A great and profound loss to the entire poetry community.
[From Wikipedia]
Sekou Sundiata, (b. Harlem 1948 - d. July 18, 2007) born Robert Feaster, was an African-American poet and performer, as well as a professor at New York City's New School. His students include musicians Ani DiFranco and Mike Doughty; his plays include The Circle Unbroken is a Hard Bop, The Mystery of Love, Udu, and The 51st Dream State. He also released several albums, including Longstoryshort (Righteous Babe Records) and The Blue Oneness of Dreams (Mouth Almighty label). His subjects included Jimi Hendrix, Nelson Mandela, and reparations for slavery. Word of Mr. Sundiata's death came after a series of reports that he was in grave condition and on life support in a Westchester hospital after suffering two heart attacks. He had been afflicted with but survived other health crises for many years, including kidney failure, a transplant, pneumonia, and a broken neck from an automobile accident.
Sekou Sundiata recorded and performed his poetry with such renowned musicians as Craig Harris, Nona Hendryx, David Murray, and Vernon Reid, as well as with Henry Grimes in duo at the Vision Festival of 2OO6. His plays include "A Circle Unbroken Is a Hard Bop," "The Mystery of Love," and "Udu." Mr. Sundiata was a Sundance Institute Screenwriting Fellow, a Columbia University Revson Fellow, a Master Artist-in-Residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, the first Writer-in-Residence at the New School University in New York, and a professor at Eugene Lang College.
Among his students was folk-rocker Ani DiFranco, whose Righteous Babe label released Sekou's CD "Longstoryshort." DiFranco has said that Sekou Sundiata "taught me everything I know about poetry," and the two performed together in 23 cities during her Rhythm and News Tour in 2OO1. In 2OO3, Sundiata toured the U.S. again, performing his one-man theatrical piece "Blessing the Boats," a chronicle of his five-year battle with kidney failure, blending monologues, readings, stand up comedy, spoken word, and storytelling, with recorded music and video projections. The poet's latest theatrical piece, "the 51st (dream) state," is a multi-media music-theater performance, Sekou Sundiata's contemplation of America's national identity, its power in the world, and its guiding mythologies. He has also been featured twice on Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on HBO.
Television journalist Bill Moyers, who featured Sekou Sundiata in the PBS series on poetry, "The Language of Life," has said of Sekou that his work "comes from so many places it is impossible to name them all. But I will wager that if we could trace their common origin, we'd arrive at the headwaters of the soul. Listen carefully and he'll take you there." Wrote Amiri Baraka: "Sekou is one of the most distinctive and original DJALI (Poet, Historian, Musician Signifier) doing it. Sekou is Pre-Griot, meaning in the ancient tradition of 'The Gleeman.' Serious as light overhead in darkness."