[Membroj] Elizabeth Alexander on the First Afro-American Esperantist

[Ralph Dumain]

Elizabeth Alexander recited her poem "Praise Song for the Day" as part of President Obama's Inauguration.  The poem which follows was inspired by William Pickens, though his name is not mentioned in it. Pickens cites in his autobiography, as is cited in other reference works including the "Who's Who of Colored Americans", that Pickens received a certificate from the British Esperanto Association in 1906. If there's more to the story I haven't discovered it yet. Pickens was a scholar of many languages, and was also quite prominent in the NAACP and as a spokesman for civil rights. I've collected some more information on him and an essay or two that he wrote. He deserves a much better poem than this, and perhaps I'll write one in English or Esperanto. There are, however, some good poems in this much acclaimed volume. Anyway, this poem can be added to a collage of other material surrounding the centennial of Esperanto in Washington in 1910.

   Ars Poetica #17: First Afro-American Esperantist

Gumbo ya-ya, lingua franca,
truffle or frango. Epic,
Affrilachia.

                Oh language,
my trinket, my dialect bucket,
my bracelet of flesh.

Certificate: Esperantist.
Heirloom trunk, then Beinecke.
X-ray. Communicado. Acid-free.

SOURCE: Alexander, Elizabeth. American Sublime (St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press, 2005), p. 39.