , on my Facebook page at Jafar Alam Poetry ...

R: I love all of your poems, but after some consideration I think my 4 favourite are:
- The Slave and the Master
- Looking for God Everywhere
- Handala
- Why
Can you perhaps share why you wrote each piece ? And what you wish to convey through them ?

J: I kind of looked at these scenerio's and asked myself "Well, what does that mean to me ? " ... And I felt that these poems were important for people ... All four of the pieces really speak about the human condition and this need that we have to be received ... So I wanted to kind of stimulate thought and try to uplift people spiritually and conciously with that ... But essentially, like any book, the reader is the one that will give it, its meaning ...

R: After reading your book I feel like this book is so much about you, it’s like you have allowed people to get a glimpse of your experiences. Is this the case ? And as a poet is this always something difficult to do ? Sharing so much of yourself with the world ?

J: Most definately ... I did give people a glimpse into my world ... I think the book was well received because of the fact that it was raw and honest ... I kind of look at it as a diary written in the form of poetry ... I don't mind sharing myself with the world ... I think the connection between the poet and the audience is a communion ... And I think the audience or the reader, is very much an important part of the poem ...

I used to feel that my purpose in this world was to experience all this pain, so that I could share it with others through my poetry and hopefully give them something where they wouldn't have to suffer in the way that I did ...



Link To The Written Article:

http://www.keepingithalal.com/50/category/writer%20rabiaf3dba9c00b/1.html

Bruce Lee ...

If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life ... There are no limits ... There are only plateaus ... And you must not stay there ... You must go beyond them ...

Inside This New Love ... By Jafar Alam

Your heartache ends ...

He remains ...

Inside this new love, die (c)

Beautiful ...

Rumi ...

There's hidden sweetness in the stomach's emptiness ...

We are lutes, no more, no less ...

If the soundbox is stuffed full of anything, no music ...
If the brain and belly are burning clean with fasting ...

Every moment a new song comes out of the fire ...