Marcus Amaker
Author archive
a divine feminine (wine + food 2019 poem)
if you believe superheroes didn’t exist, then you never knew Georgia Mae Jones. My grandmother. she could have saved the world with her poundcake – it had just the right amount of sugar to defeat any evil inside of you, it could turn a sour weakness into sweetness, take your tastebuds to hyperspace, and awaken […]
The United States of Anxiety (a spoken word poem)
Welcome to the United States of Addiction. In this country, your smart phone holds more meaningful moments than your memory. Here, social media is social justice and history is a hashtag for broken screens to get their fix. Here, fame doesn’t lead to fortune – just first-world problems. Echo chambers for people at war with […]
Grammy nomination? Almost
December 7, 2018
How does it feel to be officially eligible for a Grammy nomination? REALLY GOOD. The nominations were announced this morning, but “empath” didn’t make the top 5. The Spoken Word category is full of celebrities reading books – Jimmy Carter, David Sedaris, Questlove, Tiffany Haddish, Courtney Vance. “empath” made the top 234 albums for the […]
Help me get a GRAMMY nomination!
October 24, 2018
My album with Quentin E. Baxter has made it to the ballot for Best Spoken Word album. For us to get an *official nomination*, we need votes from NARAS and Recording Academy members. If you know any Recording Academy members, will you send them this graphic? And tell them I’ll give them a hug. Please.
when falling into fear is easier than falling asleep.
my cat doesn’t like car rides. an otherwise fierce feline becomes a furry bundle of fear, rapid-fire breathing and foaming at the mouth, every second is suffocation, every bump in the road is permission for each hard breath to be a puke premonition on my feet, my lap, the back seat. but she paws her […]
antenna
cover my skin in sorrow, lay my body down with feathered tears. help me sleep with the dreams of friends who are having conversations with ghosts so that i can wake with their pain. a shared depression, a thread among empaths. give me the compassion and emotional power to be strong when needed.
2018 Free Verse poetry festival
August 22, 2018
I’m overjoyed to bring another poetry festival to Charleston. How does this year differ from last year? For one thing, I think it’s important to … simplify. Last year was phenomenal, but felt scattered. So, I decided to limit the events to one week: October 17-24. The public art projects will happen throughout the month. […]
Poet in residence at Zero George
August 4, 2018
I was the poet in residence at the lovely Zero George, a stunning hotel and restaurant in downtown Charleston. I connected with the Zero George staff over an encouraging and honest conversation about making sure that spaces like this feel … open. And welcoming. Earlier this year, I did a poetry reading and workshop at […]
let’s talk about the weather
light follows us wherever we go, no matter how shadowed the mind. but darkness has a sneaky way of taking us over at night and sometimes its sleepy residue remains in the day in spite of the sun’s warm personality and efficient, persistent glow. we sleep through hot nightmares when the only cool air is […]
Commencement speech for the Arts Institute of Charleston
June 15, 2018
The fine folks at the Arts Institute of Charleston asked me to be the commencement speaker for the 2018 graduating class. I’ve never done that before, so it was an honor to grace the stage and meet the scholars. I'm about to do the commencement speech for the graduates of @AiCharleston at @CHSMusicHall. Number of […]
