Ted Joans was born in Cairo Illinois, USA in 1928, he died in 2003. He is a poet, traveler, film-maker, painter, musician, collector, photographer, vegeterian and a lover.He has confessed:
« jazz is my religion and surrealism is my point of view».
The below extract was published in the collection of poems (in English) 'Double Trouble' by Ted Joans and Hart Leroy Bibbs, by éditions Revue Noire-Bleu Outremer 1992, out of print).
Writings : 'Funky Jazz Poems' (1959) (New York, Rhino Review) ; 'Beat Poems' (1959) ; 'All of T.J. and No More' (1959)(New York, Excelsior) ; 'The Truth' (1960) ; 'The Hipsters' (1961) (New York, Corinth) ; 'A Black Pow-Wow Of Jazz Poems' (1969) (New York, Hill & Wang) ; 'Afrodisia' (1970) (New York, Hill & Wang) ; 'A Black Manifesto in Jazz Poetry and Prose' (1971) (London, Calder & Boyars) ; 'Vergriffen' oder: Blitzliebe poems (1979) (Kassel, Loose Blätter Presse) ; 'The Aardvark Watcher' (1980) (Berlin, LCB-Editionen) ; 'Sure, Really Is' (1982) (Sidmouth, Transformaction) ; 'Double Trouble' by Ted Joans and Hart Leroy Bibbs (1992) (Revue Noire-Bleu Outremer) ; 'Honey Spoon' (1993) (Paris, Handshake Press) ; 'Okapi Passion' (1994) (Berkeley, Ishmael Reed Publishing) ; 'Wow' (1998) with Laura Corsiglia (Muckileo, Quartermoon) ; 'Teducation : Selected Poems' (1999) (Coffee House Press) ; 'In Thursday Sane' (2001) (Davis, CA, Swan Scythe Press); 'Our Thang : Several Poems, Several Drawings', with Laura Corsiglia (2001) (Victoria,CA Ekstasis Editions)
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Anathema of Erection
[published in RN 05 in June 1992 and in 'Double Trouble', original text written in English]
In Gdansk it is against the law
to place your penis
on the shoulder
of a married man
Or a married woman
in the month of March
On crowded metros
The Protruding Causes Brooding
and Is In No Way Soothing to the victim
...
In Adelaide on public transports
but not taxis or rented limos
men above the age of 18 years can
legally play with their penis
IF their hand is in a pocket
without a hole in it HOWEVER
this does not apply to the
back pocket there it is forbidden
The Protruding Causes Brooding and
Is In No Way Soothing to Onlookers
...
In Indianapolis if any woman or girl
older than 12 years are caught in the
act of drawing in public places
an image of a boy or a man with an
erected penis a drawing done in any
style be it ancient Egypt Classic Greek
or Roman or even in a modern manner
such as Mondrian or Jackson Pollack
She can be prosecuted to the fullest
extent of the Indianapolis Law because
The Protruding Causes Brooding and
Is In No Way Soothing to the public
...
The Public Region of Masculinity
has nothing to do with institutional
obscenity nevertheless the anathema
of erection prevails yet there shall
never be a penis-erection-thaw thus it
remains high way above institutional law.
Ted Joans, February 31, 1991
extract from 'Double Trouble' 1992
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