SAUL WILLIAMS RECITES HIS POETRY

"she asked that i remove my dreams..." [170k MPEG-3] "and she doesn't want to press charges..." [760k MPEG-3] "and says i'm not there for her..." [265k MPEG-3] "she is the one who said 'fun' sounded like a word of german origin..." [155k MPEG-3] (Courtesy Pocket Books)

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Poetry: 'Slam' star's new book

June 6, 1999
Web posted at: 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT)

(CNN) -- Brooklyn-based actor, poet and performer Saul Williams has released a new book entitled "She," a collection of interconnected poems with a hip-hop feel, accompanied by a CD of the author reading excerpts of his work.

"She," published by MTV Pocket Books, is inspired by Williams' experiences. It includes illustrations by Marcia Jones, with whom Williams has had a relationship since 1995.

The star and co-writer of the award-winning 1998 film "Slam," Williams has long been known in New York's spoken-word scene. Born in Newburgh, New York, in 1972 to a preacher father and a schoolteacher mother, he says he learned to love both the spoken and written word.

"I was always making up rhymes," he says. "But I never thought that poetry would become my life."

In "She," the poetry runs the gamut, from snapshots about human interaction to multiple-page tales of family and violence. He also touches lightly -- yet with strong words -- on human strengths and weaknesses:

our relationship
seemingly
falling apart
at the seams

but our grandmothers
were both seamstresses
for a reason

A thread of introspective and personal observations weaves throughout the small book and accompanying CD:

i don't trust the man
that i am becoming
he seems too much
and seldom is

Williams attended Morehouse College in Atlanta and graduated with a B.A. in philosophy. He then moved to New York City to work on a masters degree in acting at New York University, and it was there he first entered the New York poetry world. "It was a great moment in my life," he said. "It felt like a calling."

He has also worked on several documentaries including "Underground Voices," SlamNation" and the PBS film "I'll Make Me a World."