Medusa's Children by Keith Antar Mason

Medusa’s Children by Keith Antar Mason

Release: October 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Wild Pressed Books
Source: Love Books Tours
Find it at Goodreads, Wildpressedbooks.

In general, from performing in the alleys of LA, Keith Antar Mason recounts his experience of getting on stage at the ICA in London with The Hittite Empire Performance Art Collective, an all-Black Intergenerational Men’s Cultural Elite.

Significantly, the most thought-provoking part of this poem is: “See slavery ain’t ended in America. It’s just getting better dressed.”
Above all, The narrative of the London trip and snippets of the author’s experiences back in LA is effortlessly interwoven with visceral and evocative images from Black History. Just as an illustration as memorized in his genes:
We are the nightstick.
Billyclubbed
Strangeways
Strangefruits
Survivors
Every summer is a Red Summer.
Medusa’s Children is a one voice rant, a prose memoir, a wish poem.
This is a memory written in
Ashes and Fog
Our Life on Mars
Stone cold word killers
Spitting Knowledge and Truth
Mother Medusa
Make us
Subliminal Seducers

About the Author:

Markedly, Keith Antar Mason is Artistic Director of The Hittite Empire Performance Art Collective, an all-Black Intergenerational Men’s Cultural Elite. He is the author of For Black Boys Who Had Considered Homicide When The Streets Were Too Much (Plume, 1986) and New Wine & Black Men’s Feet (Red Hen Press, 2009)

He has also performed with The Hittite Empire all over the United States and has taught and performed at Harvard University, Stanford University, UCLA, and USC.

Moreover, His work has been performed at The Black Theatre Festivals at Winston, Salem. Atlanta, LIFT, ICA London, and on Broadway at Alice Tully Hall, The Lincoln Centre.

Keith Antar Mason also conducts writing workshops in State Penitentiaries in California, Washington DC, and Nevada

Significantly, His New choreopoem, In The House of a Young Pharaoh, is being developed for Medium Production in LA in 2021.

And I know
I can see in your eyes
How you form words in your mouth
The rainy days
The hot, humid summer nights
Something Black
Has
Got
To
Die

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Medusa’s Children Review:

I have not read much poetry, but “Medusa’s Children” is a beautiful and poignant read that makes you think.

Firstly, the author prominently highlights vital issues like slavery and racism, which I feel is essential to spread awareness, especially in today’s environment. Although we have come a long way, we need to sit down like Mason and ponder on what we can do to change and eliminate these issues. Also, the author does not shy from setting a lifelike tone to the plot. Besides, the story is difficult to digest at times. Similarly, even the writing is very raw, and some terms and situations are were very explicit. However, this makes the tale feel realistic and one that connects with the reader.

Moreover, I enjoyed how the author suddenly shifts between the settings of London and LA. Similarly, the author transfixed me in the way he talks about Black History. Although the story is relatively short, the imagery of the characters and the locations are vivid and detailed. The contrast between the two environments reveals how we vary in cultures and how humanity is flawed in many ways due to his upbringing and mindset. Similarly, the author talks about life in various venues like Hollywood, touring, and stories of slavery.

From reading the memoir, you can see how much emotion the author put into the poem. Each chapter feels like you learn a new aspect of the author and how his experiences changed him. Overall, I felt “Medusa’s Children” is an eye-opener and a poem that everyone should read to experience its impact.