The Deferred Dream

The Deferred Dream is a collection of poems that attempts to answer that age-old question from the perspective of a young African-American in this 21st Century America. From the viewpoint of 24 year old college student Terrence Dixon, "The Deferred Dream" is an up close and personal ride through the mind of a young black man identifying with the complexities of a world far greater than the public housing he escaped. Away at college he learns the ways of the world, the way of his country, and his place in it. He captures the gravity of a cancerous upbringing, the shrewd reality of an American Dream dissolved, and the audacity of a nation’s blatant disregard for its youth.

So what happens to a Dream Deferred? Well sometimes it sags like a heavy load, and explodes, and sometimes it scars like degrees and burns. And sometimes, with enough belief, and enough hope…it returns. This collection of poems put you in the mind of Terrence Dixon, the protagonist of my upcoming novel, “The Chronicles of Hope.” The novel examines four graduating friend’s lives as the luster of college fades into the stark vortex of adulthood. A part-time used car salesman, student and young writer, Terrence represents the black man, less spoken for. The unacknowledged that beat the odds of mortality rates, and artfully elude trap-ridden exit routes from corroded communities. The ones who follow the school blueprint by any means possible, enslaving themselves to debtors for the sake of an education, just so they may contribute to a society not meant for them to thrive in. From Terrence’s perspective, in an array of poetry ranging from Prose to Spoken Word to Triolets, “The Dream Deferred” gives an up close and personal look of a young man identifying with the complexities of a world far greater than the public housing he escaped. Away at college he learns the ways of the world, the ways of his country, and his place in it. He captures the gravity of a cancerous upbringing, the shrewd reality of an American Dream dissolved, the audacity of a nation’s blatant disregard for its youth, and the hope it takes to persevere.

Jo’rell H. Whitfield is a poet, spoken-word performer, dramatist, novelist, and free-lance writer. Born and raised in Queens, New York, he moved to Baltimore and studied English and Creative Writing at Morgan State University. In school, under the influence of some legendary Baltimore artists he developed his poetic skill and honed in on his stage performance to help create an innovative new approach to spoken word. In a decade’s time he has been mastering the craft of performance poetry, gracing hundreds of stages across the nation from lounges to university theaters. He’s written three plays, and has completed a poetry book (The Deferred Dream) and his first novel (The Chronicles of Hope: A Dream Deferred) He is currently writing the one-man corresponding performance play for the poetry book, and a screenplay for the film adaptation of the novel.