Lorenzo Thomas tears down the house, 1976 at San Francisco State — The Poetry Center

Full-program video (with downloadable audio) at Poetry Center Digital Archive: https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/poe... "...What suns must I begin tuning / to dry up our tears" Lorenzo Thomas, for his premier reading on the West Coast, arrives on stage saying: "I want to talk about the tears and sorrows of the people." Here, March 19, 1976, he closes his set with "Grandpa's Spells," titled after Jelly Roll Morton's composition — a stunning piece of work that does exactly what he promised, almost 50 years before now and sounding like it arrived tomorrow. A poem (and performance) to study. The full-program video features Thomas's full set (he returns after this poem for an encore) followed by David Henderson fronting nine-piece Bay Area ensemble Ghetto Violence, and delivering songs for his play of that same name. #poetrycenterarchivegoeslive #lorenzothomas #blackpoets #davidhenderson