Author Archives: Michael Tyler

By Michael Tyler, EJS Poet-in-Residence I awakened on Tuesday to the disturbing news of yet two more lynchings. For months now, these stories, woefully unreported and shamefully dismissed, have plagued my conscience. While growing up, I was told by relatives, who lived through America’s lynching spree during the early to mid-20th century, about eyewitness accountsContinueContinue reading “‘And…’ by Michael Tyler”

https://videopress.com/v/YDsx5Nap?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true By Michael Tyler, EJS Poet-in-Residence Pick your plagues, your afflictions, Your calamitous conditions  And blend them in a lethal combination. Add your viruses, your germs, Your parasitic worms And prepare them for deadly dissemination.  Cast their carnage, their rife, Their contempt for all life, Their competence for devastation. And with combined ferocity They won’t measure to me. I am the most malignant contamination.  My toxins, my gloom, My decay andContinueContinue reading “‘Know My Name’ by Michael Tyler”

https://videopress.com/v/LbjktmCj?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&posterUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fequaljusticesociety.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F07%2Fcaption-video-project-july-16-2026-at-17.25.10-1_mp4_avc_240p.original.jpg&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true By Michael Tyler, EJS Poet-in-Residence “He who increases knowledge, increases pain.” I was fifteen when I first heard that maxim, a surprising fact to me at the time considering that I had been attending Catholic schools my entire educational life. The quote comes from Ecclesiastes, a book in the Old Testament, and is attributedContinueContinue reading “‘Crazy, Right?’ by Michael Tyler”