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marcus scott williams

@marcusscottwilliams

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by @marcusscottwilliams

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3 months ago

Join us this Saturday, June 27th at 7pm for a special reading and fundraiser in collaboration with our friends at @thewordischange. Featuring a stellar lineup, including John Keene, Naomi Jackson, Bird Jackson, marcus scott williams, and GOODW.Y.N., we hope to see you for an evening of celebration and community-making.

Over the years, Lampblack has provided monetary aid to over 100 writers from across the diaspora, printed the work of dozens of writers in our magazine, and developed a variety of platforms (both digital and physical) for over 64 Black writers to share their work. With your support, we hope to continue to grow our mutual aid program — a goal that has always been at the core of our values and mission. Every donation and purchase of Lampblack Magazine is redirected into providing monetary relief or resources to Black writers.

@jstheater
@thenaomijackson
@thee__bird
@marcusscottwilliams
@goodw.y.n9 by @marcusscottwilliams

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4 months ago

PLAY WITH IT DONT PLAY WITH ME
marcus scott williams
May 17 - June 15, 2025
Opening reception Saturday, May 17th | 6-9 PM

Reading marcus’ writing feels like talking to marcus in person. His words are natural and colloquial, flowing freely into your mind as they would into your ear. At times his poetry expands beyond the page: it has taken the form of video collage, shared storytelling, livestreaming, and music. In his second solo show with haul, PLAY WITH IT DONT PLAY WITH ME, he continues this experimental approach with an interactive environment that changes the show for every visitor.

Here, marcus uses audio sampling as the medium to bridge his varied practices. With the interactive piece everybody is a drum, visitors are welcomed by a constant 4/4 kick-drum and invited to finger-drum on an Akai MIDI controller. Each pad triggers a chopped sample and projected text, thereby creating their own beat and poem simultaneously. On an adjacent wall, marcus’ community-guided ‘life story’ is displayed on a screen. Viewers can access a Google Doc and add their own words to marcus’ life story – a project that began at his last show at haul, On Me: A Themoir in 2021. This piece is revived in 2025, continuing the storytelling of marcus’ life.

Similarly, marcus considers the sculptures in this show as freestyles within themselves, and are sample-based in a material-sense. He digs through life’s ephemera like he’s in a record store, molding tobacco blunt guts with plastic, hair, and other on-hand materials. In PLAY WITH IT DONT PLAY WITH ME, blunt gut bookends frame marcus’ personal collection, encouraging visitors to pick a book and stay a while – maybe create their own poetry.

@marcusscottwilliams taken in Haul gallery by @marcusscottwilliams

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3

a year ago

happy birthday to my best friend @willartthou life is richer with this man by @marcusscottwilliams

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3 years ago

Tuesday Match 14 imma be in conversation with my mentor @arwriter46 at @powerhousearena for her incredible new book "Side Notes from the Archivist"

pull up

POWERHOUSE @ the Archway
28 Adams Street (Corner of Adams & Water Street @ the Archway)
Brooklyn , NY 11201
7-9pm

"SIDE NOTES FROM THE ARCHIVIST: Poems is Anastacia-Reneé’s experimental rumination on past, present, and future. The poet shows us the exploitation and systemic oppression of Black lives, as well as its celebration. The book is separated into five sections, some of which maintain a narrative arc throughout, taking us through the life of a pre-teen coming of age during the onset of The AIDS crisis, the life of Marsha P. Johnson and the thump of 80’s music as well as the episodic exploitation of blackness through the white gaze. Other sections continue the overarching theme of navigating queer relationships within homophobia, vivid memories, and survival. Characterization and unique poetic format shine in this collection, with Anastacia-Reneé’s attention to details and storytelling lifting off the page" taken in powerHouse Arena by @marcusscottwilliams

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4 years ago

April 15 2022 "damn near might still be what it is" with @noemipressbooks shout @stevehalle77 for the cover

from the press release:

"damn near might still be is what it is is part autofiction, part memoir and travelogue, part road novel, part journal entry. Beginning in New York and winding first around the country, with stops in Kansas City and Colorado, then around the world, the unnamed narrator of damn near… confronts what it means to be American, to be Black, to be a tourist and penniless and to fall in love in cities like London, Vienna, and Milan. Central to the book are questions of authenticity, memory, friendship and family. An electrifying voice takes the lead in this global journey, by turns hilarious and heart rending, harsh and tender. damn near… concerns itself with the profound questions of life through a singular focus on one person’s circuit around the globe." by @marcusscottwilliams

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5 years ago

yooo come thoo to Bushwick Open Studios this weekend to see this installation I've been working on. shout outs @haul.gallery & @philipandrewgarber for everything. information is below, 17-17 Troutman, studio 315 •

Words on a Screen is a two-person show in the common area of studio 315 at 17-17 Troutman St. It was organized by haul gallery.
Words on a Screen brings together two artists whose works focus on language and text, both written and spoken.
Phil Garber’s recent work examines the intricacies of language and disability. Garber is a person who stutters. Stuttering is, to the listener, characterised by vocal repetitions and blocks. To the person who stutters, stuttering inhibits vocal communication, but is mostly characterized by a sense of ostracization. Stuttering is intensely individual, and no cure or cause has been found. Stuttering, and the lens on language therein, is foundational to Garbers practice. His works shown in Words on a Screen explore language, otherness, and related themes of futility, and effort.

marcus scott williams makes use of poetry, video, and sometimes sculpture. In the work made for this show, Williams has considered what it means to chill-out and the kinds of spaces we chill in. One screen will feature a live Google Doc that Williams will regularly update with new poetry. Another screen feature a video collage of people chilling with friends, in chill spaces. Williams has likened this collage to the process of writing. taken in 17-17 Troutman St. Ridgewood, NY by @marcusscottwilliams

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7 years ago

shout out to @thesaltonstall & Robin Patrick Harry Gina Lesley & Mandy for making my first residency such a sweet learning experience🤙🏿💜😭 taken in Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts by @marcusscottwilliams

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7 years ago

by @marcusscottwilliams

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7 years ago

shout outs to #realityhands & @glowormpress for inviting me out last weekend to read. thanks to @river.smallflower @lordjoshuabyron @met_heavenly_bodies & @simonwishxoxo for being there with me. thanks to my favorite radboix @lacroix_meariver for filming. whole performance on YouTube, text me cuz I'm still off this social media shit. taken in Dorchester Art Project by @marcusscottwilliams

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7 years ago

Yooooo, Sunday @auntea.mo & I will be leading a workshop at @playgroundcoffeeshop at 4pm. Would love for y'all to come kick & play w us. Workshop is $15-20 sliding scale whatever you can afford. Follow @top.n0t for more information & read below for all that day's events. See y'all there!

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It’s about that time again! We have TWO very special workshops planned for you this Black Future month. Details below:

FEB 24 ➖ BLACK PLAYGROUND at @playgroundcoffeeshop

12pm / WHAT IS NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION (NVC)? NVC is an approach to nonviolent living developed by Marshall Rosenberg beginning in the 1960s. This workshop is built around the exchange of empathy and non-accusatory language as a method to resolving conflict. NVC proposes people identify shared needs, revealed by the thoughts and feelings surrounding these needs, and collaborate to develop strategies and make requests of each other to meet each other's needs. NVC has been taught in schools and workplaces in an attempt to alleviate tension and negativity in social interactions; you can practice it with partners and roommates!
2pm / FIGURE DRAWING 101
Figure Drawing will focus on fast and slow drawing while paying attention to gesture and movement. Bring a drawing pad and your favorite drawing supplies! Learn about the S-Curve will admiring bodies! Drawing supplies can be provided but will need to be returned.
4pm / EXPERIMENTAL POETRY WORKSHOP + MEDITATION
In the experimental poetry workshop, we will focus on techniques that will center you in present moments. We will explore the intimacy and playfulness of silence.
Led by @auntea.mo + @marcusscottwilliams taken in Playground Cafe & Bar by @marcusscottwilliams

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8 years ago

i truly am not invested in the ten year shit HOWEVER i know hella y'all didn't know me back in Chicago so i thought i would treat y'all by @marcusscottwilliams

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8 years ago