Four years ago I was arrested while walking through a park at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Along with many other alarmed citizens, I was charged with Felony Riot and taken to Ramsey County Jail. With the support of Minneapolis Hip Hop group Atmosphere and the Rhode Island music label Strange Famous Records, I was bonded out of jail and then hired a private attorney. [READ MORE]
One of Rhode Island’s finest passed away last night. John Joyce was a friend, hero, and mentor of mine. [READ MORE]
by JARED PAUL and RANDALL ROSE
originally featured in
Providence Journal
June 4, 2012
Once again, the people of Rhode Island have suffered from an insider
deal marketed as “economic development.” The Rhode Island Economic
Development Corporation awarded $75 million in loan guarantees to a
video-game company that has now apparently collapsed.
READ MORE
I opened my eyes the next morning not quite sure of where I was. A quick glance around confirmed that yesterday had not been a dream. Claustrophobia washed over me as I surveyed the walls of the tiny cell and the day got off to a sullen start but spirits improved dramatically by mid-morning when I was allowed to speak with an attorney. [READ MORE]
This is a copy of the email I sent to the Executive Director of Poetry Slam, Inc explaining why I’ve chosen (as much as it hurts me to do so) to withdraw from the 2011 IWPS. READ MORE
I had the amazing honor of performing two poems and a song with @OurLadyPeace Tuesday night in New York city; two poems before their set, and a song during their second encore. After I performed my first piece there was loud, supportive applause from the approximately 900 person crowd. I smiled at the audience, and said, “I think we’ve got time for one more, you ok with that?” At which point there was another loud, supportive burst of applause. READ MORE
Processing took a long, long time. Officers barked orders and made us stand with our noses to the wall while waiting in between different steps. Wrist ties were cut and they proceeded to move us around from room to room for hours. Pockets of twenty or so people were stuffed into small, filthy holding cells with no bathrooms. [READ MORE]
On Monday, September 22nd, I attended the Labor Day anti-war protest in St. Paul with a couple friends. It was Day 1 of the 2008 Republican National Convention and I was in town working on a story for a quarterly publication in Providence called The Agenda and also as a concerned citizen interested in learning about the Convention from a first hand perspective. Both the rally and the march from the Capitol to the Excel Center earlier in the day were a resounding success with over a hundred different coalitions and nearly 20,000 people participating. [READ MORE]
My mother was not an American when she crossed the border for the first time, headed south from Quebec as part of a migration of thousands of farmers and workers seeking manufacturing jobs in the industrial Northeast but her skin was white and her father had citizenship so they didn’t have to deal with racist Minute Men vigilantes at the border, private for profit detention centers for undocumented Americans, or violent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids at home, work, or school. They were allowed to pass in relative safety and peace, many years later she gave birth to two children and taught me my ABC’s in this language watching Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street, and although I am choosing not to have children of my own, the ones that I adopt will learn the same through symbols like these…
…READ MORE
Its 2012 and I’m still in the water
sharks swarm but I’m never swimming for shore
Let’em Come, Let’em Come! I’ve sharpened my tongue
not scared of the deep, ain’t afraid to see blood
others pulled off the road, headed for home
sunk to the bottom couldn’t find a way to float
low oxygen, closed like a vice up on their throat
no one hears a scream that can’t survive on what it wrote
…READ MORE
