Tag Archives: Poetry

THE CONUNDRUMS QUOTATION PROJECT – Origins

Posted on July 12, 2026 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The Conundrums Quotation Project began as an exploration of quotes from various books, primarily inspired by biblical texts. The author shares a personal anecdote about being influenced by a Romanian poet’s phrase, which ultimately became the title of a poetry collection published after twenty years. The book is available on Amazon. Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Writing Projects | Tagged Nina Cassian, Poetry, The Black Blood of Poetry, Truly Your Forgiveness I Implore | Leave a comment

Short Stories that Challenge the Legal System: A Review by Dr. Mark Chapman of “Conundrums: Stories of Law & Justice” by Easy Waters

Posted on June 26, 2026 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Easy Waters’ collection “Conundrums” features humorous and insightful short stories that explore the absurdities of prison and the legal system. The engaging narratives, filled with wit and deep reflection on justice, showcase Waters’ masterful storytelling and his ability to humanize incarcerated individuals. A must-read for enthusiasts of poignant fiction. Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction & Short Stories, Justice Chronicles, Politics & Public Affairs, Streets of Rage | Tagged Anton Chekhov, art, books, Conundrums: Stories of Law & Justice, Days in the Life of a Jailhouse Lawyer, Doing Hard Time, Easy Waters, ezwwaters, Flannery O'Connor, James Baldwin, life sentences, literature, Mark Chapman, Michelle Alexander, murder, Parole, phd, Poetry, raising black boys, remorse, Sonny's Blues, The Black Blood of Poetry, The New Jim Crow | 10 Comments

A Review of The Black Blood of Poetry’s Impact and Critiques

Posted on April 17, 2026 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I asked ChatGPT to critically review my manuscript, “The Black Blood of Poetry.” This is what it returned: Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Writing Projects | Tagged books, poem, poems, Poetry, The Black Blood of Poetry, writing | Leave a comment

The Black Blood of Poetry: Towards a Poetics of Darkened Substance

Posted on April 11, 2026 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

AbstractThis essay situates The Black Blood of Poetry within a transnational lineage I term dark substance poetics—a tradition in which poetry materializes itself through bodily substances (blood, milk, breath, ink) that are subsequently darkened, inverted, or corrupted. Moving from nineteenth-century … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature & Cultural Criticism | Tagged Amiri Baraka, Anti-Black Violence, Black Aesthetics, Black Literature, Black Poetics, books, Historical Memory, Language and History, Literary Criticism, Literary Theory, Nina Cassian, Paul Celan, poem, poems, Poetics, Poetry, The Black Blood of Poetry, writing | 2 Comments

For the Love of Poetry

Posted on January 13, 2026 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I love poetry. It is only fitting that my fourth book of poetry, The Black Blood of Poetry, will be released this Valentine’s Day. Although this forthcoming selection, on its face, may not seem like “love poetry,” it is, because … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics & Public Affairs, Streets of Rage | Tagged 1960s, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Countee Cullen, Decisive Decade, Growing Up, John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Poetry, Robert F. Kennedy, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, The Black Blood of Poetry, William Blake, William Carlos Williams, William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth | Leave a comment

Journey Through Crime, Justice & Literature, Part II

Posted on December 23, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

…Continued (If you missed the first installment, then click here: Journey Through Crime and Punishment, Part I.) Crime and Punishment was first published in The Russian Messenger, a literary journal, in twelve monthly installments in 1866. I reread passages of … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice Chronicles, Literature & Cultural Criticism, Politics & Public Affairs | Tagged ABACADRABA! Or Notes on the War on Crime, art, Cicero, Cicero's Murder Trials, crime and punishment, Endless Punishment is a crime, Felony Murder and the Misdemeanor of Attempted Escape: A Legislative Error in Search of Correction, Fordham Urban Law Journal, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Gary McGivern, Hamlet, Hicksville, juveniles, Mario Cuomo, murder, Murder Trials, New York Times, Newsday, Notes from Underground, Parole, PEN America, Peter J. McQuillan, photography, Poetry, Portia, raising black boys, remorse, The House of the Dead, The Merchant of Venice, The Russian Messenger, travel, writing | 1 Comment

“Teaching” Alice Walker

Posted on September 17, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In preparation for a lecture in the course I teach, African American Literature in the 20th Century, I am re-reading excerpts from Alice Walker’s In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose. In her prose, Walker makes nearly perfect sense. … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice Chronicles, Literature & Cultural Criticism, Politics & Public Affairs, Streets of Rage | Tagged Alice Walker, Brownfield, Grange Copeland, In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose, Mister, personal, Poetry, Relationships, Rodney King, Saving the Life That Is Your Own: The Importance of Models in the Artist's Life, sex, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, Streets of Rage, The Color Purple, The Third Life of Grange Copeland, women | Leave a comment

Exploring the Legacy of Anti-Blackness in Poetry

Posted on August 6, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I have been working on The Black Blood of Poetry for several years. Over the next 30 days, I will be revising the manuscript to submit to contests and publishers. My Artist Statement about The Black Blood of Poetry: The … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics & Public Affairs, Streets of Rage | Tagged Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, books, Growing Up, Osborne Association, poem, poems, Poetry, raising black boys, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, writing | 5 Comments

A Fourth of July Day Lynching

Posted on July 5, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

For Norris Dendy 07.04.1933 (Clinton, South Carolina) To the Negro, what is the Fourth of July? A picnic celebration with family and friends Not a day to be beaten, not a day to die! On this celebration of Independence, still … Continue reading →

Posted in Race, History & American Society | Tagged Clinton South Carolina, Family, Independence Day, Norris Dendy, Poetry, white supremacy | Leave a comment

Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial: ‘My Lord, What a Morning’ — April 9, 1939

Posted on April 9, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

…Marian Anderson Performs for 75,000 Outside Lincoln Memorial, because she was banned from indoor venues because of her race. See https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/apr/09. My poetic tribute to Marian Anderson, in my collection, The Black Feminine Mystique:

Posted in Race, History & American Society | Tagged Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Marian Anderson, Poetry, The Black Feminine Mystique | 1 Comment

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