Sekou Sundiata

Sekou Sundiata

Infobox musical artist
Name = Sekou Sundiata
Img_capt = Profile of Sekou Sundiata
Img_size = 452
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Robert Franklin Feaster
Born = birth date|1948|8|22
Harlem, New York
Died = death date and age|2007|7|18|1948|8|22
Valhalla, New York
Instrument = Spoken Word
Occupation = Writing Professor at New School University

Sekou Sundiata was an African-American poet and performer, as well as a teacher at New York City's New School. Famous students include musicians Ani DiFranco and Mike Doughty. His plays include "The Circle Unbroken is a Hard Bop", "The Mystery of Love", "Udu", and "The 51st Dream State". He also released several albums, including "Longstoryshort" and "The Blue Oneness of Dreams". [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/arts/music/20sundiata.html?ex=1342584000&en=a3cef126a89fa547&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss "New York Times", "Sekou Sundiata Dies at 58; Performer of Text and Sound" July 20 2007] ] The "Blue Oneness of Dreams" was nominated for a Grammy Award. [ [http://www.topix.net/content/ap/2007/07/poet-performer-sekou-sundiata-dies AP via Topix.net "Poet, Performer Sekou Sundiata Dies" July 20 2007] ]

His subjects included Jimi Hendrix, Nelson Mandela, and reparations for slavery.

Mr. Sundiata was a Sundance Institute Screenwriting Fellow, a Columbia University Revson Fellow, a Master Artist-in-Residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, the first Writer-in-Residence at the New School University in New York, and a professor at Eugene Lang College.

Early life and education

Sekou Sundiata was born Robert Franklin Feaster in Harlem but changed his name in the late 1960s to honor his African heritage. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from the City College of New York in 1972 before successfully undertaking a master's degree in creative writing from the City University of New York. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/arts/music/20sundiata.html?ex=1342584000&en=a3cef126a89fa547&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss "New York Times", "Sekou Sundiata Dies at 58; Performer of Text and Sound" July 20 2007] ]

Performances

Sundiata's works combined poetry, music and drama. His musical influences included jazz, blues, funk and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. He worked closely with Craig Harris on works such as "Udu" about slavery in modern Mauritania and "The Circle Unbroken is a Hard Bop" about African Americans reaching adulthood in the 1960s. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/arts/music/20sundiata.html?ex=1342584000&en=a3cef126a89fa547&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss "New York Times", "Sekou Sundiata Dies at 58; Performer of Text and Sound" July 20 2007] ]

Sundiata based his one man show "Blessing the Boats" on experiences of heroin addiction (back in the 60s), a car crash and a kidney transplant from a friend. He toured the show around the United States and internationally. ["The Australian" "Poets passing a profound loss" July 20 2007 accessed through the Australia New Zealand Reference Centre] The impact of the show inspired members of the audience to volunteer to become organ donors. ["The Melbourne Age" "Vale inspiring poet/activist" 20 July 2007 accessed through Ebbsco's Australia New Zealand Reference Centre]

His last work, "the 51st (dream) state," featured music, dance, video and poetry about the responses to the September 11, 2001 attacks. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/arts/music/20sundiata.html?ex=1342584000&en=a3cef126a89fa547&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss "New York Times", "Sekou Sundiata Dies at 58; Performer of Text and Sound" July 20 2007] ] After a performance at the Melbourne Festival, ["The Melbourne Age" "Vale inspiring poet/activist" 20 July 2007 accessed through Ebbsco's Australia New Zealand Reference Centre] the show was performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in November 2006. [ [http://www.topix.net/content/ap/2007/07/poet-performer-sekou-sundiata-dies AP via Topix.net "Poet, Performer Sekou Sundiata Dies" July 20 2007] ]

Recorded works

Sundiata recorded a number of works. His first recording "The Blue Oneness of Dreams" was nominated for a Grammy. He toured with Ani DiFranco on her Rhythm and News tour in 2001 and his "longstoryshort" album was released on DiFranco's Righteous Babe label. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/arts/music/20sundiata.html?ex=1342584000&en=a3cef126a89fa547&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss "New York Times", "Sekou Sundiata Dies at 58; Performer of Text and Sound" July 20 2007] ]

Sundiata's work was featured on HBO's "Def Poetry" series and PBS's "The Language of Life". [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/arts/music/20sundiata.html?ex=1342584000&en=a3cef126a89fa547&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss "New York Times", "Sekou Sundiata Dies at 58; Performer of Text and Sound" July 20 2007] ]

Teaching career

Sundiata taught writing at New School in New York City . DiFranco was one of his students and claimed at the time of his death that Sundiata "taught me everything I know about poetry." [ [http://www.topix.net/content/ap/2007/07/poet-performer-sekou-sundiata-dies AP via Topix.net "Poet, Performer Sekou Sundiata Dies" July 20 2007] ]

Mike Doughty also studied under Sundiata in DiFranco's class. He wrote "Screenwriter's Blues" which was a minor hit for his band Soul Coughing in the 1990s, while studying in Sundiata's class. [ [http://www.mikedoughty.com/blog/ Mike Doughty blog] ]

Death

Sekou Sundiata died of heart failure at a hospital in Valhalla, New York on July 18 2007. He had struggled with many life-threatening conditions throughout his life, including cancer, kidney failure, a kidney transplant, pneumonia, and a broken neck sustained in an auto accident. ["The Australian" "Poets passing a profound loss" July 20 2007]

References

External links

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/arts/music/20sundiata.html Sekou Sundiata Dies at 58] at New York Times. Retrieved July 20, 2007
* [http://www.salon.com/audio/2000/10/05/sundiata/ Sekou Sundiata's "the sound of the memory"]
*A 2002 Fresh Air [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4561097 interview with Sekou Sundiata]
* [http://kadmusarts.com/blog/?p=303 A 2006 KadmusArts interview with Sekou Sundiata] interview with Sekou Sundiata
* [http://authors.aalbc.com/sekou_sundiata.htm Sekou Sundiata at aalbc.com] literary site
* [http://www.righteousbabe.com/artists/sekou/index.asp] Righteous Babe record label
* [http://www.multiartsprojects.com/artist_index.php?artistid=11&sectionid=134] MultiArts Projects
* [http://www.newschool.edu/lang/faculty.aspx?id=1776] New School University
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12122622&ft=1&f=1] National Public Radio
* [http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2007/07/remembering_sekou_sundiata.html] Bill Moyers remembrance of Sekou Sundiata
* [http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0730,reid,77324,2.html] obituary by Vernon Reid


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