“We each have lessons to learn and to teach, and healing is something we all do together.”—David Bedrick (Talking Back to Dr. Phil)
Black History Month is a time I usually reserve for purchasing and reading books by and about African Americans to help add functional substance to the month’s cultural and educational value. It therefore was unlikely that I would read David Bedrick’s Talking Back to Dr. Phil ––after receiving a copy as a gift––any time soon. This is what happened to change my mind:
Just as I was preparing to place the book halfway between a stack of titles waiting for my attention, I took a quick look inside at the acknowledgments page and read this opening sentence: “About twenty-five years ago, I had the privilege of hearing the music and poetry of Etheridge Knight, a freedom-loving black poet living in Boston.”
Since Knight was one of my all-time favorite tortured-soul scarred-radical-genius explosively-complex literary heroes, I knew well enough who he was. A sharp sting of envy focused my attention on the fact that Bedrick had actually sat in his presence. Moreover, he had received something of a literary benediction from the 1987 American Book Award-winning author after reciting Knight’s powerful poem, “Belly Song,” for him. That act moved the great poet to declare, “You own that poem; I give it to you.”
The Sea in Me and The Sea in You
Those familiar with “Belly Song” know that, in a sense, he had already given it to the world as stated in the second stanza: “This poem/ I give/ to you.” Nevertheless, it is one thing to accept the gift of such words inside the anonymous space of one’s head and quite another to receive them via the poet’s personal declaration. Beyond envy over this powerful exchange, many might find themselves curious over why and how a 21st century healer of wounded psyches should have remained so deeply connected with one of African-American literature’s most captivating authors. The answer, again, may be found in “Belly Song.” Like Bedrick’s concept of effective psychology, the poem with its fragmented lines and passionate affirmations acknowledges and honors the often epic struggle shared by individuals who triumph over trauma:
And I and I/ must admit
that the sea in you
has sung/ to the sea/ in me
and I and I/ must admit
that the sea in me
has fallen in love
with the sea in you
because you have made something
out of the sea
that nearly swallowed you
––Etheridge Knight (from Belly Song)
Two paragraphs after his homage to Knight, Bedrick expresses his “gratitude to African-American educators, writers, and activists Cornel West, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, bell hooks, and Howard Thurman, who have taught me that justice is love in action, love in the world.” Such a richly inclusive canon of influences easily justified placing his book a little higher on the stack designated for Black History Month priority reading. He further sealed the deal with this quotation by Toni Morrison (from a 1990 conversation with Bill Moyers on World of Ideas) at the beginning of the book’s introduction:
“It is more interesting, more complicated, more intellectually demanding and more morally demanding to love somebody, to take care of somebody, to make one other person feel good.”
But this acknowledgement of African-Americans’ contributions to the development of his theoretical framework is only one significant aspect of the skill and wisdom with which Bedrick addresses some of the most central issues of contemporary times. His proposals (as further discussed in part 4) are particularly significant in light of the frequently-referenced demographic shifts well underway in the United States and the political and social evolutions taking place in other major world centers.
NEXT: Counselor Calls for Major Change in Talking Back to Dr. Phil (part 2): The Book Review
by Aberjhani
co-author of Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance
and ELEMENTAL The Power of Illuminated Love
Further Notes on Etheridge Knight and African-American History
- Etheridge Knight on YouTube
- Poet and Publisher Haki Madhubuti on Etheridge Knight
- The Harlem Renaissance and the Year 2020 (Part 1)
- 100th Anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance
- Poem for a President: Midnight Flight of the Poetry Angels
- Jazz Harlem Renaissance Baby Doll
- Harlem Renaissance Dialogues Part 1 Living and Writing Black History
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