Jaki Shelton Green, An Enlightened Voice

by Barbara Petty
September 2009

It is a little intimidating to have a conversation with someone that speaks thoughtfully and eloquently all the time. Jaki Shelton Green, however, is so completely at ease with herself that she makes those around her feel the same.

Overcoming adversity her entire life, Jaki chose words to soothe her angst and give voice to her soul. A schoolchild during the years of "Attendance Choice," Jaki, with the support of her family chose to attend an integrated school. Insufferable racism led Jaki and 200 other students to form a walkout, the majority of which agreed to never protest again and were allowed re-admittance. Jaki refused to those terms but was eventually allowed to return to school through the pressure of a lawsuit. She faced continued ostracism, and ultimately a scholarship to a private school finally provided her with an opportunity to attend school in peace.

But the writing continued even after the adversity ended. Coming from a family of teachers, books were always available, and her love of words was nurtured. Jaki acknowledges the Percy Blythe Shelly quote Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world as her mantra for guiding and cultivating her passion "for the written and spoken word in all of its manifestations of language, color, form, rhythm, and religious and civic habits of action, and as a vehicle for teaching, nurturing, and celebrating literature."

She graduated from the University of Maryland with a Master’s Degree in Community Economic Development, and continues today to consult with nonprofit board training, arts and education, and the humanities. But she has garnered much of her notoriety through her poetry. Writing for nearly 30 years, Jaki was most recently selected as the region’s first Piedmont Laureate for 2008. The Piedmont Laureate’s goals are "to promote awareness and heighten appreciation for the excellence in the literary arts throughout the Piedmont region." The program is co-sponsored by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, Durham Arts Council, Orange County Arts Commission, and United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County. As part of her duties as Laureate, Jaki will present public readings and workshops, participate at select public functions, and create at least one original activity to expand appreciation of literature.

Jaki will be reading excerpts from her poetry at the upcoming North Carolina Literary Festival, September 10-13 hosted by UNC, with the support from North Carolina Central University and Duke University. For a complete schedule of events, visit ncliteraryfestival.org.

Her current husband, Abdullateef is an Islamic scholar, and Jaki became a Muslim ten years ago. Her "love of her life" and her faith keeps her grounded. "When you pray five times a day, it is impossible to stay mad," Jaki states.

When we met for this interview, Jaki was recovering from one of life’s most devastating adversities, the loss of a child. I was completely amazed at her strength and ability to discuss calmly all facets of her life. When asked how she stays motivated to explore and accomplish new goals, she says, "Open a door everyday to an unknown place… stay open like a child. And for me, writing keeps everything real and in front of me."

An advocate for the reduction of illiteracy, domestic violence, and the mentally ill, Jaki teaches creative writing to the marginalized populations of our society such as the homeless, the newly literate, the incarcerated, and the writer-as-survivor. In additions she serves as the spokeswoman for the NC Women’s Health Report Card, Center for Women’s Health Research at UNC.

Numerous other awards and accolades sprinkle her resume, too many to mention all of them here, but as examples: Jaki has been published in Ms Magazine, Essence Magazine, and The Crucible; she has published four books of poetry through Carolina Wren Press, her most recent publication is Breath of the Song: New and Selected Poems (2005); and her works have been choreographed and performed by the several dance companies including The African-American Dance Ensemble, led by Chuck Davis, at the Kennedy Center.

Jaki was the recipient of the Sam Ragan Award in 2007, which also included membership in the North Caroliniana Society, a 2006 residency at the Taller Portobelo, Panama Artist Colony, and the 2003 winner of the North Carolina Award for Literature.

Whew!

As Jaki stated in her application to the Piedmont Laureate Selection Committee, "… Poets must also become evangelists and fire up the masses to higher awareness and appreciation of literature."

Well, I’m fired up. And after you read the following excerpt from her book, Breath of the Song, I hope you will attend Jaki Shelton Green’s reading at the NC Literary Festival. All of her publications are available from Carolina Wren Press in Durham, carolinawrenpress.org.

Breath of the song
         for abdullateef

it is the etching of the wind’s breath
on sand
so that the wind might also
have voice and sing

         allah-hu akbar

it is the piercing quiet of the
day’s opening when fajr lifts
the darkness and once again
we are alive singing

         allah-hu akbar

the rain creating a trail that
becomes river source
continuum gift
our thirsts quenched
in the swallowing
and our hearts cry

         allah-hu akbar

the gathering of children in the
circle of our prayers
the shedding of wisdom becoming
ageless timeless and the children sing

         allah-hu akbar

today everyday heads crush
earth bends towards grace
hearts inhale new life
and our blessings clothe us
in colored threads that
weave

         allah-hu akbar

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