My Bio
I hate writing biographies. Absolutely. Totally. Hate. Who am I to say what you may or may not want to know about me? I abhor feeling like I have to recount my past experiences in an attempt to make myself sound worldly and seasoned, so I decided to dig up as many bios on me I could find, no matter how old or self-indulgent. (Deep breath):
Attempt # 1 (the "Humble/I don't feel like writing a bio" bio)
I am a graduate of Howard University’s school of Fine Arts, where I received a B.F.A. in Electronic Studio Art. I have had the honor of being a teacher, student, community activist, team-leader, team player, web designer, poet, spoken word artist, illustrator, graphic designer, financial services representative, author, entrepreneur, and more, and all before I turned thirty years old.
Attempt #2 (the "Zen/Pseudo-humble/Shout out the family/Admission of flaws and passions" bio)
I'm a poet with writer's block, an artist with hand cramps, and a free thinker with a headache. The creator of three (soon to be four) self-published books of original poetry, co-founder and webmaster/driving force behind www.illpoets.com and the lesser known, www.leethepoet.com. Also the force behind the classic (award-winning), yet poorly promoted (I need to work on that) illpoets.com banger, "All Seasons" CD. Oh yeah, I taught high school, illustrated a children's book, and performed on a couple of radio and TV shows. At the end of the day, I'm just a dude who is proud to have grown up in the 80's (for the classic music, movies & poor fashion), a lover and collector of good music and cinema, poetry spitter/supporter, occasional rhyme rocker, lover of life and family. Friend, uncle, son, brother, nephew, cousin; a charming and witty daydreamer and comic book/ (mild) computer geek that plans to do big things as soon as he figures out how. In short, I am an artist who is learning to live and love life.
Attempt #3 (The "I've done stuff" bio, circa 2002)
Known by many as simply “Lee the Poet”, Lee Bennett, III is the writer’s writer. The guy that will cringe if you refer to him as a spoken word artist, but proudly professes he’s a poet. To him, there’s a difference. Lee writes because he has to, because he was blessed with a gift. He shares his words because he feels obligated. To him, performance and financial gain from his work is secondary…he’s about the words. Lee started writing poetry in high school, but didn’t take it seriously. Fortunately, a couple of his high school teachers pushed him to perform his work. That extra push made him more confident when it came to sharing his work once he got to college. As a freshman at Howard, Lee was quickly immersed in the poetry element at the Mecca, and fell in love with the poetry scene. That love has evolved into three self-published collections of original poetry, two websites (www.illpoets.com & www.leethepoet.com), a brand new CD featuring the illpoets.com collective (all Seasons) and many things in the works.
Lee read his poetry on Joe Gorham’s poetry hour (96.3FM, WHUR), as well as on XM Radio, he has also performed at local high schools, The DC Film Festival, A Taste of DC, competed in slams, won talent competitions, and performs all over the Baltimore/DC Metropolitan area. Lee Bennett, III is a graduate of Howard Universities School of Fine Arts with a BFA in Electronic Studio Art. He currently works in DC for a non- profit as a web and graphic designer.
Attempt #4 (the "Senior year, I have to write something for my final exhibit" bio; 1999)
My earliest artistic influence was definitely found in cartoons and my sister, who, I might add, was the one with all the natural artistic ability. Her early understanding of form intrigued me, while I would be easily captivated by anything animated, no matter how crude. With an overabundance of imagination, I began teaching myself how to draw by copying the works of other artist’s and making my own characters whenever I could. Whenever included school, and my doodling problem plagued me throughout my academic career (4th grade to 12th). When my sister learned that I was aspiring to be an artist, she stopped because she didn’t want her little brother copying her every whim. Her stopping, made me the only active artist in the family, despite my lack of fundamentals.
Having no artistic training in grade school, art was a constant creative outlet for me to delve into to escape reality. I was honestly too lazy and too stubborn to allow myself to be taught in grade school. Art was a realm for me, a place where I could create something far better than whatever trash was on the market for kids at the time. That realm did not have space for people telling me what to do with my concepts and creations. Today, art has become a vehicle to lead an assault on the senses, a medium of sheer energy that I’ve gained a better understanding for. No longer content with the notion of owning a comic book company, I plan to use my creativity and acquired skills to help me build a multi- million dollar production company by the time I am twenty seven (maybe twenty eight). In being at Howard, I’ve learned that literary art is just as important as the more common forms of art (drawing, painting, sculpture, etc.) because it is an assisting mechanism that enhances visual art.
Howard was a time of spiritual, physical, and mental growth. Being in the School of Business did not allow me to do so because there was no passion directly linked to my major. In becoming a School of Fine Arts major, I had to accept that I was behind most of the class in fundamentals and technique. I had to bear the critique of an entire class on a weekly to bi- weekly basis. But more importantly, I had to get better...and I did. My realization freshman year, was that to be successful in the world of art demanded I had to know what the h...heck I was talking about. Once I convinced my reluctant mother ofthis, I transferred from the school of business after my freshman year and became an academic success for the first time in my life. Proving to me a powerful lesson, when there is a true fire and passion about something you possess in life, the only person that can keep you from that fire, is you.
Attempt #5 (the "Artsy/What the hell/Damn...that was kind of deep" bio)
Virgo born in seven- tember 1977 on Earthen planet
Extracted from suspended animation liquefied state and solidified like granite
In the "real world"
Spirits of all sorts visited him at various points
With deep ebony rooted soul he was anointed
Appointed to place his soul in paper pulp, canvassed screen
Cataloging dialogue that takes place in mindscapes and daydreams
He leaned towards art fine, but his spirit caught up with his mind and fell in line
With lines that were free versed and unrehearsed around the eight or ninth grade
Soon the desire for such random renditions began to fade
But ebony rooted soul could not be muted and was awakened from slumber summer before grade twelve
Through soul spelunking, introspective thinking made ill things well
He'd tell of things of which he had no proof
But one couldn't disprove tree leaves if he be tree root
So he spoke
And broke his soul open like egg yolk for live and dead folk
Woman and man from which he began and beyond that
Beyond linear reason, transcending seasons he'd fall into the mind springs of summer's winter solstice
And find solace in those of kindred spirit
Naked stood his soul weeping before masses where few could hear it
And those that did would seldom step near it
He is a seer
The deer at the drinking hole of God's mental landscape
Witnessing love innate in nature and the horror of man's hate
The spirit beyond the lineage of grio's and those who wrote dead sea scrolls
He will keep those souls who have been wronged with no one to tell their tale
Until he hears their stories and can lift their veil
A spirit walker on a finite ride
Will take passengers to ashom ‚til he hits the other side . . .
. . . he will take weary passengers home until he hits the other side . . .
