Human Earthquake Closes Philly's Robbins Book Store

Marvin X and Baba Lumumba of Umoja House, Washington DC. Marvin
participated in the Black Power to Hip Hop Conference at Howard University

"Marvin X was my teacher. Many of our comrades came through his Black Arts Theatre, including Bobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver, Emory Douglas and Samuel Napier."--Dr. Huey P. Newton, co-founder, Black Panther Party


Brace yourself and listen to this master narrator tell his story. Bold,
callous, calculating, cultivating, coniving but always deeply poetic.
Marvin X drives us through the depths of a hell so chilling as to leave
the reader in a deep freeze. When you listen to Tupac Shakur, E. 40, Too
Short, Master P or any other rappers out of the Bay Area of Cali, think
of Marvin X. He laid the foundation and gave us the language to express
Black male urban experiences in a lyrical way.

We are talking about the existential experiences of Black men in the era following the
departure of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding and before Tupac's exile.

We enter the millennium fully cognizant of the possibilities but ever
mindful of the colonized terrain we exist in daily. Marvin
X...illuminates the necessary tensions between residual and emerging
orders. He also provides insight into fluid identities shaped in this
space and time.
--James G. Spady, Philadelphia New Observer, December, 1999





Last night Marvin X "The Human Earthquake" hit the legendary Robbins Book Store, aka Moonstone Art Center. His reading closed the institution on a radical note as owner Larry Robbins relaxed on his estate. Poet Lamont Steptoe facilitated the event, with poetic introductions by Philly poets Azizah and Pheralyn Dove, aka "Lady Dove"! They both read poems dedicated to Marvin X for his role as a griot of the North American African nation.

Marvin X took the mike and gave a summary of his national tour Revolution on the Rocks. Although he is promoting The Wisdom of Plato Negro, audiences were more interested in his manual How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy, a 13 step manual for a Pan African mental health peer group based on the AA model. He then discussed his controversial pamphlet The Mythology of Pussy and Dick, a manhood and womanhood writes/rites of passage. He noted CIA director General Betrayus has just resigned from his job because of his apparent addiction to pussy. The great general may have achieved some modicum of victory in Iraq and Afghanistan, but was defeated by Pussy Power! Marvin or Dr. M noted that there is a national program by police agencies to reach out to young gang members to stop killing over their problems with male/female relations. At the recent conference on Black Power and Hip, Dr. M answered a question from one young male who was troubled over the effeminization of young black males and lesbianism among females. Dr. M recommended manhood and womanhood training or rites of passes for both genders. The chief goal of White Supremacy America is to punk out black men and woman, for it cannot stand strong black men and women who are secure in their sexual identity, spiritual consciousness and social activist tradition. The poet read several parables and fables from the Wisdom of Plato Negro. After  reading the poet was interviewed for 2  and 1/2 hours on Harambee Radio.com. Next Friday, November 16, the poet returns to Philly for a reading/signing at Black and Nobel Books,3pm. On Saturday, Novembder 17, 4-6pm, the poet participates in Black Power Babies, an intergenerational discussion at Brooklyn's Restoration Plaza, Skylight Gallery. For information, booking, contact Sun in Leo PR 718-496-2305. prgirl@suninleo.com