Sekou Sundiata

Sekou Sundiata was born Robert Franklin Feaster in Harlem, New York, but changed his name in the late 1960s to honor his African heritage. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from the City College of New York in 1972, before successfully undertaking a master's degree in creative writing from the City University of New York. ==Performance==

In 1977, Sundiata together with poets including Rashidah Ismaili, Sandra Maria Esteves, Akua Lezli Hope, Mervyn Taylor and others formed the Calabash Poets Workshop, regularly producing events. Sundiata's works combined poetry, music and drama. His musical influences included jazz, blues, funk and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. He worked closely with Craig Harris on works such as Udu, about slavery in modern Mauritania, and The Circle Unbroken is a Hard Bop about African Americans reaching adulthood in the 1960s. The impact of the show inspired members of the audience to volunteer to become organ donors. His last work, the 51st (dream) state, featured music, dance, video and poetry about the responses to the September 11, 2001 attacks. After a performance at the Melbourne Festival, the show was performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in November 2006. ==Recorded works==

Sundiata recorded a number of works. His first album, The Blue Oneness of Dreams (Mouth Almighty Records 1997) was nominated for a Grammy. He toured with Ani DiFranco on her Rhythm and News tour in 2001 and his longstoryshort album was released on DiFranco's Righteous Babe label. Sundiata's work was featured on HBO's Def Poetry series and PBS's The Language of Life. ==Teaching career==

Sundiata taught writing at The New School in New York City. DiFranco was one of his students and claimed at the time of his death that Sundiata "taught me everything I know about poetry." Another musician/poet who studied with Sundiata (at Eugene Lang College at The New School for Liberal Arts) was Spin Doctors' lead singer Chris Barron. In fact, it was Sekou that coined the name "Spin Doctors" for the newly formed band in 1988/89. ==Death==

Sekou Sundiata died of heart failure at a hospital in Valhalla, New York on July 18, 2007. He had struggled with many life-threatening conditions throughout his life, including cancer, kidney failure, a kidney transplant, pneumonia, and a broken neck sustained in an auto accident. ==References==