Amontaine Woods is a student at Antioch University majoring in writing. This past summer I accepted an internship in the Editorial Department of Essence Magazine in New York. I am the recipient of two individual artist grants, one from the King County Arts Commission & two from the Seattle Arts Commission for the novel-in-progress. In the spring of 2000, I traveled to Bali, Indonesia & presented an original paper on African American folktales at Udayana University in cooperation with Antioch University. I have been published in Aim Magazine, a social services magazine based in Chicago, & will be published in an upcoming edition of Essence. I have just completed my first novel. ________________ Ken Saro-Wiwa (b.1941), a Nigerian novelist and environmental & politcal activist was hanged on Nov. 10, 1995. |
A journal on the writer's role in society edited by esther altshul helfgott Contributors are invited to address the question: What is the writer's responsibility to self & society? |
Writers Reading Series |
THE POWER OF THE WORD by Amontaine Woods We live in a time when the pervading mindset says that whatever and whoever brings in the most money is the most valuable. This sentiment is applied to just about everything including books, movies, music, businesses, countries, fish and wildlife, forests, and people. We live in a time when the creative--even the sacred--has been diminished, and commercial interests reign supreme. I do not believe this present mode of thinking has come about because we are inherently bad or stupid or greedy. Rather, those who can dance to dollar signs have positioned themselves in places where they now control what we hear, see, read and ultimately think. We have been hypnotized into believing that having "power over" is a supremely important position to acquire and the measure of our worth. I bring all of this up because I feel it is vital for socially- conscious writers and artists, and anyone else using time and energy to create a better world, to really consider the apathetic, commercialized and mercenary climate we are being asked to produce our work in. Consider Gil Scott Heron's classic record "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." When this mixture of poetry and song hit the airwaves in 1970 it was considered a revolutionary declaration, a virtual call to arms. Thirty years later it is the background music to a television commercial hyping some innocuous product. Rock stars, long considered rebels on the fringes of society, now have their concerts sponsored by big corporations like Pepsi and Sprite. Renegade film makers who we trust to give voice to the underclass, turn around and hype Nike shamelessly. This has the effect of anesthetizing our resistance. Those elements that would challenge the status quo are quickly appropriated by the power structure, sanitized for middle-American consumption, and used for monetary gain. The majority of our media is now in the hands of five or six mega-conglomerates, and they have fashioned an ultra-slick form of exploitation right under our noses. We, the people, have protested little, perhaps due to the mistaken notion that we really do have more diversity and choices than ever before. But as media critic Robert McChesney points out, "On the one hand, while it seems like you have a massive range of choice, they're really underneath it girded by the same commercial logic. There's very little diversity in a certain way. It's the appearance of diversity, but without it." All one has to do is look around and see how devastating the results of this commercialization. Our sense of originality and creativity is waning, as the power mongers look not for artists, but for the next big thing--which often looks a lot like the last big thing. The American Dream, which used to be about freedom and justice for all, can now be purchased on the open market in the guise of a three-bedroom house and a new BMW. We have been turned into a shallow, materialistic, fast food eating culture, and we seem proud of it. Never mind that the lack of nutritional and spiritual values are killing us. Do I sound cynical? If so, I don't mean to. For I believe there is hope, and that much of that hope lies specifically in the hands of writers who wish to use their art to change the world for the better. Though we live in a time when diverse opinions and voices are being squashed, I am reminded that some of the most powerful and inspirational writing throughout history has come from those the society has tried the hardest to restrain; those who refuse to sell their moral and ethical values to the highest bidder. Letters from prisons, such as those written by political thinkers like Doestoevsky, Angela Davis and Mumia Abu-Jamal, demonstrate just how influential the written word can be. Recently I learned about the life of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a Nigerian novelist and environmental activist who was jailed and finally put to death in 1996. In one of the letters he wrote from his prison cell he ruminated over the certainty that he would be sentenced to die. He wrote "Fearful odds? Hardly. The men who ordain and supervise this show of shame, their tragic charade, are frightened by the word, the power of ideas, the power of the pen; by the demands of social justice and the rights of man. Nor do they have a sense of history. They are so scared of the power of the word that they do not read. And that is their funeral." Here is a man who, even under the most agonizing and dehumanizing of circumstances, refused to be silenced. From the grave he continues to speak through his novels and letters. Those of us without corporations to back us up must utilize whatever available means to have our say. But what is important to remember is that even without corporate muscle, words and ideas can spread quickly and cover an astonishingly broad range. Nothing illustrates this better than the aftermath of the recent terrorist attack in New York City. I quickly became frustrated and disheartened by the biased network news coverage. To look at the network news one would believe that the attack was solely motivated by the Middle East's envy of our stellar values and freedoms, and that military retaliation was our only alternative. But soon I found alternative news sources, many of which exist on the internet. I began to see that I wasn't the only one who wanted a peaceful and sane solution. I wasn't the only one horrified by the cavalier attitudes our leaders were taking towards war. Friends and colleagues began to fill my emails with their thoughts and feelings, forwarding on articles and essays that expressed deep sorrow, but also prayers for peace. Many of these were not written by so-called "writers" but by people from all walks of life who needed an outlet for their grief and confusion. These communications of peace spread like wildfire, and continue to weave a worldwide web of love and support. This is truly an opportune time for all of us, writers and non-writers alike, to use the power of words to bond together and form a strategic alliance for social and political change. What is the writer's responsibility to self and society? As one who has been deeply transformed by words, I am acutely aware of the influence they carry over our hearts and minds, and ultimately over our future. I cannot speak for other writers, but I feel that if I have any talent at all, it should be used to spiritually uplift our world. What I like to remember is what pulled me to write in the first place. I know few writers who became so for the money. For the vast majority of us we felt a calling, a desire to express our truth. As such, I consider writing a spiritual act, and one of the most compelling tools available to expose and heal injustice. I am not arrogant enough to believe I can save the world. I just want to do my part. In the words of Ken Saro-Wiwa, "We must keep on striving to make the world a better place for all mankind--each one contributing his bit, in his or her own way." copyright2001 Amontaine Woods |
Writers Reading Series |
A journal on the writer's role in society edited by esther altshul helfgott Contributors are invited to address the question: What is the writer's responsibility to self & society? |
Amontaine Woods is a student at Antioch University majoring in writing. This past summer I accepted an internship in the Editorial Department of Essence Magazine in New York. I am the recipient of two individual artist grants, one from the King County Arts Commission & two from the Seattle Arts Commission for the novel-in-progress. In the spring of 2000, I traveled to Bali, Indonesia & presented an original paper on African American folktales at Udayana University in cooperation with Antioch University. I have been published in Aim Magazine, a social services magazine based in Chicago, & will be published in an upcoming edition of Essence. I have just completed my first novel. ________________ Ken Saro-Wiwa (b.1941), a Nigerian novelist and environmental & politcal activist was hanged on Nov. 10, 1995. |
This is truly an opportune time for all of us, writers and non-writers alike, to use the power of words to bond together and form a strategic alliance for social and political change. -Amontaine Woods |
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