Troupe, Quincy

Quincy Troupe is a journalist, poet, teacher, spoken-word performer with noted jazz artists, former California poet laureate, children’s book author, and editor of the quarterly magazine Black Renaissance Noir. He is also the author of Miles: The Autobiography; co-author of the bestselling The Pursuit of Happyness, which was made into a film starring Will Smith; and Miles & Me, a memoir of his friendship with Miles Davis. In Duende: Poems 1966-Now (Seven Stories Press), words are notes, and it’s the music you make with them that matters. In the 50-page, incantatory poem “Ghost Voices,” there is a longing to reconnect to the past and to be free of it. In the short title poem, “Duende: For García Lorca and Miles Davis,” there lies Troupe’s credo: “… secrets, mystery infused in black magic / that enters bodies in forms of music, art/ poetry imbuing language with sovereignty / in blood spooling back through violent centuries …”. The collection includes new poems and selections from Troupe’s 11 published volumes. What’s remarkable is his constancy, his energy, and how he’s always looking right at you in the here, while seeing something over your shoulder that others don’t see yet.