That naked island funk was still lickin’ hips with polyrhythmic thunderclaps. Does the Berta butt boogie? do bump hips? flip an spin an bop’n finger pop’n subquantum basslines pumping pure people-riddim funk like snake rubber twisting in aluminium bucket, reverberating round the frolic house with a heavy heartbeat, causing black to buck and shiver-
WOOEEE! WOOEEEE!—
The very groove caused coons to stumble loose and slide on saturnalian pomade until their conks collapsed. The sound possessed more swing than bachelor galvanise in a hurricane, more sting than jab-jab whip, more bone than gravedigger boots and more soul than African trumpet bone, with a pure emotive speed that once improvised harmolodic funk to Buddy Bolden’s punkjazz on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain, double bass still reverberating through space-time like long lost Afronauts on orbiting saxophones, that shook Spiritual Baptist shacks with rhythm till the Sankey hymns they swung became cryptic mantras that slid like secrets through the water.
-Excerpt from The African Origins of UFOs, by Anthony Joseph
In Spring 2005, poet-author Anthony Joseph shook up sunny SoCal – and your idea of British poetry – with his smooth rhymes and spoken word. All through April, Anthony was at California State University, Los Angeles, teaching and giving public readings and performances.
As the British Council USA’s UK Writer-in-Residence at Cal State L.A., Anthony joined other contemporary British authors as part of an ongoing literature initiative at major American universities. Writers in the program spend a month in the States with American students, teaching and contributing to campus and academic life as well as the cultural life of their host city. Residencies feature extensive author outreach and meaningful impact on both students and the general public.
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- April 14 saw Anthony on stage for his first public reading, which showcased the poet's special blend of sci-fi, African and Caribbean myths and jazz.
- Anthony returned to the stage on April 23 to jam with the Cal State LA Music and English departments. A presentation of "Intimate Textures: Harmolodic Textologies" featured a stellar collaboration between artist and university on an evening of poetry, music and sound, built from several weeks of improv and workshops.
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