[LeRoi Jones “Jitterbugs” Print]
Connected Items:
Jitterbugs
by Le Roi Jones
The imperfection of the world
is a burden, if you know it, think
about it, at all. Look up in the sky
wishing you were free, placed so terribly
in time, mind out among new stars, working
propositions, and not this planet where you
cant go anywhere without awareness of the hurt
the white man has put on the people. Any people. You
cant escape, there’s no where to go. They have made
this star unsafe, and this age, primitive, though yr mind
is somewhere else, your ass aint.
The Peace Posters Series: In 1970, Sam Maitin created a series of prints highlighting contemporary poems, each of which grapples with injustice, for an exhibition dedicated to world peace. Maitin’s “Peace Posters” series is characteristically colorful, but the shades are more varied than in his other poetry prints. Rather than using primary colors and clear, solid shapes, Maitin introduced oranges and purples and sketchy color blocks that seem to move across the page, as though the ink were still wet. These stylistic choices capture the messy, gusty process of working toward a more peaceful world.