I Am Rarely Seen, But Here I Am Found
On Jive Poetic's "Skip Tracer" and the power of an artist's sight.
I seldom speak publicly of the books I read, though I am perpetually immersed in new literary works. Reading, you see, is the lifeblood of the craft, the solitary path to becoming a great writer. And I, with all my heart, aspire to one day be counted among the greats.
That said, today I find it necessary to break my silence and offer a recommendation.
To understand why this particular book has resonated so profoundly with me, one must first know that I have spent a lifetime navigating spaces where my presence is both omnipresent and invisible. My existence as a Black man in America is a paradoxical duality of being forever watched yet constantly unseen.
This watching I speak of manifests in the systems and structures erected to ensure my annihilation. Built to guarantee I am constantly seen as a threat, a statistic, a problem to be solved. This is the sight of the overseer, the CEO, the warden, the politician, the judge, and the police officer—those whose gaze strips away my humanity and replaces it with a distorted caricature.
Yet, there is another kind of seeing, one that is rare and fleeting, like a soft breeze on a scorching day. This is the sight of those who consider me not as an object or an obstacle but as a human being, deserving of tears, and joy, and laughter, and grace, and history, and everything that comes along with wholeness.
This is the sort of seeing I think of on days spent walking through a country that is both home and minefield. As glances slide off me, and conversations pause and pivot around my presence. As if there is an invisibility that cloaks me, a shadow that absorbs and deflects attention. It is not that I am easy to miss—my 6’2", 230-pound physicality is undeniable—but the essence of who I am, my experiences, my emotions, are often disregarded.
Which is why, when I find someone or something that doesn't negotiate my humanity but rather affirms it, I am floored. Jive Poetic is one of those someones, and his latest book, “Skip Tracer,” is one of those somethings.
Jive Poetic, a name that reverberates through the hallowed halls of the Nuyorican Poets Café and beyond, stands as a contemporary beacon of cultural and artistic expression. To understand Jive is to grasp the essence of a modern-day Amiri Baraka or Gil Scott-Heron—individuals whose artistry transcends mere performance and encapsulates the struggle, the resilience, and the soul of a people. Encountering his work is akin to stumbling upon an oasis in the desert, a place where my being isn't contested or diminished but celebrated in all its complexity.
In “Skip Tracer,” which is part memoir, and part poetry collection, readers experience a mirror maze where each reflection offers a new facet of understanding, not just of Jive’s life but our own. His words are raw, unfiltered, a direct transmission from the core of his being to the reader's heart. It's in the rhythms of his poetry, the cadence of his prose, that I find an echo of my own struggles and triumphs. There's an unmistakable power in the way he lays bare his experiences, not as spectacles to be gawked at, but as roads to resilience and liberation.
The memoir sections of “Skip Tracer” read like a conversation with a long-lost brother, one who knows the unspoken rules of our shared existence. There is no pretense, no attempt to sanitize or sugarcoat the reality. Instead, there is a courageous confrontation of the truths that define us.
Jive's poems are like jazz—brilliantly improvisational, fluid, and deeply rooted in a tradition of storytelling that spans generations. They pulse with the rhythm of life itself, capturing moments of joy, sorrow, anger, and hope with an authenticity that is both disarming and reassuring.
As you can see here:
“Skip Tracer” is more than a book; it is a lifeline. Better yet, it is a lighthouse of affirmation beaming through the fogged windows of our society.
Through his unflinching honesty, Jive offers a form of resistance that is as vital as it is beautiful. His words are a salve for the wounds inflicted by a world that often fails to see us fully. What he achieves in “Skip Tracer” is a reclamation of narrative. He takes the fragmented pieces of his existence and weaves them into a text that is both personal and universal. A testament to the power of storytelling, the way it can bridge the chasms of misunderstanding and apathy.
In the end, “Skip Tracer” is more than a collection of words on a page; it is a hymn. A gospel of Black futures and past.
I urge you to pick up “Skip Tracer” and immerse yourself in its pages. Let Jive Poetic's words wash over you, challenge you, and ultimately, transform you. For in doing so, you are not just reading a book; you are bearing witness to a truth that we are here. We have been here. We will always be here.
A Quick Thank You
Dear Friends,
I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for your incredible support of my new poetry collection, We Alive, Beloved. Your encouragement, enthusiasm, and kind words have meant the world to me.
If you haven't already, please consider leaving a review wherever you purchased the book (or on GoodReads). Your feedback allows others to discover and connect with these poems.
Thank you for being a part of this journey with me.
With Love,
Frederick
Hope you know that for many, you’re already considered one of the greats!
This book sounds amazing! The one piece you shared had me reading and re-reading and as you noted, letting the words wash over me.
I also love how you are backing a brother poet in their work. The admiration and respect you have for Jive’s writing is evident. Thank you for this recommendation!
When I read your words today I'm reminded of what a privileged (and willfully ignorant) position it is for some white people to ask out loud "why does it always have to be about race?" If we don't walk through the world as a Black person, we will never understand what it is to exist as Black. Yet with Black writers, poets, singers and artists like you Fred, Jive Poetic, Gil Scott-Heron, Nina Simone & so many others we can listen, learn and try to comprehend what it must feel like and what it must BE like. Then, we must tell other white folks to listen, learn and try to comprehend what it must be like to exist in this world in 2024. Because talking about your Black experience does matter. In order to dismantle systemic racism and eliminate ongoing oppression white allies need to be relentless in their commitment to share ALL the words, songs, experiences, joys, softness of artists like you Fred. Thank you so much for writing like you do.