The Hermit
By Iain Watson
Introduction
The death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others weighs heavy on my mind; these senseless murders have sparked a worldwide call to action to address a long overdue racist and corrupt police/justice system. Society can no longer be complicit, this is not the time to be silent, we must raise up the voices that need to be heard. The slope is slippery; however, we are seeing an ongoing rise of COVID-19 cases and deaths that are forcing many of us to stay inside, but there is also a dire need to be outside letting our leaders know this injustice cannot continue. With our unstable leadership, an attack on science, a crumbling economy, racial tensions, and conspiracy Karens coming out of the woodwork, I find navigating through these times difficult, especially for an empath like me. All I know is the seeds have been planted and we will be seeing a crop of beautiful art emerging from our community and across the world – much of it will be hard to digest but it must be out there for public consumption.
The Poetry Community
With all that is affecting our fragile world, I have been thinking of the community of poets . . . the ones I proudly call my friends. Some of them have not written one single word, but some have enough material to compile a book. I think of those poets who sadly will not return to our collective, but I think of those poets who will step on stage for the first time and experience a life changing moment and might even find a home in our collective. I think of the amazing community of poets and know they are wrestling with sadness, uncertainty, and depression. I understand that there is pain and anger but there are also small glimmers of hope. The community of poets are not okay and that is okay. This is where our alchemy spawns light from the dark; we are brilliant, we are resilient, and we will be okay. Our collective, Spoken Views Collective (SVC), was definitely derailed from all future events, which included our monthly open mics, slam nights, specialized events like Lit at Nite and Poets of the Caribbean, as well as an amazing opportunity to share the stage with poet IN-Q at the Nevada Museum of Art. Ironically, this was the first time in the 16 years of our existence that we actually sat down and planned ahead for our upcoming season. We were more organized than ever and even had a plan to publish an annual book, sort of like a year-in-review, filled with photos and poems from our monthly events.
We were off to a strong start and the year was looking hopeful, but the world had other plans. With the reality of the Coronavirus sinking in, we scrambled quickly to figure out how we could still have a presence so we tried two different approaches: one was an open, single poem video submission that would be compiled into a wonderfully creative montage hosted by our member and current poet laureate, Pan Pantoja. The other was a live Zoom open mic, hosted by me. Both ideas turned out very well and can be found on our YouTube channels. We are currently on our summer hiatus and will most likely return to a virtual format in September. Although I feel our poetry platform is needed more than ever, I think this is the best time for us to take a breath, reflect, write, and do what many of us find most important— practice self-care. I have been doing my best to do all those mentioned above, but I cannot help but feel an overwhelming feeling of anxiety as I think about my career as a third-grade teacher.
The Educator
I was on my spring break when the severity of the pending pandemic became a reality; it really sunk in when I was visiting a friend at a local bar and saw the NBA announce that they would suspend the rest of their season. The news that I would not return to my classroom in April came soon after. It pained me to know I would not end the school year properly with my amazing class (my favorite to date). I did my best to be present a few times a week on Zoom and navigate through the uncharted "virtual" waters. I could not help but feel the sadness surge through my body as I saw only about half of my students each week in little boxes lined up across my computer screen. I was able to see a few students in person during our drop-off day, which was nice but also heartbreaking. I almost teared up when one of the sweetest students in my class, the one who always kept me company on my playground duty, sprinted across the asphalt full speed with arms open wide to give me one last hug. I was a little unsure what to do with the whole social distance suggestions, but in a situation like that, I just had to let it happen. So here we are in July and the hot topic right now is schools reopening in fall. The COVID-19 cases are getting worse, and now there’s talks of our federal funding being cut. I hate the fact that I am not even surprised by this, as if we already are not overcrowded, underfunded and underpaid... go ahead and twist the knife a bit more will ya?
I could go on, but let's switch gears. There has been some good that came from having to stay inside during the quarantine.
The Artist
Luckily, I found the extended break and free time as an opportunity to create. For the last couple years, I had dived deeper into hip-hop production or beat making, something I have dabbled in for the last 15 years. For those who are unaware of what this entails, I take old records and sample short parts of songs to recreate a new musical soundscape, then I layer those sounds with programmed drums and bass lines. Around summer of last year, I found myself with a handful of self-produced instrumentals that I was not willing to give/sell to other artists, so I took some time to develop ideas and write to those beats. Entering March of this year, I was sitting on about eight completed songs and felt this was the perfect time to write a little more and wrap up this project. All the loose ends were tied up with thanks to some friends and my lovely partner who filled in the gaps with their talents of singing, rapping, and “scratching.” I completed and released my solo album appropriately titled The Hermit on April 19. The 11-track album is about 35 minutes and has a range of topics from tackling my depression that lead me to stepping away from making music to lost ancient civilizations. I gained some well needed momentum during this time and have continued to produce music and am currently collaborating with a few friends. I hope to have a few more projects finished by the end of this year.
Closing
As an introvert, and artist, it has not been too difficult to stay inside and keep busy. I have allowed myself the freedom to enjoy the outdoors with daily walks, hikes, and a little camping. It has been great to know that my partner and I can tolerate each other as we both work from home; we have always been good about knowing and respecting each other’s space. It is hard to know what the future holds with so much uncertainty in our world. There are a lot of horrific realities we are facing and yet to face, but I am thankful to be part of a growing art community, and especially thankful I have found peace through artistic expression.
Some will say, "I stayed inside to protect my loved ones."
And some will say, "I went outside to protest for my loved ones."
But let it be understood,
not all Americans will be able to say that.
That very well could be the opening to my next poem.
Photos/Iain Watson.
Iain Watson is a fifth generation Nevadan and currently lives in Reno, Nevada, with his amazingly talented partner and two cats. Watson holds a MA in Teaching from Sierra Nevada College and teaches 3rd grade at Rita Cannan elementary school. He will be entering his eighth year as a certified teacher in the WSCD. Iain is the co-founder and director of Spoken Views Poetry Collective, which was founded in 2006. Watson is also is a hip-hop writer/emcee and a forever learning music producer.
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