Welcome to the new Jazz Poetry section at AllAboutJazz.com. This page will be a dedicated home of jazz poetry on the web, and it will feature jazz-related poetry and verse from around the world and from many different-sounding voices.

Jazz poetry, like the music it represents and takes inspiration from, is a tradition unto itself. Indeed, as the music has evolved and undergone dynamic changes, so there have always been thoughtful muses to accompany the music with their poetic commentary on the music. Jazz poetry in its attempt to express the inexpressible has added layers of discreet meaning into our understanding of the musicians, the culture and the very nature of jazz and improvisation, and here is where its special value in relation to the music lies.

Coming up through the Harlem Renaissance by such luminaries as Langston Hughes and Paul Dunbar, extending through the Beats of the bebop era, onto the Afrocentrists of the 60s and 70s like Amiri Baraka, and onto some of the dynamic spoken word experimentalists of today, what can be rightfully be called "jazz poetry" is rich in tradition. Moreover, much diversity, both in style and in content, exists between these basic guideposts, and this should account for the richness as much as do the leading lights of jazz poetry.

At AAJ, we will feature original poetry either relating to the subject of jazz or written in a manner which bespeaks jazz improvisation- owing to the rhythm or articulation of the poem itself. We intend to have three main components for this page: 1) A featured jazz poet of the month, with three of their works displayed and an opportunity for readers to contact this poet regarding the sale of his/her written work. 2) A classic jazz poem for your reading pleasure- we're going to dig up some real chestnuts here, and 3) single submissions relating to the subject area of the month. Here we'll present a jazz subject for your inspiration and then let you write away, or submit something you had already happened to write on that subject.

So then we encourage submissions of poetry for the site but if you would like to be considered for featured poet of the month, we will need at least 3 longer or 5 shorter pieces to peruse.

We inaugurate Jazz Poetry@AAJ with a dedication to the late Tommy Flanagan. It's one of our beliefs that poetry can have a healing and cathartic effect not only generally speaking, but especially perhaps in jazz, where so much lore surrounds the music and where the musicians are not simply professional practitioners of an art form, but are moreover part of an extended support network of peers- the Jazz community. Tommy Flanagan was one such vital part of the fabric of jazz, both musically and as "one of the cats" and as such the editor felt it only appropriate to honor this man with a dedication. I hope that in writing this, I might not only pay respects to Tommy Flanagan but more generally inspire people to write dedications for musicians who just passed away, in the future.This is a nice tradition that has been carried on in the past and which deserves our present investments.

The topical area for single submissions by readers for next month is: Elvin Jones. Much has been written in poetry about Elvin's boss, one John Coltrane, but we feel that Elvin, with his unredoubtable intensity and physical aura, is worth the reflection of a thoughtful pen. Just don't get carried away in reflecting on Elvin and try to break a cymbal with that pen though. We're eager to see what kind of poetic verse the singular Elvin Jones may inspire.

Happy musings,

Gerard Cox, Editor