KENNETH ZAKEE SPEAKS TO "YUNG POETS"

[Baba Ahmed]

{Baba note: This article is from 2 Sept 2004 Rolling Out, a local Black free weekly newspaper. I'm sure what follows has been chop'd outta total context. Thats what happened to a piece issued on one of my sons, his companions and their bizness venture. So if anyone has a problem w/the following, simply contact Zakee; he'll respond; I know him.}
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Kenneth zakee
Poet, Author
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poetry in emotion
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"With its national appeal, every person that wears Egyptian musk oil, locks, and can rhyme 'flower' with 'power' wants to be considered a poet. 'Some people are just out there to be heard," says Kenneth Zakee. 'What I see with a lot of poets who get on the mic today is that they have no foundation. A lot of it is just rap without music.'

Zakee has the foundation and track record to speak adamantly on the subject. Poetry has been a part of his life ever since his first grade teacher would start class by reading from the collections of Langston Hughes and Nikki Giovanni. He started taking the art seriously in junior hight school in a fashion that most young boys did---to get girls.

But over the years, Zakee has evolved into a poet who emits what he likes to call 'social consciousness.' He's able to add an extra 'oomph' to his work because he volunteers his time working with homeless men who have developed drug problems.

'A poem has a bigger impact than a speech if it's written well,' says Zakee stressing the importance of poetry in our lives.

Zakee's talent has taken him to Senegal, Longon, and Canada. In all of his travels Zakee admits that there has only been one thing that has caught him by surprise.

'People are very receptive,' says the Cleveland native, 'even Europeans...even though a lot of my work is not flattering to them.'

---[b]maurice g. garland[b[


Zakee is the author of three books: Revelation to Manifestion, Teach Them How to Fish, and the Red, White, and the Blues. He can be contacted at kzakee@hotmail.com
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{Free land in Ghana for Afrikan Americans see: http://www.aareparations.com}