Reviewed by Jeffrey Dessources
By Jill Scott
Hardcover, $12.89
Jill Scott is best known for being a Neo-Soul
vocalist, platinum selling artist, and Grammy award nominee. She can now add
poet and author to her array of talents. In her first work of poetry The
Moments, the Minutes, the Hours: The Poetry of Jill
Scott, Scott’s poems make the transition from a personal journal to the
general public. While intently exploring
the complexities of African American women she also touches on topics ranging
from poverty and culture to love and religion.
Within the introduction
Scott remarks “I felt riveted to read something so close to my own experience”(xiv). This search led her to discovering such visionaries
as Emily Dickinson and Nikki Giovanni. It is Giovanni’s influence that is
strongly present throughout the pages of this text. Scott channels the great
poet to help create a literary voice for a new generation writers on many
levels. Her topics, language use and experiments with style are important
approaches towards reaching out to a broad audience. The poems have a great
feeling of an old and new style of poetry.
Beginning with chapter
one, All the Evil and All the Love, Scott keys in on the long tradition
of love poems. The poems that focus on the relationships between men and women
are taking place in diverse locations such as the home, church, and
nightclubs. With these tactics readers
are able to get a sense of Scott’s vulnerability. Within the poem Across
Your Bread the lines “As much as I didn’t want / I have stumbled / tripped /
fallen ova myself in love with every molecule of / you” (1) reveal a great deal
of Scott’s emotions. She connects to readers with her ability to present ideas
relatable to daily experiences of relationships. In King at Clubs,
readers find themselves partying in a nightclub in search of a significant
other. “Every Friday night my sistas are going to the
Funky Blue Jazz Club on 42nd and Whatever” (7) are lines that call
on the African American traditions of Funk, Blues and Jazz music to aid in the
storytelling process. The stirring sound of her music is brought to paper with
vivid descriptions of feelings and excitement shared by her and the audience.
As Maya Angelou has done before her Jill Scott’s voice on the struggles of love
and relationship is heard loud and clear. This chapter is full of lyric poetry
and spoken word poetry that adds a unique flavor to a deep topic.
Jill Scott continues to
create change by adding a new twist to an ancient poetic technique. The Moments, the Minutes, the Hours: The Poetry of Jill Scott has a chapter devoted to the
short three line poem, the haiku. These poems reflect the tales that Scott has
woven through each page. The short
pieces exhibit simplicity and directness to bring out complex situations. Haiku
#1 wonderfully presents a case of expression and vision:
It was a loud cry
When I was brought to this
world
Been loud ever since (33)
This is petite in length
yet carries a piercing tone. The
combination of style and content records the essence of everyday situations and
links to the reading public.
Chapter four entitled Us
Sistahs Sometimes mirrors Giovanni’s ability to
use words to connect to women of color. The poem When the Women Gather speaks
on female diversity. She uses an efficient technique of questioning to point
out unique differences. “Ever watch the women?/bend
from the waist/Like wind make wheat do” (67) asks readers to reflect on a
seemingly simple question. Metaphorically throughout she makes exquisite
comparisons between the beauty of nature and women that add a breath of fresh
air to the piece. Mrs. Bird is a poem that introduces readers to Nokia.
Scott’s imagery gives this character independence and strength. “Nokia walked in high heels/Long before
crawling class was through” (69) is line that demonstrates the ambition of a
strong woman, whose voice is jumping off of the page. Throughout the text but
especially in chapter four Scott sheds light on an assortment of female roles.
Here on is can feel the impact of the great Sonia Sanchez whose words have
touched and liberated women across the world. From cover to cover readers are
able to relate to mothers, sisters, grandmothers, godmothers, housewives, working women, musicians, prostitutes,
girlfriends and many more. She creates a map of the African American female
experience that speaks to a number of listeners.
In creating a voice Jill
Scott ignites a cultural response with her use of vernacular. Untitled #2 is an example of how she uses dialect as a call for
remembrance and movement. She states that she “Won’t shuck and jive / Not gonna coon / Not I / Too many ancestors’ tears stains on my
face” (54). Scott effectively uses
certain colloquial speech to place emphasis on the mission and expression. The
first line of the opening poem of the text successfully does so by stating “I’m
juss gon say what I need
to” (1). Although not Standard English
readers are able to relate to and comprehend what is happening in this line.
Using such terms helps Scott reach different ages, cultures and classes. These
techniques and ability to cross-reference adds honesty to the process. She is
unafraid to take chances in speaking to various audiences.
Being an accomplished
performer and musician has given Jill Scott a solid fan base. Her shows will
continue to garner fans waiting to hear her sultry and soulful voice. The
Moments, the Minutes, the Hours: The Poetry of Jill
Scott now creates an additional arena for such a moving and emotional
voice. The energy of a stage performance has transferred to the pages of this
text. She is concise with her readers and reflects images in ways that
simultaneously solicit joy and pain. She mixes the extraordinary power of
greats Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni and Maya Angelou with her own
Jeffrey Dessources is a 2nd year M.A. student at