Ex-Poet Laureate Of Philly "Reclaims Irish Solidarity With People Of Color"

During his reign as Poet Laureate of Philadelphia — Philly's second, now followed by Yolanda Wisher — Frank Sherlock did so much that we loved. And he continues to do so. Today, for instance, Sherlock sees the publication of "No Border No Cry" — "my recent piece reclaiming radical Irish solidarity with people of color" is how he describes it —  in English and Spanish, translated by Carlos Soto Román, in the Mexican lit journal Transtierros. It's both timely and, in Philly, sadly timeless, as it describes a certain vibe that has motivated local politics here since before we were born. It reads, in part:

Become a Big House enforcer

Become a Rizzocrat

Become UDA here in Southwest or South Boston

Become well-versed in Cromwell’s Pocket Bible

Become a Shankill Butcher

Become a crown grunt for the reward of being able to wear whiteness

Become a ham-head who murders Fred Hampton

Become Volunteer of the Year

Become a sniper at 60th & Springfield

Become someone who Master lets hold the whip

You can hear Sherlock read "No Border No Cry" here:

Philadelphia's 2014-15 poet laureate Frank Sherlock writes a reclamation of radical Irish solidarity with people of color- a tradition that has suffered erasure from the U.S. assimilation narrative. Black Panther Party support, radical labor organizing, support for Puerto Rican independence and Central American human rights work are woven into a new poem/performance/publication entitled No Border No Cry. The poem will be produced as a broadside in collaboration with the Kelly Writers House and Henry Steinberg. This was performed as part of the exhibit "Organize Your Own" An Exhibition and Event Series About The Politics and Poetics of Self-Determination Movements. See https://organizeyourown.wordpress.com/

[Photo: Heather Raquel Phillips]