Additionally, we were tasked with putting together a book of poetry from Poets of his choosing to present to our Mothers on Mothers Day. It was then that my appreciation for Poetry & Prose began.
Being a child of the late 60’s early 70’s, I am a product of a social consciousness ignited by a rekindled pride of the people. People like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, The Last Poets, Marvin Gaye, Harry Belafonte, and the names go on.
Baldwin, Dubois, Goings, Van Peebles, etc. The songs, movies, books, and most profoundly, the speeches given by each of them tried by heart charting the quest for the man that I am today, David E. Vencil, aka Dawud Nnandi.
It is my passion to write verse, and to me, fact and fiction, that this generation may become aware; and my generation can reflect on with laugh and occasional cry. My hope is that with each new chapter, readers may come away with the understanding that while we may have “arrived”, we have not “attained”.
"Moment of Thought"
It is my belief that the Panther is the epitome, thusly the embodiment of stealth, strength, cunning and pride. The Blue Jay is swift of flight, alert and intent of purpose.
David and Dawud mean - Beloved
Nnamdi means - My Father is still Alive.
By assuming Dawud Nnamdi as my Nom De Plume, I am honoring my Father.
Each time I pen my name I pronounce his presence as it is to be interpreted - My Beloved Father is Still Alive.
The mythological Gryphon has the body of a Lion and the head of an Eagle.
My Gryphon, Nnamdi’s Griffin, has the body of the Panther and the head of a Blue Jay - reason being that my Father was the man who molded me, and taught me how to think, to make rhyme or reason of this process we call life.
So then, this is I, “Black, Proud and Determined To Be Free”…. Asking all who might care - “What You Gonna Do When You Get There”?
