Jon Goode is a man of conviction. Some may not automatically conclude this watching one of his stage performances. Admittedly, he does not necessarily command the stage like many of his contemporaries.

He is not spreading his wings and flying across the stage, animating his voice, claiming virility that he can never live up to, or raging his anger against the contradictions of life at the top of his lungs. Instead, Goode is a quiet storm as he stands in front of a microphone and simply spits his truth. Goode’s work expresses an honesty and sincerity that comes from his love of poetry, his people, and his community. “Even if there ain’t no money in it…I would still be writing it. Even if there was nowhere to perform, I would write and probably perform it to myself in the mirror,” says Goode. This passion allows him to create work that resonates with those with a doctorate degree, those who live life transiently, and everyone in between.

From someone who’s been writing poetry for fourteen years, and performing it for six, and using himself as an example, Jon waxed about some of the ins and outs, as he sees it, in the poetry scene. And according to Jon Goode, poets first start out writing about two themes: love and revolution. Case in point, the first poem he performed in Atlanta at the Yin Yang café, which according to him had “one of the most corny titles ever was entitled, The Revolution.” Ironically, love and revolution are bookends that hold up the tomes of spoken word for this young Atlanta-based poet from Oakgrove-Blackwell, a neighborhood on the south side of Richmond, Virginia. Love of family, self, and definitely poetry. Revolution; change for the community, the world, his people. These themes dripped from every empathic word spoken by Goode.

In other words, Goode is good. He is one of a handful of contemporary spoken word artists’ who unashamedly acknowledges a relationship between art and politics, or admits there is a thing called artists’ responsibility. Goode also recognizes that people are complex and often riddled with major contradictions, so his work avoids becoming too preachy. Instead, Jon’s words become the pacemaker for a sometimes temperamental and ailing (he)art. He becomes the mechanism that keeps all other parts balanced and functional. For him, there is more than one way to see a situation, so he tries to create the delicate balance of speaking about difficult topics while not being too alienating.

It doesn’t hurt that Goode is quite funny. There were many moments during our interview when he not only cracked the author up, but himself as well. Goode understands the value of laughter. Goode gets inspiration from the likes of Richard Pryor, Paul Mooney and Dick Gregory – funny men who choose to address important social issues with their voice. Goode wants to use this art form to “…attack issues.” He believes that “even within these complex social issues, no matter how dark and ugly they are, there is a humor…and if you can find the humor…it’s just absolutely wonderful.” However, he doesn’t want to be seen as “just funny.” As he explains, “the other trick is, people can not or should not get lost in the humor. People will say: Jon is funny. As if to say that’s it; like there is no point…and I think that is unfortunate.” Seeing Goode as simply funny is quite a misfortune, because it denies the honesty and sincerity of his work.

Jon speaks truth – his truth – for the love of poetry, and for the promise of a better tomorrow. Admitting that he is opinionated, he tries writing for the common man. Explaining his work, he says: “It’s not moonbeams, and star beams, and third charkas. It’s really everyday talk.” Spoken like a real grassroots revolutionary, he says, “I write for the everyday person…hopefully I say stuff to make you think, to inspire you, to call attention to an issue.” The result of such realism brings promise to an art form that has recently had some cultural critics/cynics suspicious of its increased popularity. Likewise, Goode – who is also a DJ – reflects and says,“…I am very afraid poetry is going to go the way of hip hop…as it starts to get more and more commercialized, it’s going to lose it’s bite…I just don’t want the message of poetry to end up being diluted in this race for a dollar.” Goode offers a prescriptive. He says: “I would love to heal the world, but I am going to start from where I am from, and maybe we can expand from there…if everybody could go back to where they are from, and work on where they are from, then we’d be straight…put your money back home. Fix where you are from.” Simple truths, from a simple man, about real problems.