December 15, 2005 Issue                                                              

©2005 The Chestnut Hill Local

Filmmaker from Hill thrills Crefeld School kids
by PAT EVANS

Asante with his newest fans from left: Julia McDougall of Mt Airy, Jaimie Lastick and Jessie Saltiel.

The audience, standing room only, was restless, on that Friday afternoon. Several students were clearly not thrilled that lunch would be late because a guest would do a poetry reading.

The man, M. K. Asante, Jr., with his shining, unlined face, neat dreadlocks and knit cap seemed too young for all the honors being described in the introduction: on a national book tour for his new book of poetry, Beautiful. And Ugly Too — first book of poetry won honors and was praised by a Pulitzer Prize winner — film has won “best documentary” at 3 film festivals — essays and articles — international tours — writer and director of a digizine — studies in London,—“but before all of that, he was a Crefelder.”

He took the stage and his smile illuminated the room. He acknowledged several former teachers with warmth and affection, then, leafing through a well-worn copy of his book, made a few comments on the ambiguity around ethnicity and race in America, and launched into a poem, “I am not that Random, America.” As he strode down the center aisle, his sonorous voice captivated his audience. Reciting from memory, the rhythm and the passion of his message left all spellbound.

After enthusiastic applause, Asante suggested that rather than just conducting a poetry reading, he would welcome conversation. He then inquired about whether some things he remembered fondly were still true of Crefeld and was satisfied by the responses from the students. Then they wanted to know about his experience at Crefeld. He laughed as he confessed he had first come to Crefeld after being thrown out of both a private and public school. He admitted he had been wild and out-of-focus, and at first he didn’t like Crefeld; thought it was weird. But then after a few months he realized, “This place is awesome. Crefeld gave me a lot of freedom, and I wasn’t used to that. And I didn’t abuse it. Crefeld was very sweet. Even knowing that I didn’t have to do things, I did them anyway. The students have personal power, and they learn to make the right decisions.”

A student asked if he had been a writer at Crefeld. Again, a shamefaced grin preceded his answer. He said he had come here as a punk. He wrote his first story, and it was bad, a judgment which his former teacher, from the audience, confirmed. He admitted that though he had frowned at free writing, he had actually liked it. Then he read a book by Jack Kerouac. “It was hip. And I thought, this is where it’s at, writing. When I told my Dad I wanted to be a writer he told me, ‘If you want to write, you have to be a good reader.’ He gave me a pile of books and [my teachers] Ken and Deb gave me books. I still read a lot. And just because these writers came before me doesn’t mean they’re right.”

Asante continued, “Crefeld gave me the opportunity to experience myself as an artist. Before Crefeld, I was mute. Here, I could dress the way I wanted and express myself.” He stated that no great person is afraid of being him or herself and that “a lot of people here are taking the risk.”

Savoring his reminiscences, he described that he had come to Crefeld, “close-minded, young, ignorant, and immature. And I got into a big argument with this girl. She was giving me examples, and she was getting through. It made me want to learn more so I could argue more persuasively.”

Asante picked up his book, then recited an extended part of Langston Hughes’ essay, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” to show where the title had come from. The passage included, “We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame…We know we are beautiful. And ugly too.” He then read/recited the title poem to a rapt audience.

Another audience member wanted to know how he had gotten into film. Asante described that he was in London on his first book tour and ran into his cousin. The cousin was not impressed that Asante had written a book, saying, “The ‘hood don’t read.” Asante wondered, “If these people aren’t reading my book, how do I communicate?” This led in many directions which included his award winning documentary film, 500 Years Later, and his DVD “magazine,” Focused Digizine.

He is currently an MFA candidate at UCLA’s graduate school for Film and Television. “Now if I get an idea, I know how to express it. The more languages you know, the more people you can communicate with.”

A teacher commented on his articles in USA Today and the Tampa Tribune and wondered how he had become a journalist, too. He responded, “When I was at Crefeld, I played basketball, and in basketball, you shoot to make it. It’s the same with writing. I write to publish. I don’t predetermine whom to write for. When I have an idea, I write and then I shop it around. I don’t want to have it just sitting in my computer.”

As the time was coming to an end, a student asked whether Crefeld had made him who he was. Asante paused and answered thoughtfully. “There’s no way to know the answer to that. I think everything we do has huge consequences. My hunch is that I don’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing now. I’d probably be going through what I did when I was 16, trying to figure out who I was. Crefeld helped me discover my self, my passions, at an early age.”

He concluded with a poem, “The Luxury of Ignorance: Based on Shock & Awe,” commenting first about the responsibility of the artist to ask the critical questions that take people to a place they had not previously considered. The applause was resounding. It was finally lunch time, but now, no one wanted to leave.