So a mutual friend introduced me to the lovely Cynthia (pictured immediately below), who has lived in Harlem for the last 30 years, and NYC all her life. Cynthia works near where I’m staying in Gramercy Park and was kind enough to come pick me up and take me via subway to a spoken word poetry event in one of Harlem’s historic parks, Marcus Garvey Park. She is a member of the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance (MGPA), and the event was held in order to launch the third lending library box the MGPA has installed in the park.
I’ve noticed that New Yorkers really use their parks – they eat lunch in them, they read, they chat, they jog and ride their bikes, they just sit and soak up the sun – and Marcus Garvey Park seemed to be no exception. There were plenty of homeless people, as usual (every park I’ve been to so far has plenty of homeless people) but also plenty of other adults and kids just hanging out enjoying a cool evening and chatting with their neighbours. On Saturdays, apparently, a whole lot of drummers come together to jam, and there’s also a small farmers market and some community garden beds.
The poets were amazing. Fierce, funny, angry, tender, very witty. It was electric. Not once did I want to cut my ears off with a blunt knife, which I have been known to want to do at spoken word events in Melbourne (they’re not usually one of my favourite pastimes). But these guys were terrific – confident, experienced, clearly drawing on a long history of spoken word craft. I particularly loved Elisabet Velasquez. She totally rocked. But Kraal Charles, Parlay and Iyaba Ibo Mandingo were also great. All were drawing strongly from their identities as African American, or female, or Latina.
Afterwards I went with Cynthia and a few of her friends to eat pizza at a place on Malcolm X Boulevard. The brownstones we passed on the way were glorious, the Boulevard wide and grand. The pizza place excellent. The talk at dinner was of the politics of art funding and how to negotiate the local political tensions between majority Latino East Harlem and African American Central Harlem when it came to art projects. And of cats. And new houses in the country. Someone said at one stage how glad she was that there had been no talk of Trump, for a change.
It was a lovely evening. Good poetry, good food, nice people and a beautiful part of town. Thank you, Cynthia.
Resonant light 
I am so glad that you still have two ears! Thank you for taking the time to attend the program even though you generally don’t like this type of event. I couldn’t agree with you more that each poet and performer brought a compelling story to us, each in their own engaging way.
Although I wasn’t present for the dinner conversation, I would venture to say that there really is no naturally occurring tension between east and central Harlem in the quest for arts funding. Rather, any tensions that may exist have been the result of uneven access to information and support. There’s really nothing that a little outreach and balance can’t fix. In my opinion, the most “gorgeous mosaics” (as former Mayor David Dinkins used to say) contain the blackest blacks, the whitest whites, the richest browns and a host of strong primary colors.
There’s room for us all to be ourselves, unapologetically and to find beauty in each other’s story. I think we had a taste of that in Marcus Garvey Park the other night. Thank you for sampling and taking back a good report.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for your comment Carla. You would know much better than I what the situation is re Harlem communities and arts funding. So thank you for elucidating. I am sure I interpreted the conversation last night through the filter of my own experience. My impression was of a vibrant, thriving, passionate and happening community looking out for each other. It was lovely experience I felt privileged to be a part of. I commend you and the MGPA for the great work you are doing and I completely agree that a healthy community has room for all of our common humanness and our differences.
LikeLike
Thank you for taking the time to visit!
LikeLike