New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
As they say “more is always revealed” upon posting my disappointment at the lack of communication regarding the application for the Poet Laureate position in the city of New Bedford. A former poet laureate took it upon themselves to reply to my post with the following:
“The New Bedford LCC placed notices in all the proper places, such as the newspaper, social media, and City Hall. All poets were required to fill out an application and submit samples of their work, and recent publishing credits. The final decisions rested on the shoulders of board members of the Cultural Council, as well as myself as the outgoing Poet Laureate. The three finalists were then interviewed, asked to give a brief reading of their best work, and were then subjected to a Q and A session in order for the LCC members to reach a final decision. It is the responsibility of local poets to stay updated on the procedure, as well as to be involved with the local poetry community as a whole. Personally, I had hoped you’d apply and was disappointed that you did not.”, “Best advice I can give any of you young people is “plan your work and work your plan.” and “ In all honesty, I thought I mentioned it to you directly after you and I left the lawyer’s office with Jibreel. In the chaos of 2020 – 2020”.
Contrary to their original claim the New Bedford LCC did not place notices in all the proper places the former poet laureate listed in their post. In fact, none of the media (Standard-Times, New Bedford Guide, New Bedford Light – A community-news organization, The Scallop, 1420 WBSM, The Public’s Radio 89.3FM) published any public notice of an application for this public position. I also was never told about the application by the former poet laureate as they stated that they “thought they had informed me when they saw me and Dr. Khazan at South Coast Legal Services.”
Despite the fact that in their post they claimed “they had personally hoped I would apply and were disappointed that I did not”, they did not inform me when they saw me on Grinnell Street either any of the dozen of times they claim to have seen me, even though I literally lived on the same street a block away from the home they moved into. Nor did they email me, Facebook message me, or phone me.
Given those facts, I find it troubling that they choose to reply and imply that the failure was mine for not applying to an application like “all” the other poets, ignoring the fact that I, and many other well-known poets in our community, were left in the dark about the application. And also falsely implying that they had “hoped I’d apply and were disappointed I did not” despite never informing me.
Not that I feel they were required to seek me out and inform me, unless public outreach was part of their role as the former poet laureate and as a member of the search committee’s review board. I do find it troubling that they posted a comment discrediting my disappointment and attempting to place the blame on me for not keeping up with the procedure.
It is troubling that many poets, including the city’s most well-acclaimed Langston Hughes Society and Gwendolyn Brooks Award-winning poet, Professor Emeritus Everett Hoagland, who was also the first poet laureate of New Bedford and for whom Maya Angelou wrote an introduction for his first book, were left in the dark regarding the application.
In fact, it appears that it is not the first time we as a community were left in the dark regarding the process. If the terms of the Poet Laureate are every three years as they mentioned in their post, we were also left in the dark regarding the 2017 application. The last application that had a public notice was in 2014. That is troubling for a public position to not have a public and transparent notice. It is also troubling to place the onus on those left in the dark to submit an application that has not been made public.
The application process was flawed and unfair. Moreover, from their description of the selection process, it appears the selection process was also flawed and biased. As from their own description of the process, they would have been voting for themselves during the 2017 selection as their first term as poet laureate from 2014-2017 would have ended. So they would have needed to reapply and go through the procedure they described.
Also, from their description of the process and brief research, it appears that in the most recent selection process, they voted for their mentee poet who considers them “her fairy godmother” and is someone whom the former poet laureate directly encouraged to apply to become the next poet laureate after them. It appears someone who was informed by them “planned their work and worked the previous poet laureate’s plan.”
And in response to the claim that the lack of communication was because poetry took a hiatus or the claim from another that I have been noticeably absent from the scene, in 2020-2021 the fact is poetry for me and many others was far from on a hiatus. Many, my self included, were very active living up to the “artist’s duty to reflect the times” as Nina Simone had advised.
So despite COVID and extensive community organizing with BREATHE New Bedford, Justice For Malcolm Gracia, New Bedford Coalition to Save Our Schools, Police Reform Now (MA), Verdean Veterans Memorial Foundation, Cape Verdean American Veterans Association, Revolutionary Healing, and La Soul Renaissance the following is a list of my contribution via poetry and public speaking in 2020.
December 11, 2020 -spoken word poetry performance for Jewish Voices for Peace -“Rekindle The People’s Menorah – Hanukkah Artists For Abolition” on the second day of Hanukkah (virtual)
November 22, 2020 – spoken word poetry performance for Revolutionary Healing – Friendsgiving Festival Atlanta featuring Sa-Roc, Erik Andrade, Kevhn Clarence, Basheer Music, and 19 Keys (in person)
November 20, 2020 – ‘Go Within” featuring poetry by Erik Andrade & Piano by Miles Flisher video released
November 17, 2020 – “Round Here” by Stuart James featuring Erik Andrade off of Stuart James from Spirit Lake, North Dakota’s album “Something Different’ released on all streaming platforms.
November 15, 2020 “Saturday (Feelings)” by AgaJon – Y’akoto – remix featuring poetry by Erik Andrade producer- Aga John Machirus Lyrics – Jennifer Yaa Akoto Kieck, Poetry by Erik Andrade released
November 8th, 2020 “As My Last” Spoken word poem by Erik Andrade featuring Dr. Jibreel Khazan “Instrumental produced by Zhane98 – video released
November 6, 2020 “Water Is Life” spoken poetry performance video by Erik Andrade instrumental produced by Zhane98 -video released.
November 3rd, 2020 – “What Becomes” spoken poetry performance video by Erik Andrade instrumental produced by Zhane98 -video released
November 2, 2020 “It isn’t prudent” spoken word poetry performance by Erik Andrade instrumental produced by Euro – video released
October 30, 2020 – Cape Verdean Beautiful People featuring Chachi Carvalho, Erik Andrade, SupremeOverStanding, Carlene Fonseca, Susan Pires, and Daniel Shaw (virtual)
October 24, 2020 – BREATHE for Malcolm – Justice for Malcolm Gracia – spoken word poetry performance by Erik Andrade at United Front Housing prior to March. (in person)
October 12, 2020 – Justice for Elder Fernandes – spoken word performance / speech by Erik Andrade at Brockton City Hall (in person)
October 11, 2020 – spoken word poetry performance by Erik Andrade at “Indigenous People’s Day Convergence- organized by Greater Cincinnati Native American Coalition (virtual)
September 27, 2020 – spoken word poetry performance by Erik Andrade at “Rally for Real Police Reform – Black Leaders from all across the state of Massachusetts virtually rally to express growing concerns regarding police unions influence on police reform legislation (H.4886/S.2820). (virtual)
September 27, 2020 – spoken word poetry / speech by Erik Andrade at Ash Street Jail, New Bedford MA New Bedford in support of call to eliminate phone call costs for incarcerated people and their families. The bill S.2846 in Massachusetts (in person)
September 8, 2020 – spoken word poetry / speech by Erik Andrade at “Justice for Angie Barros, Elder Fernandes, Junior DaVeiga, and Malcolm Gracia- Speak Out and March – Coppens Square Dorchester (in person)
August 19th, 2020 – spoken word and New Bedford report back by Erik Andrade – National Community Conversation -Civilian Review Board Community Oversight Board with subpoena power. (virtual)
July 25, 2020 – spoken word performance /speech by Erik Andrade at Stand Up for Justice Bridgewater Part VIII – Stand UP for Black Liberation and Indigenous Sovereignty – Central Square Bridgewater (in person)
July 2, 2020 8pm Erik Andrade and Kasim Allah performing poetry live on For > Word hosted by spoken word poet Harlym 125 and Michael Warrior Bonds. (Virtual)
June 24, 2020 Spoken word poetry Performance by Erik Andrade for People’s Agroecology Process celebrating six years of building collective power in the movement for food sovereignty! With members of SAAFON, Eastern Woodlands ReMatriation, Organización Boricuá, Union Paysanne, National Farmers Union Canada, and CATA (virtual)
June 19th, 2020 – Spoken word poetry performance by Erik Andrade at La Soul Renaissance “Juneteenth Drive To Justice New Bedford” – lifting up the names, legacies and families of stolen lives from across the nation including local area stolen lives of #LesterLima, #MorrisPina, #ErikAguilar #JosephRamos, #MalcolmGracia, #LarryRuizBarreto (in person)
June 14, 2020 – speech by Erik Andrade at “Sunday’s Best Peaceful Protest” march from Buttonwood Park to New Bedford City Hall (in person)
June 13, 2020 – speech by Erik Andrade at Fairhaven’s Black Lives Matter March and Protest (in person)
June 9, 2020 – “I wonder” poem by Erik Andrade published online
June 7th, 2020 – poem and speech by Erik Andrade at Justice for Malcolm Gracia Car Caravan New Bedford MA organized by BREATHE New Bedford (in person)
May 14, 2020 Jewish Voice for Peace Boston presents Poets for Palestine: Honoring the Nakba on the eve of the 72nd anniversary of the Nakba, featuring poets: Mosab Abu Toha, Sara Abou Rashedt, Erik Andrade, Ashley Rose, and Ruby Poltorak. (virtual)
May 1, 2020 – spoken word poetry performance by Erik Andrade at Virtual Celebration Of Life of José A Soler – award winning Union Activist, Immigrant Rights Leader, International Organizer, Award winning Photojournalist, and Educator. (virtual)
March 12, 2020 – Spoken performance at La Soul Renaissance – Um Frenti Unido – Um Prujeto Di Memória Kultural” (A United Front – A Project Of Cultural Memory) Open Mic & Spoken Word Poetry performances at historic Cape Verdean Veterans Hall -561 Purchase Street New Bedford MA (in person)
Ultimately, as we move forward, I pray that those responsible for the application process in the City of New Bedford and the New Bedford Local Cultural Council will ensure that the entire New Bedford community is informed about opportunities. For at least two cycles, the position was not properly publicly posted, and as a result, our community was left in the dark. Furthermore, if there are any conflicts of interest based on close personal relationships with applicants, those on the selection committee should disclose them and abstain from voting.
