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For the archive of J. J.'s poetry and essays, click here.
John J. (known to all as
J. J.) Hayes is both performance artist and poet.
Working within the oral tradition, J. J. examines
classic texts and reinterprets them through an
integration of his spoken-word performance and
various musical accompaniments. With Marguerite
Maria Rivas, Wil Wynn, and others, he is a member
of Elektromotif,
the arts performance collective.
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Several years ago, J. J. recovered, reinterpreted, and developed a performance version of a long poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point." J. J.'s performance of the poem, interwoven with music by guitarist Doug Principato, saxophonist Todd Brunel, and drummer Ed Jackson, was highly acclaimed. He has considered preparing a one-man show, "Not Your Mother's Elizabeth Barrett Browning."
Since then he has taken his musical interests further, becoming a practicing member of the "anti-folk" movement, writing his own songs, accompanying himself in primitive fashion by strumming a guitar, and presenting these works at the Sidewalk Café in Manhattan's East Village and other venues. You'll hear a sampling of his songs if you click here.
J. J., who is also a practicing attorney, writes both free-form and formal verse. He has also begun to publish essays on theological and other subjects. In spring 2006 he inaugurated a blog, Aquinas and Me: Working Through Life One Question at a Time. As a poet, he has experimented extensively with the sonnet form.
Here's a sample of what J. J.
reads at The Sepoy Rebellion's performances:
1918
The Red Sox win the Series
We worry about the flu
And the President
Says
We're making the world safer for democracy
By invading a country
That will blame its defeat
On the Jews
There are greater curses in the world
Than the Curse of the Bambino
Would it hurt for the Yankees
To lose just once
If such could be lifted
Or
As the sportscasters say
To try and prevent a repeat?
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