Water James

The People's Poet Water James

The People's Poet offers variations of what is sometimes right in front of our eyes. The author's lasting impressions eventually crystallized into poetry that is both emotional and gripping. We may see crime and street violence, or soothing scenes such as nature and the environment.

Walter James wrote his earlier poetry about the dramatic and the frightening, but his more recent poems reflect on more serene surroundings and on thoughtful contemplations including the future of mankind.

His lasting impressions eventually crystallized into poetry that is both emotional and gripping.

Some poems were completed after years passed, including "In Spanish Harlem," which was written "when I felt secure enough to look back in time during that period in 1980. The original poetry writing came as I was studying alone for my national license as a respiratory therapist and working full-time nights at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles.

About the Author

Walter James is originally from New York City, where he grew up in an orphanage and visited friends in the barrio of Spanish Harlem during the pre-civil rights era. He wrote the majority of this poetry collection in 1980. He is a nationally registered respiratory therapist and holds a certified letter from a Chinese Master to teach Kung Fu and Tai Chi Chuan after 15 years of training. He carries a knife scar on his throat and a bullet in his hip, and credits his survival to his Chinese training. His first book is titled Autobiography of an American Orphan.