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Abiodun Oyewole
Abiodun Oyewole, known as "Doon" to friends
and fans, has been writing poetry and working for social justice for most
of his life. He has recorded spoken-word albums and acted as a creative
writing consultant. Currently, he writes and teaches poetry at Columbia
University. But he is perhaps best known as one of the founding members
of The Last Poets, a revolutionary spoken-word group that The New York
Times has called "the village elders of rap and a living bridge
to the new poetry."
The Last Poets took the revolutionary pronouncements of South African poet
Willie Kgositsile, the self-determination being preached by Malcolm X, and
the creative fervor of the Black Arts movement and melded them into rhythmic,
political, street poetry. In essence, they created rap. Oyewole has never
taken personal credit for it, however. As Rickey Vincent, professor of Black
Studies at San Francisco State University points out, "It was really kind
of a movement. It was something that was part of the popular culture. The
idea of mixing a poetry reading with a revolutionary passion, with an ancient
African tradition of truth-telling, and with a griot-style of conga playing;
all those things came out at just the right time."
The Poets' new spoken word form became enormously popular in Harlem in New
York City. They found a loft space there and would perform with the likes
of poet Amiri Baraka (then called LeRoi Jones) and musician Sun Ra. The
group began to hold political clout; they were suddenly allied with outfits
like the Harlem Committee for Self-Defense, the Black United Front, the
SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee), the SDS (Students for
a Democratic Society), and the Black Panthers.
Through the years, Oyewole has recorded new material -- notably with his
friend and fellow Last Poet Umar bin Hassan -- and has become an educator
in the community. "Back then, I wanted to see everything burned, I wanted
to see riots," Oyewole has said. "Now, my whole thing is, we have to
see how we can be the greatest part of us, which is the healing part of
us. This self-empowerment mode is where I'm at. I'd rather that folks learn
how to save themselves before they kill themselves. That's what I'm trying
to do."
Works by the Author
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Works:
"On the Subway" 