Welcome to Fantom Island, where iLL-Literacy's legend finds its habitat. If you've happened upon this portal, may we be as bold as to assert that nested in you is a healthy curiosity. Whether you were drawn here by the Slanted i at this page's 1-o-clock, the quick flash of during loading, or simply because you have a click-happy finger – you've arrived. HihowRUhi?
The peculiar thing about Fantom Island is that it is but a mirage – an Imaginary oasis isolated in the confines of our brainwaves. We shall gradually reveal morsels of our folklore here, so please visit often. To return, simply bring your Imagination as your passport.
Fantom Island
Sunday Sermon: Gil Scott-Heron
Might be a little more appropriate for Wednesday Word, but hey, at the end of the day it all comes down to the word. This week, I had an intimate experience of listening to a hero of mine that I’ve never had the time to fully experience. A musician, a poet, a singer, Gil Scott Heron is one of the few models I have for the vision of the artist I want to become. I am shocked by how closely the humor in my poetry resembles Heron’s even though there is no direct correlation. I had been writing way before I heard “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” but it’s lines like “Roy Wilkins strolling through Watts in a red, black, and green liberation jump suit that he’s been saving for just the proper occasion” that make me wonder if I came up with that in another lifetime. But enough of the egocentricity. The only logical conclusion to this phenomena is the magic of collective consciousness; the belief that all the world withdraws and deposits into a shared bank of knowledge and ideas. Thank you for your deposit, Mr. Heron. I have overdrawn on your brilliance. Time to pay it back. Check out “Whitey on the Moon” (an idea that even my Mom has talked about since I was a child although I’m positive she has no clue who Gil Scott Heron is) and then his soulful “Or Down You Fall” that I’ve included just as a bonus. Withdraw and enjoy!
“Whitey on the Moon”
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“Or Down You Fall”
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