On January 20th two stunning works of art were released to the American public, and indeed, to the world. Notably, both works were created by people under 30, and might in some sense be taken as voices of a rising generation. But far more arguably, both were masterpieces.
Four days later, the better known is Amanda Gorman's poem. The Hill We Climb, which she recited at Biden's inauguration. According to Gorman, she created it to inspire and help unite Americans as a nation. I don't see how anyone can legitimately fault her in the current political climate for the fact The Hill We Climb is proving to be much more inspirational than uniting.
Since I advertise on Amazon, I receive updates in almost real-time of people searching for any books by her, and though you need to go back months to find anything like her popularity, I don't see any evidence anywhere I look that her call for unity has been noticed at all. Still, she's certainly struck something in enormous numbers of Americans that is loudly reverberating these days.
The much less well known work that was released on January 20th is The State of the Union by a rap artist named Marlon Craft. To me, both Gorman's and Craft's works are tour de forces, but Craft's is by far and away the more unsettling, and perhaps more likely to someday be seen as the more prophetic.
I cannot recall the last time I have ever crossed paths with a more brutally honest statement by any artist about anything political. Maybe I never have.
Below are three videos. I strongly suggest you first watch Gorman deliver The Hill We Climb if you have any intention of watching it at all. I'm not trying to be titillating, but the poem is like making love in, say, an open field. Yet, if you watch it after Craft, it might easily come across that a 500 lbs bomb is falling on the couple, and will land momentarily.
The second video is Craft's performance of The State of the Union. It contains some non-gratuitous use of 'adult language', if you are concerned about that. Please note: The second video shows up only as a link. Look for it between the other two.
The last is an interview with Craft.
Marlon Craft – State Of The Union (Audio, Lyrics, Video)
Four days later, the better known is Amanda Gorman's poem. The Hill We Climb, which she recited at Biden's inauguration. According to Gorman, she created it to inspire and help unite Americans as a nation. I don't see how anyone can legitimately fault her in the current political climate for the fact The Hill We Climb is proving to be much more inspirational than uniting.
Since I advertise on Amazon, I receive updates in almost real-time of people searching for any books by her, and though you need to go back months to find anything like her popularity, I don't see any evidence anywhere I look that her call for unity has been noticed at all. Still, she's certainly struck something in enormous numbers of Americans that is loudly reverberating these days.
The much less well known work that was released on January 20th is The State of the Union by a rap artist named Marlon Craft. To me, both Gorman's and Craft's works are tour de forces, but Craft's is by far and away the more unsettling, and perhaps more likely to someday be seen as the more prophetic.
I cannot recall the last time I have ever crossed paths with a more brutally honest statement by any artist about anything political. Maybe I never have.
Below are three videos. I strongly suggest you first watch Gorman deliver The Hill We Climb if you have any intention of watching it at all. I'm not trying to be titillating, but the poem is like making love in, say, an open field. Yet, if you watch it after Craft, it might easily come across that a 500 lbs bomb is falling on the couple, and will land momentarily.
The second video is Craft's performance of The State of the Union. It contains some non-gratuitous use of 'adult language', if you are concerned about that. Please note: The second video shows up only as a link. Look for it between the other two.
The last is an interview with Craft.
Marlon Craft – State Of The Union (Audio, Lyrics, Video)
. Took me at least 2-3 minutes to get in the new rhythm. But once I got in the flow of his reciting, I appreciated it more and more. Indeed another gem. Amazing how he recited all these lyrics by heart.