Synkroniciti is thrilled to welcome back the first of our artists for the “Curiosity” issue, poet Dee Allen., featured previously in our “Birds” issue. “Possum” is a whimsical encounter with a marsupial at night, comedy blending into a sense of of solidarity with the obstinate creature seeking shelter on the fringes of human society. Possums are misunderstood, “thought of as hated rat,” when they actually do a lot of good for the community by eating up food waste and roadkill. “Georgia Pine” asks if the damage done over years of exposure to termites–“too many tiny teeth”–over the years has rendered this Georgia pine tree unsalvageable (Dee grew up in Georgia), a metaphor for what time and society’s lack of care do to human beings. Dee’s punchy energy and percussive delivery match his tenacity and liveliness, informed by both a dry, knowing wit and emotional depth. He draws our attention and curiosity to that wildness which is so close as to be right under our nose and which is, in truth, invaluable to the society that ignores it. The way “genteel” American society views marginalized people is no different than the way we view wild animals or trees: we see resources or we see complications, but we do not see individuals. Dee makes us want to do better.
Read Dee’s humanizing poetry in the upcoming “Curiosity” issue, now available for pre-order here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/. The issue drops on June 1st, online only.
Dee Allen. is an African-Italian performance poet based in Oakland, California. Active in creative writing & Spoken Word since the early 1990s. Author of 7 books–Boneyard, Unwritten Law, Stormwater, Skeletal Black (all from POOR Press ), Elohi Unitsi (Conviction 2 Change Publishing), Rusty Gallows: Passages Against Hate (Vagabond Books ) and Plans (Nomadic Press )–and with 67 anthology appearances under his figurative belt so far. Currently seeking a new publisher to transform his finished manuscript into a finished, printed 8th book.