I don't remember exactly what alerted me to go see her speak and perform
Literary Granny Jayne Cortez reminds me to find and use my voice, no matter what.
at Bakersfield College one early Autumn Day in 2011. I do know I was blown away and when I went to speak with her afterwards and she gazed into my eyes and encouraged me to keep speaking my words, keep writing my voice, to continue with my passion no matter what.
No matter what.
I didn't know then she - the one and only Jayne Cortez - had been called "muse of the avant guard" and like me, she was an activist and a feminist. Unlike me, she had published ten books of poetry and performed with her band, The Firespitters, with whom she produced six albums of poetry with music.
I heard of her death in 2012 and mourned the loss of a phenomenal woman who I wish I had known more than one afternoon and a handful of poems later.
I haven't written of my literary grannies in a while and it seems perfect to reinstate the series with an entry about her. I want to continue to share my grannies with a twist - I want to share with you what these women have taught me because isn't that one thing grannies and aunties and any women in our lineage do? They teach us stuff through telling stories and cooking meals and arranging flowers and fixing toilets and taking walks and gleaning vegetables and fruit from the soil.
I've included a couple videos in this entry because Jayne Cortez was such a memorable performer and is often referred to as a jazz poet.
This first video is one I saw her perform in Bakersfield:
And this fierce poem, adult content warning right now - please do not hit play with children close by - speaks volumes about violence against women.
