Sampling my Suitcase of Spoken Word

Abstract

The Gulf of Mexico disasters of 2005, replayed in 2010 in man-made form, brought into sharp focus and stark relief, for the entire world, the widening chasm between the “haves” and “have-nots” in the US. In American poet laureate Dana Gioia's classic essay on why the situation of poetry is of consequence to the entire intellectual community, he wrote, “A society whose intellectual leaders lose the skill to shape, appreciate, and understand the power of language will become the slaves of those who retain it—be they politicians, preachers, copywriters, or newscasters” (Gioia 2002, 17). As public health scholars and practitioners, our commitment to social justice, equality of opportunity, health enhancement and disparities elimination, locally and globally, infuses our work, and, for many, our activities during our discretionary time as well. Melding of messages delivered through scientific endeavor and poetic reflection may serve to inspire, direct and catalyze the social change needed to make progress toward these lofty, and attainable, goals and aspirations, to manifest then-Senator Barack Obama’s fiery declaration in his 2004 Democratic Convention address of the “audacity of hope.” As a capella women's music group Sweet Honey in the Rock asserts in Ella’s Song, “We who believe in freedom cannot rest….”

As public health professionals, we place disproportionate emphasis on the science driving the development of health interventions, and devote insufficient attention to the science of disseminating that knowledge to increase individual and societal adherence to healthy practices. Furthermore, most health decisions are emotionally and socially, versus intellectually or cognitively, driven! As resources inexorably constrict and need relentlessly grows, we must increase our efficiency by living our professional convictions—socially, economically, politically and spiritually, through the “scholarship” of engagement. As Gandhi asserted, “we must be the change we wish to see in the world.” And we must marshal all of our talents, forces and resources, the seen and the “unseen.”

My poetry, a mix of self-discovery, social commentary and health advocacy, with frequent use of sports as a metaphor, sometimes veers toward the political. But, of course, as a physician for over a quarter-century—of populations now, not individuals—health broadly defined (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, financial) surfaces in most of my work. And basketball has become a coda for identification with black culture, as its visible and exquisite manifestation of excellence, assertion of dominance and channeling of anger and frustration symbolizes our hopes and dreams as a people. Especially at the intersection of race and gender, as in We, Too, Are Ballas.