The train doors open. We board the Q cool as a pinstripe suit, we use different doors, scattering ourselves randomly about the car.   As the doors close I become painfully aware of the fact that I would never make it in any sort of espionage work; the excitement terror and anticipation burn on my face clear as a babies conscience. It takes all my effort to keep the corners of my mouth from curling up in a smile. This is going to be a train ride unlike any other.   There is something terrifically terrifying and deeply liberating about sharing your art with a car full of unsuspecting commuters who have not asked for it. Perfect strangers going about their separate endeavors, headed in different directions unified for a time by the complete happenstance that they find themselves on this particular Saturday afternoon, to be on this specific train, in this exact car, at this...

Scenes from December 1, 2012 Poets in Unexpected Places crew on the Brooklyn bound Q. Samantha Thornhill. Ngoma Hill. Darian Dauchan. Elana Bell. Adam Falkner....

Well folks, this is a P.U.P first…read on and you’ll see what I mean. The day started as any P.U.P day in my experience has— a mixture of giddiness, excitement and, yes, a fear, as we gathered outside the Staten Island Ferry terminal on this gorgeously sunny and windy Saturday. Jon asked that I start things off with a song, and as soon as I looked out at the massive and gorgeous Atlantic, I knew exactly what I wanted to sing, a praise song to Yamaja, the Yoruba Goddess of water and protection. As I began to sing, the ocean sparkling behind me, one man walked by and said, “You have a gorgeous voice, thank you.” He could sense that something was about to popf and sat close by to take in the rest of the P.U.P action. From the other side of the ferry, a woman began shouting “English, B–, sing in English,” but I kept on… As soon as the song finished, the notorious Ngoma popped up with...

Rising Fascism on the Staten Island Ferry          So it’s saturday afternoon the Pop Up Poets invade the S.I Ferry today we’re a bit short staffed our ranks being smaller than usual we forge on relentlessly Jon Sands,Corrina Bain,Elana Bell, Osunyoyin Alake Syreeta McFadden and yours truly As we enter the ferry Elana has a strange feeling Osunyoyin says it’s premonition I’m plodding along trying to psyche myself into doing this Suffering post traumatic slave syndrome I really don’t like large ships Elana sings a praise to Yemoja in Yoruba some deculturalized spanish chick ironically harrasses her to speak english more of a reason that multiculturalism and tolerance should be taught in schools assuming that she went to school in the first place I launch into a poem trying to Shift her Paradigm she continues to scream profanity and holla I take it as a...