richard wright
stuck in the
corner
by
the staircase
in black face & gold letters
with cobwebs
52 yrs. an exiled native son
oh black boy i place a paper flower beside your square.
steve dalachinsky
- written at Pere Lachaise cemetery 8/01 where Wright’s ashes are interred.
Steve Dalachinsky (born 1946) is a New York downtown poet, active in the music, art, and free jazz scene. He has written poetry for most of his life and has read frequently at Michael Dorf’s club the Knitting Factory, the Poetry Projectand the Vision Festival, an Avant-jazz festival held annually on the Lower East Side of New York City. Dalachinsky has also read his works in Japan, France and Germany. He has collaborated with many musicians, writing liner notes for artists: William Parker, Susie Ibarra, Matthew Shipp, Roy Campbell, Daniel Carter, Sabir Mateen, Jim O’Rourke and Mat Maneri.
Dalachinsky has authored numerous books including a compendium of poetry written while listening to saxophonist Charles Gayle perform throughout New York City, and a collection of poems which focused on his time as a superintendent at an apartment building in Soho. Along with pianist Matthew Shipp, he co-authored the book Logos and Language: A Post-Jazz Metaphorical Dialogue and collaborated with French photographer Jacques Bisceglia on Reaching Into The Unknown. His spoken word albums include Incomplete Directions and a collaboration with Shipp on the album Phenomena of Interference. Dalachinsky’s works have also appeared in several journals and anthologies as well.
He is a 2014 recipient of a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, received the Franz Kafka Prize, Acker Award, PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award and was nominated for a 2015 Pushcart Prize. He currently lives in Manhattan with his wife, painter and poet Yuko Otomo.
PARIS POETRY 