Life is About Energy
2002 – 2006 Fire Station #65, 103rd and East Century Blvd, Watts, Los Angeles (through the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs)
Firefighters put out fires. Poets light fires of creativity, imagination and illumination.
The energy of fire is changeable. It can create warmth in a hearth or set the whole house on fire. “Life is about energy. Wisdom is how you spend it.” So says Father Amde Hamilton of the Watts Prophets.
We cannot escape the fact that Watts was once set ablaze.
To light up New Orleans, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia,
Detroit, New York and most major cities of the world,
it takes millions and trillions of watts.
To light up Los Angeles it took one.
I remember Watts.
from “I Remember Watts” by poet, Richard Dedeaux of the Watts Prophets
I could see no other way of approaching this project for the Fire Station and the community of Watts without including the voice of Watts, which is the voice of the Watts Prophets – a trio of poets including Amde Hamilton, Otis O'Solomon and Richard Deadeaux. One of the good things that came out of the Watts Rebellion of 1965 was the Watts Writers Workshop, which was started by academy award winning writer, Budd Schulberg. Although Richard has passed on, Amde and Otis continue the workshop’s healing legacy by bringing poetry and a positive message to “youth at risk” as well as comfortable middle-schoolers in L.A. and across the country. The Watts Prophets are also widely known as the grandfathers of hip hop.
Firefighters put out fires. Poets light fires of creativity, imagination and illumination.
The energy of fire is changeable. It can create warmth in a hearth or set the whole house on fire. “Life is about energy. Wisdom is how you spend it.” So says Father Amde Hamilton of the Watts Prophets.
We cannot escape the fact that Watts was once set ablaze.
To light up New Orleans, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia,
Detroit, New York and most major cities of the world,
it takes millions and trillions of watts.
To light up Los Angeles it took one.
I remember Watts.
from “I Remember Watts” by poet, Richard Dedeaux of the Watts Prophets
I could see no other way of approaching this project for the Fire Station and the community of Watts without including the voice of Watts, which is the voice of the Watts Prophets – a trio of poets including Amde Hamilton, Otis O'Solomon and Richard Deadeaux. One of the good things that came out of the Watts Rebellion of 1965 was the Watts Writers Workshop, which was started by academy award winning writer, Budd Schulberg. Although Richard has passed on, Amde and Otis continue the workshop’s healing legacy by bringing poetry and a positive message to “youth at risk” as well as comfortable middle-schoolers in L.A. and across the country. The Watts Prophets are also widely known as the grandfathers of hip hop.