Author Archives: Richard Guzman

Useni Eugene Perkins: The Artist as Social Activist

In his introduction to Perkins’ latest book Images and Memories: Selected Poems, Haki Madhubuti says that, “Of the Chicago writers to emerge out of the dynamic sixties, [Perkins] is one of the few who embraced the mission of cultural worker/artist/activist.”  … Continue reading

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Genesis and Jazz: A Portico Collective Interveiw

It’s the church online.  HERE you can link to the first of a three-part interview I did with Rev. Matthew Johnson on creativity.  Eventually, when the links to parts two and three go live (see below) and the whole interview … Continue reading

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Carlos Cumpian: Everyday Apocalypses

Below listen to Carlos Cumpian read “When Jesus Walked,” one of two Cumpian poems I included in Smokestacks and Skyscrapers: An Anthology of Chicago Writing. One of the country’s finest Hispanic-Latino-American poets (a designation clumsy but inaccurate and made up … Continue reading

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