Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--
And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

All the World's a Stage by William Shakespeare

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

When Artist Play With Their Food ?

Library Exhibit: Coloring Outside the Lines

"Maintaining" by Nate Creekmore.

By Oz Litvac

The Guardsman

On display on the Rosenberg Library’s second floor is an exhibition titled, Coloring Outside the Lines: Black Cartoonists as Social Commentators. Curated by Kheven LaGrone this exhibit features more than 10 different cartoonists with works that depict a side not so commonly seen by many. The exhibit will run till April 7.

Cartoonists have become the voice of the youth, they represent everything true in a mostly funny but nonetheless controversial manner. The exhibition features work by Jerry Craft, Barbara Brandon-Croft, Darrin Bell and Keith Knight to name a few.

All artists have a message portrayed in humor and with that perhaps surpasses the mainstream censorship in its approach.

Like most artists, cartoonists have also felt the controversy behind their art, “hopefully I can get people starting a dialogue,” said Kieth Knight in a phone interview. “You should never censor yourself,” he added.

The cartoons displayed are by no means a joke despite their funny way of shedding important light on social, political and racial issues. Each artist brings their own style into a collective effort in hopes of reaching audiences with the often ignored truth.

“I would like to push my black community out of our comfort zone,” said Kheven LaGrone in a phone interview.

The K Chronicles, a semi-autobiographical weekly comic strip by Knight,  earned him the most respected award of the industry in 2007, the Harvey Award. Knight is a prolific cartoonist and author of books such as, “The Knight Life: Chivalry Aint Dead”, and “What a Long Strange Strip It’s Been”.

Darrin Bell is a staff cartoonist at U.C Berkeley’s The Daily Californian and has been drawing for the newspaper since the 1990’s. He is a regular contributor to newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Oakland Tribune. He also has several awards under his belt.

Jerry Craft, creator of Mama’s Boyz, a comic strip syndicated since the 1990’s has also been recognized in the cartoonist world and has won many awards.. Craft has done work for Marvel Comics, several issues of Sweet 16 as well as illustrations for seven children’s books.

Also featured in the exhibit is work by Brumsic Brandon, a veteran cartoonist he has been submitting cartoon strips to mainstream publication since the 40’s. His daughter, Barbara Brandon-Croft who’s work is also in the exhibit continues his legacy.

The first nationally syndicated African American cartoonist Morrie Turner, has a piece in the exhibition dated from 2009. It serves as recent proof to his extreme passion for a cause he has dedicated his life to since his work first received nationwide attention after the assassination of Martin Luther King.

Kheven LaGrone will be having a panel discussion and lecture from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m

at the John Adams Campus Auditorium, for more information you may visit the City College Library website.

Posted on 13 February 2012 by The Guardsman Online Administrator