A poet in the pocket: The identity repair photographer of Go-Go

The definition of the adjective "genius" is associated with the achieving of unprecedented insight. The noun "genius" is a level of aptitude, capability, or achievement that exceeds the accomplishment of almost any other person in the same field. Thomas Sayers Ellis, whose aura exudes artistic elements of his hometown of Washington, DC, is indeed a lyrical as well as a visual genius. The recent release of his second book of poetry, Skin, Inc.: Identity Repair Poems (Graywolf Press, September 2010), cements the fact that he is truly one of the most gifted poets of his generation.

A product of the sights and sounds of DC, Ellis is truly forever connected to the Washington DC music scene. He describes, "I was born into the age of the end of house parties and that period, in DC, where you and your crew walked the night-streets in search of a house and the day-streets in search of a block party. I liked to draw, was in karate class learning ‘forms' and was taught to ‘boost' (stealing ‘fly' sh*t, as we used to say) by a slightly older guy from my neighborhood who loved the Soul Searchers. He took me to hear them at the Masonic Temple and in that sound, I heard e v e r y t h i n g I was interested in, especially the lyric and percussive value of home. Not a song, but a sound for the town."

Ellis quickly realized that he had to be a part of this sound. "I was skinny and was called Sticks because I could play and spin the sticks at the same time, something Go-Go Mickey (Reality, RE) still teases me about to this day. I played with Heavy Connection first and we used to open for Trouble Band & Show and were managed and taken apart by Reo Edwards. Both William "JuJu" House (EU, etc.) and James Avery (Trouble Funk) were in that band with me. I was the youngest in that band and I bought JuJu a metronome to stop him from playing so fast--those were our Glenarden Rec. and Club LeBaron days." This is the period Ellis often refers to as "The Golden Age of Go-Go" which went from the recording of Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers "Bustin' Loose" to the emergence of the Junkyard Band's maturation from the buckets to the "real stuff."

He continues, "I then played with Petworth Band & Show where all we did was open for Rare Essence. I used to do my homework, take a nap, make a frozen pizza, put on my Panama Jack hat and a silver chain with a little drum on it, hit the neck and chest with the boosted Lagerfeld cologne then walk from 7th & O to 7th & T to the Howard Theater for Petworth, Redds & the Boys and Rare Essence. I auditioned for the spot vacated by RE rototom/timbale player David Green on a rainy night 1986 in the famous basement on Xenia Street, S.E., but "The One on One," the most distinct and original drum/conga/timbale sequence in the history of Go-Go did me in. Goodbye stage, hello page."

Photography came a little later. Ellis recalls, "I didn't start taking pictures in the Go-Go until I was in college and MeShell (Johnson then, Ndegeocello now) joined Little Benny and the Masters. All we did was hang out, listen to music, go to the movies and shoot. I am not a photographer; I am someone sent home with a tool to make a specific project so that it will be done. Photography is just a way of seeing, perhaps even just another way of writing but everything is writing or can be read. I am mostly a passionate victim of the sound of sight."

In Part 2 of this article, Ellis will discuss his two books, the Award Winning The Maverick Room and his recent release, Skin, Inc. Identity Repair Poems, which Publisher's Weekly has referred to as "a major book" as well as the "Postcards in the Pocket" visual series.