To mark the passing of legendary Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr.—a unique figure in the American political landscape, to say the least—here’s a terrific performance poem by Kenneth Carroll, mixed with the drumming of a street musician named Vinzee. It’s from the “eclectic documentary series” The Angle Show from Park Triangle Productions and director Gemal Woods. (They do quite a bit of poetry, which is really refreshing for a documentary series.) The video was posted back in December 2011, and the accompanying text notes:

We wanted to have fun especially with this great piece by Kenneth Carroll. I think we did. He is a genius.

Vinzee…just met him traveling. He was gracious to share with us.

Kenneth Carroll doesn’t appear to have a website, but here’s his page at the Poetry Foundation.

(Hat-tip: Sandra Beasley on Facebook)