Author Archives: Richard Guzman

Marc Smith’s American Eagles

The VIDEO below captures Marc Kelly Smith performing “American Eagles,” one of seven poems he did in a series on tattoo artists. Marc Smith is founder and promoter par excellance of the Slam Poetry Movement, what several critics have dubbed … Continue reading

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Clarence Page: America’s “Anxious Class”

“For better or worse,” writes Clarence Page, “effective politics is often nothing more than an effective appeal to the resentments of those who vote in large numbers, directed against a target group that doesn’t.”  This comes from his essay “Politics: … Continue reading

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Fred Hampton, Sr.: You Can Murder a Liberator, But Not Liberation

One of the most infamous incidents in Chicago history occurred at 4:45 a.m. December 4, 1969.  At that moment Chicago police entered Black Panther headquarters at 2337 West Monroe, starting a one-sided gun battle that killed Panther leaders Mark Clark … Continue reading

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