“Sun and softness”. Carlos Ramirez gave me his beatific smile when I hesitated. He had invited me to assist him in his performance reading of Langston Hughes. Carlos has put many of Hughes’ poems into songs. His usual partner Greg Pond was unavailable on Saturday to read with him.
“I love Langston Hughes’ poems.” I said to Carlos. ” But I’m Chinese and he is black. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do the poems justice.” Carlos’ smile broadened even more and I burst out laughing. Carlos is Latino.
At our Monday rehearsal I wanted to read Hughes’ Merry Go Round in a child’s voice. Carlos listened and commented that it sounded like there were a grown woman and a child mixed up in the poem. In other words, the effect didn’t work. I asked him for suggestion.
“Use your own voice.” Carlos of great white beard looked deep into my eyes. “You’re grown, but in your memory there was a time when you were small and you weren’t sure about the merry go round. Tell this memory to the audience.”
I read the poem at MAPP (Mission Artists Performance Project). There was no applause at the end. It was not to be. The audience was stunned by the memory of confusion, when a child looked for the Jim Crow section and found “there ain’t no back to a merry-go-round. Where’s the horse for a kid that’s black?“
