“Wheels,” by Kwame Dawes

Wheels

Yes, I have to say that the concept of ‘Non Fiction’ preceded by the adjective ‘Creative’ is for me hard to understand and interiorize. One week ago I was at my friend Alessandra’s for an exquisite dinner, and when I said I was getting in the game yet again as a student at the City University of Hong Kong, studying towards a MFA in Creative Writing, Creative Non Fiction section, suddenly her son, Marco, 10, said in a loud voice: “How is it possible? If it is ‘Non Fiction,’ it cannot be ‘Creative’.” I’d hug him because the voice of innocence, the mouth of babes, is always the smartest and the most appropriate one.

‘Non-Fiction’ is closely linked to the concept of ‘truth.’ It seems that if you write a Novel, so Fiction, you can invent. If you write Non-Fiction pieces, you have to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Last summer, a lecture by Kwame Dawes struck me deeply. First of all, I have to say that his poems are splendid, terrific, linked with the themes of our everyday life, but strangely permeated by the supernatural as if the poet had the power not only to meditate and pray but also to prophesize. His performance was outstanding, one of the best act of presenting poems I’ve never seen. Kwame Dawes alternated readings with songs, or rather sometimes he sang his poems in a powerful and rich baritone, joyful or poignant according with the context. He is tall, of big proportion, volumetric and exceptionally enjoyable. So, as you can get, I was hit and also for this reason extremely receptive.

Read more: Beyond Thirty-Nine