Poems that make me think, wonder, ponder, hope, dream, reflect & react ...
What Teachers make
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John Fitz
A Folksinging, Song Singing, Story Swapping Teacher, Poet & Songwriter Taylor MaliTaylor Mali is one of the most well-known poets to have emerged from the poetry slam movement and one of the few people in the world to have no job other than that of poet.
Born in New York City in 1965 into a family some of whose members had lived there since the early 1600s, Taylor Mali is a rare entity in spoken word, which is often considered to be an art form influenced by the inner city and dominated either by poets of color or those otherwise imbued with the spirit of hip-hop. Mali is a vocal advocate of teachers and the nobility of teaching, having himself spent nine years in the classroom teaching everything from English and history to math and S.A.T. test preparation. He has performed and lectured for teachers all over the world, and his 12-year long Quest for One Thousand Teachers, completed in April of 2012, helped create 1,000 new teachers through “poetry, persuasion, and perseverance,” an achievement Mali commemorated by donating 12″ of his hair to the American Cancer Society. |