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I’m helping a couple of friends in their creative writing lesson plans–the goal is to show the kids some poetry form, a little urban history lesson, and defuse the cappin’ that frequently breaks out in that age group from time to time.

I say cappin’ because that’s what they call it here in Oakland, but I’ve always known it as snappin’–a street contest of quick verbal one-line jabs that can start real personal then quickly escalate to the deeply personal and end up in the land beyond personal (read: talking smack about somebody’s moms). Usually, it is all in fun and everyone walks away entertained and even the loser can feel they’ve gained a lil something out of it (Damn, that last snap was real good; I can’t wait to use it on someone else). In my circle of friends, the ultimate victory was getting your opposing for to just say, “Man…fuck you.” As in, I got no replay for what you just laid on me. This allows the loser to have the last word and throw in the towel while still getting one last barb in.

A fine example of this kind of good-natured ribbing can be found in Willie Perdomo’s “Crazy Bunch Barbecue.” Where even the most serious joke (he said that my family was so poor/that on Thanksgiving/they had to buy turkey-flavored Now & Laters) can be shaken off and laughed at.

But some jokes can cut real deep, deeper than any knife, especially when neighborhood snappin’ can escalate into a serious case of the Dozens. On the real, I’ve never heard it called this until I was all grown and partly out of the Bronx but if this Wiki article is correct (and if you believe every single Wiki entry out there, you probable have already been a victim of the Dozens) then the history of the Dozens in Afro-American culture is long and varied.

To see the Dozens in poetic action, peep Amiri Baraka’s “Jungle Jim Flunks his Screen Test” and notice that there is nothing good natured about the speaker’s tone. He is looking to pick a bar fight and he lays down the gauntlet in the first few lines (You is, you know, James/Veddy ugly) , then drives the point even further (You ugly because you know you ugly and say you ain’t) and brings it to a place beyond reproach (You ugly as the brain emptiness of a cracker lynch mob).

This reminds me of one contest I witnessed where one dude talked about one dude’s moms and the other dude retorted by talking about dude’s mom, her semi-public alcohol problem, and her very public multiple boyfriends. In street terms, he went there and the other guy (in the light of harsh truths) just walked away and took the party with him. Cuz even in our messed up teen boy silliness, we recognized and sympathized with his hurt.

So to keep it all friendly but still push the kids in their ELA skills, the teachers are going to try to teach them “El Trovo del Café y el Atole” (The Contest of Coffee and Corn Gruel), a poem I found in the excellent Herencia: The Anthology Of Hispanic Literature Of The United States. In this poem the trovadores not only poetically duel but also do it as the persona of other objects. I will also be pointing them to the text and comic version of “The Oldest Game,”–a form of persona one-upmanship between Morpheus and Chorozon from Sandman #4: A Hope in Hell— but I hope that the trovo is enough to generate some good writing.

Should be good times and I hope I can post some responses later in the year.

El Trovo del Café y el Atole (excerpto)
Por mi gracia y por mi nombre
Yo me llamo don Café.

En las tiendas más hermosas
Allí me hallará usted.

A la América he venido
Y es claro y evidente

Desde mi país he venido
A conquistar a tu gente.

Verdad yo soy el Atole
Y a Dios le pido la paz.

Café que recio vas.
También yo te dire

Que muchos en el estribo
Se suelen quedar apie.

The Contest of Coffee and Corn Gruel (excerpt)
By my grace and by my name
I am called Mr. Coffee.

In the most luxurious stores
There you will find me.

To America I have come
And it is clear and evident

From my land I have come
To conquer your people.

True I am Corn Gruel
And God I ask for peace.

Coffee don’t go so fast.
I will also tell you

That many in the stirrup
End up having to walk.

Y: The Last Man: Whys And Wherefores – vol. 10 by Brian K. Vaughan
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the last installment of the Y: The Last Man Vaughan delivers the goods when it comes to creating a powerful comic that is more about interpersonal relationships and less about ticking bombs. If he could have delivered a worthwhile explanation as to how all the males disappeared I would have given the series a higher rating but I still love this series for all its little moments and the cool exchanges between all the characters.

On the plus side, Pia Guerra’s art is a joy through the whole series and she brilliantly captures the facials for both a bloody knockout sword fight and when two people find love.

Y: The Last Man pick it up to see what happens when a male fantasy writer tries to write post-modern feminism graphic novel lit to a comic audience (read: even more males) and stick around to see a 22 year old Gen Y’er grow up in real time and have one of comic’s best adventures to date.

View all my reviews.

Espada:
“He has a rather lyrical quality, which in turn motivates people … persuades people that all is not lost,” Espada said. “The greatest enemy of democracy is hopelessness.

Fadiman:
Obama’s skill and authenticity as a writer and orator are also important, Fadiman said. “He uses the English language so beautifully. Although I’m not sure that’s a prerequisite for a president, it’s certainly a plus.”

Both authors will be speaking and donating signed copies of their books at the “Writers for Obama” fundraiser in Amherst, MA, on September 21st.

Full article, more quuotes, and details on the fundraiser can be found at the Amherst Bulletin (Inspired by Obama, area writers step up, speak out).

I hate spoilers and try to avoid any kind of early word or leaked info about films or TV shows. And there might be no movie I am more interested in right now then Zack Snyder’s version of the Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons must-read Watchmen.

I just read it again for the third or fourth time and I am blown away by its density, there are so many characters in it and Moore fleshes each and every one of them out. Now I’m not talking about just the heroes and villains since it’s a no-brainer that they all get good back stories, I’m talking about the guy who owns the corner news stand and his customers who come by every morning to check if the world has blown up yet or if that will be covered by the afternoon edition. So much detail that I am only picking up now and I wonder how much more I’ll find in the next read.

This brings me to my big question about the movie version of Watchmen. And that question doesn’t revolve around how it can keep its retro four-color richness (300 proved that Snyder can handle the visuals), or about updating character outfits (Rorshach looks pretty damn good in this pic), or who is right to play which Minuteman/Crimebuster (if I knew the right answer to those details I would be a working script doctor in Hollywood). What I really want to know is how is Snyder going to fit this 12 piece comic epic into a Hollywood acceptable movie and not leave die hard fans (read: me) hungering for more?

I don’t know the answer but I am sure hoping that Snyder does know it and can keep the Graphic Novel/Film Blockbuster streak that the Dark Knight and Iron Man have added to going strong.

Non-Spoiler Fun Link: Fox Lawyers Watching Warner Bros., Watchmen

Congrats to Paul. I can’t wait to read the book!

From final judge Martín Espada:

This is one tough, smart poet. The poems of Paul Martínez Pompa are gritty and visceral, but never cross the line into sensationalism. They are poems that vividly evoke the urban world, especially Chicago, without ever lapsing into urban cliché. They are poems that seek justice for the Latino community without ever resorting to the overheated language that all too often consigns poetry of social conscience to oblivion.

More from Martín’s intro over at Letras Latina blog.