Prospero Vega

This months cover by K.K.W,
with layout by Aleksandar Ares.
Original photo by Ivan Durgutovski.

"READING WHILE STANDING, READING WHILE WALKING" &

"FILED TRIP WITH PARENTS IN BUSHWICK". By K.K.W

The first time I heard Prospero Vega was at MC gallery [its short-lived open mic series], his spoken-word verses were fierce, raw and filled with a passionate observation for what he perceives. You either liked his writing for what it was, were indifferent, or hated him & it.  

Photo by K.K.W. 

Recently he's had 2 short stories published in a collection called Bushwick Nightz. Both are well-crafted, leading you through the poignant recollection of one man's view of a neighborhood he used to know.

"I don't know what films these people watch, what books they read, or how many languages their bulldog can nod to in Maria Hernandez Park. It's all gotten too fucked up. Is it the drugs? Again? Jesus I once pulled an all-nighter with a bunch of hipsters that got so high they made one guy take his pants off at 9 in the morning and shoved it in a microwave in order to cook rock residue from a twenty-year old bag..." [1]

Prospero Vega, photo courtesy of the writer.

A literal recounting of things passed, but also a personal account of how, who and changes within an area, placed against the arrival of interlopers. Straight forward in its honesty while looking back at everyday themes lost in the gentle, duplicitous fog of gentrification. Delivered with genuine frustration, moments of nostalgia laid bare for a public that just might learn something. 

"...I don't see them taking pictures with the hookers on Cypress and Willoughby or introducing them to their coke dealers or the teenage hooligans that spit at the floor whenever they walk by Bodega bar at 2am..." [2]

Prospero Vega, photo courtesy of the writer. 

Vega never tries to make Bushwick into something its not, he gives you what new-comers, hipsters, and everybody else may not want to see, or pretends isn't there. His vicious examining of interlopers and locals alike alludes to the heart of the matter; Its a rock and a fucking hard place. How do you love a place thats riddled with problems, yet have to for the sake of integrity, while slowly seeing it become something worse? You find middle ground without closing your eyes. Speak, write, scrawl, scream, take a stand, express urself and hope it makes even a marginal fucking difference. Much like reading, Prospero Vega is fundamental.   

Photo by K.K.W. 

1. "READING WHILE STANDING, READING WHILE WALKING", 2. "FIELD TRIP WITH PARENTS IN BUSHWICK". 'Art is the reason, art is the way'