So I was fortunate enough to meet Thomas Sayers
Ellis in 2011 when he first came to read in this reading series
and to meet with groups of college and high school
students.
During that visit, I got a chance
to see Thomas's poetry speak to people and move people
and attract people.
The poem spoke to so many different kinds of people, too.
From kids to professors, from poetry newbies to poetry pros.
Thomas's poetry is complex and ambitious and intelligent
and also makes itself readily available to the reader
or listener.
I think one reason why Thomas's poetry speaks to so many
is because it contains so much: rhythm, urgency, provocation,
sincerity.
Fury, comedy, references, homages, shout outs,
pop culture, history, politics, song, edge.
When Thomas was last here we discovered
that in addition to being a poet and a photographer
and an editor and a critic and a teacher and an activist,
he's also a carrier of the history of Go-Go, which
is a style of Funk music that originated
in Washington, DC in the 1960s.
When Hip-Hop came along in the 80s,
Go-Go became a collaborator and cross-pollinator with Hip-Hop.
Today, Go-Go lives on in the DC metro area.
And Ellis, who grew up in DC, was both a participant
in and photographer of the Go-Go scene.
So he has met the foundational artists of Go-Go,
he's photographed Go-Go, he knows Go-Go.
OK.
Abrupt shift coming.
[LAUGHING]
So meanwhile, here in Arizona in 2012,
the Africana Studies Department established a Hip-Hop Studies
minor, which, by the way, is the first academic degree
established for the studies of Hip-Hop.
This is a fact we can all be really, really proud of.
[APPLAUSE]
Because, think about it.
African-American music is one of the brightest
jewels of human culture on the global scale.
And by African-American music, I mean, all of it.
Gospel, Blues, Jazz, Rock.
Pop, Funk, and yes, Hip-Hop.
OK.
And then later, earlier this year, the Poetry Center
invited Thomas to come back to Tucson to be our resident
poet this fall.
And then we realized, of course, that Africana Studies
and the Poetry Center should work together
to make possible this presentation about Go-Go
and its relationship to Hip-Hop.
So thank you again to Africana Studies for your support
of this program.
We could not have done it without you.
Thank you Thomas for coming back to Tucson
and thank you audience for coming out tonight.
Now please help me welcome Thomas Sayers Ellis.
[APPLAUSE]