Chuck Perkins (born Charles Perkins; August 25, 1965) is an American

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

poet, orator, narrator, and activist who infuses the rhythms and vernacular from the Crescent City into his musical spoken word pieces. The New Orleans ''Times-Picayune'' says that he "recites poetry like a prize fighter...always going for a knock out." He has performed internationally at London's prestigious

South Bank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Natio ...

with

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...

, as well as in Paris,

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, Manchester,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Life

Son of Charles and Gail Perkins, Chuck was born in the inner city,

Leonidas Leonidas I (; grc-gre, Λεωνίδας; died 19 September 480 BC) was a List of kings of Sparta#Heraclids, king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the List of kings of Sparta#Agiad dynasty, Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed d ...

neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana. After high school he joined the

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

before living in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

and Chicago, Illinois. Chuck finally settled back down in his home town in 2002.

Career

Spoken word albums

Bucket of Questions
A love song for NOLA

Spoken word collaborations

* '' The Voices of Urban Renewal'' in 2000 with

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

and

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...

* '' Nuspirits Helsinki'' (2002)

Film

* ''

Tradition is a Temple ''Tradition Is a Temple'' is an American documentary film about New Orleans jazz culture and modernization's effect on American traditions, written and directed by Darren Hoffman and released in 2013. Synopsis Contemporary New Orleans jazz musici ...

Narration

Publications

* '' Spoken Word Revolution Redux'' (2007) * '' Kente Cloth: South Western Voices of African Diaspora'' (1998)

External links

Homepage

Narration and Readings

Narration

* {https://web.archive.org/web/20110707102436/http://www.akbanksanat.com/web/456-9254-1-1/akbank_art_archive/13rd_jazz_festival/performers/13rd_akbank_jazz_festival_nu_spirit_helsinki/ ]

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Chuck American activists Living people 1965 births American male poets 21st-century American poets 21st-century American male writers