"Silence the World"
by William "Buck" Bolyard
My neighbor shot the birds As they sang out to the world The sky was black and red And then they were all dead God damn How come Why did you hate that song God damn My son Why did you fire that gun Must have been angry at something else Because I heard you scream at yourself Saying God damn How come Why did you take so long God damn My love I knew you liked that dove The porch grew quiet after that And the door slammed against his back Soon after I heard a shot And multiple shuffling cops Saying God damn what a crime This old man lost his mind God damn how come He chose to silence his world
William Bolyard spent over 10 years as a US Army infantryman. He is the author of Sober Man’s Thoughts. You can follow him on IG here. Listen to our Savage Wonder podcast episode with him here.
This week on the Savage Wonder podcast…
Phanésia Pharel is our third-place finalist in our inaugural full-length playwriting competition for her drama LUCKY.
About her play, our judges said, "Beguiling, moving, deeply satisfying — and genuinely original. Her theatrical devices were both enchanting and extremely credible. She offers a fresh look at Creole and Haitian cultures and how both have been affected by wartime. The pacing and dialogue are terrific, and the end of the play delivers a richly-earned gut punch."
Phanésia is a playwright from the great state of Florida and even greater city of Miami!! Grounded in poetry and Afrofuturism she often writes about the divine metaphysical dilemma of colored girlhood. Her plays span revolutions, islands, and explores futures built on love by centering women's pleasure, safety, and joy. AKA hopeful and magical survivor stories for the young, poor, women, colored, and those audacious enough to be all of the above. Full lengths; LUCKY (developed at New York Stage and Film) . BLACK GIRL JOY (Frank Moffett Mosier Fellowship for Works in Heightened Finalist Prize, Jane Chambers Finalist, Bay Area Playwrights Festival Finalist, O’Neill Semi-Finalist). Other Honors include City Theatre National Short Playwriting Finalist and Blank Stage “Future of Playwriting” Semi-Finalist. Phanésia is a member of the Obie award-winning EST/ Youngblood group. Commissions include City Theatre Miami, the Latinx Playwrights Circle & Pregones/PRTT Greater Good Commission and Thrown Stone Theatre. Residencies include New York Stage and Film, Echo Theater Company of Los Angeles, the Playwrights Center Core Apprenticeship and the Inaugural 068 Magazine Thrown Stone Theatre Fellowship. Publishing: Concord Theatricals, Smith and Kraus Best Plays of 2020, Reset Coalition 2020 Anthology and the City Theatre Anthology. BA: Urban Studies, Barnard College of Columbia University.
Follow Phanésia here.