Award-winning poet and performer Saul Williams explores how artists today must respond to systemic violence and injustice, in the words of Paul Robeson, by choosing sides.
Songs My Mother Taught Me is a clear-eyed exploration of how writers and artists, from Amiri Baraka to local musicians in Brazilian bars to Palestinian hip-hop heads, have responded to imperialist violence, oppression, and genocide. Riffing on Paul Robeson’s famous declaration, Saul builds a provocative case for why today’s artists cannot remain neutral in the face of injustice. “We need songs that crumble empires,” he writes, “films that teach, remind, and inspire, poems that would make a despot revoke your citizenship.”
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“The spirit of this work is infectious. A graphic poem of resistance wonderfully told through Afrofuturistic flare.”
―Publishers Weekly, praise for Said the Shotgun to the Head
"Saul Williams’ new book Martyr Loser King turns cyberpunk into creative rebellion. The multidisciplinary artist’s upcoming graphic novel reframes sci-fi through a Black radical lens, spotlighting the power of community and collective consciousness."
―Essence, praise for Said the Shotgun to the Head
"A mighty talent. He takes readers on epic voyages into frontiers that offer a refreshing awakening of the mind and a roller coaster ride into an abyss of demons, deities, occult symbols, and more."
―Amsterdam News, praise for Said the Shotgun to the Head
"An invitation to live and die in the moment, a confrontation of the politics of empire, a dare to transform oneself in the face of fear and a post 9-11 love song all in one."
―Zack de la Rocha, praise for Said the Shotgun to the Head
"Astonishing...poet. The internal rhyme, metrics, and imagery are so fleet...that they're humbling."
―The Washington Post, praise for Said the Shotgun to the Head