Marcus Amaker
Author archive
My favorite albums of 2017
December 28, 2017
37. The National – Sleep Well Beast: Their best album since 2010’s masterpiece, High Violet. I dig it when the band gets experimental – electronic touches are all over this moody and brilliant record. 36. Jay-Z – 4:44: No I.D.’s production is perfect and Jay-Z’s lyrics are on point and personal. (kudos to speaking the […]
wordplay
a poem about … poetry. i read this in classrooms to get students excited about the art form. filmed at burke high school.
(… and you will be beautiful)
There will be a day when I won’t need mirrors because looking into your eyes will be the only reflection I’ll need to see myself.
every networking event, ever.
Slippery words spill out of us and fall to the floor as we fumble over ourselves on the trip back to the bar.
“empath” secrets
December 13, 2017
Some inside info about the new project, exclusively for the 7 people who read this website. // the original title of the project was “movement / meaning.” // the concept of the book was sparked by this tweet. // that tweet inspired me to write a poem called “empath (motherland)” and to come up with […]
I’m ready …
December 13, 2017
I’m ready to let you know about new project, empath. You’re probably thinking, “Uh oh. Didn’t you just do a poetry festival? Shouldn’t you sleep? What’s next, bruh?!?!” Well … empath = a 185-page poetry book, (featuring poems about love, connection, family, history, social justice, social media, Prince, feminism, and, of course, Charleston). […]
the spider (a love poem)
I remember when love was an elusive spider – an intruder that kept trying to creep into my life, crawling between the cracks of hardwood floors before disappearing into the shadows of sleepless nightmares. I spent restless years trapped by distraction, haunted by a thing I could not catch, but secretly wanting a tarantula to […]
Working on the new project ….
November 30, 2017
… and it’s been a great journey. Like many artists, the process of making a project is just as important as the final product. It’s where the joy lies. I’ve been editing / writing / singing / pushing buttons / playing / designing for a few months now. What you’ll get is a unified statement. […]
strange roots (the digging)
I. deep down, i know that you can’t take away my shine. it’s been perfected over generations of mining. my ancestors spent years digging through dirt for any sign of a gem, any treasure that can peek through parasites. but the past is so dirty and deep-rooted that sometimes i am too tired to dig […]
selfie
have you ever taken a photo of a mountain? a screen never quite captures the magic. to reduce a massive, complex miracle to pixels is criminal. it’s too simple. we do the same to ourselves.
Burke HS poetry club
November 9, 2017
Burke High School teacher Kaitlyn Mindel reached out to me because she leads a spoken word poetry club at the school. They meet weekly and have been planning to do a slam at the school. I recently visited and was BLOWN AWAY by their talent and skill. Evidence: I’m going to work my hardest to […]
(thank you)
November 3, 2017
Welp. Free Verse is over. I’m proud that this festival accomplished what I wanted it to: amplify voices that needed to be heard while spreading poetry across the city. I couldn’t have done it without your support. Much love to SC Humanities, the South Carolina Arts Commission and the Charleston Visitors Bureau. And the sponsors: the Cooper School, Pure Theatre, MOJA Arts Festival, the SchoolHouse, Enough […]
