‘His effect is seismic.’ Columbus mourns poetry and theater giant Charles ‘Is Said’ Lyons
When Julie Whitney-Scott was a teenager, she read a poem at an event hosted by poet and playwright Charles “Is Said” Lyons.
“He said, ‘I really like that. You're pretty good,’” said Whitney-Scott, now a 66-year-old playwright who founded the Columbus Black Theatre Festival. “And we just developed from that.”
What followed was a relationship of encouragement and support that came full circle when Whitney-Scott’s own teenage daughter came home talking about Lyons.
“(She) said, ‘Mom, I'm in this play by Mr. Is. Said,’” recalled Whitney-Scott, of Columbus' Northeast Side. “And I said, ‘That's my mentor. He’s a staple in this community.’”
Now, Columbus is mourning the loss of that generational impact. Lyons, 88, died of cancer on Feb. 6.
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The former Linden resident will be honored with a series of events this week, including a memorial service Thursday at the Lincoln Theatre followed by a repass service at the King Arts Complex. (More details below.)
For more than 50 years, Lyons was a fixture on the Columbus arts scene, performing at ComFest, the Hot Times Community Arts & Music Festival, and a host of other events, often with his “Advance Party” music, African dance and poetry act. He traveled the world and published countless plays and books of poetry. He was honored with the 2011 King Arts Complex’s Legends & Legacies award, and inducted into the Lincoln Theatre Walk of Fame in 2021.
Local artists said Lyons will be remembered for his wisdom, generosity and storytelling.
“He's irreplaceable as elders go,” said Emmy-winning poet Scott Woods, 52, of the East Side, who credits Lyons with helping him get established.
“He's as important to Black poetry in Columbus as he is to Black theater in Columbus. It's hard to be that important across art forms. And he did it for decades. He did it for whole generations of artists. His effect is seismic.”
Lyons' journey from airplane mechanic to revered writer
Born Jan. 26, 1935, in Atlanta, Lyons moved to Columbus as a teenager and graduated from East High School. He served in the Air Force as an airplane mechanic, which allowed him to travel to multiple continents.
He was married to Anita Lyons for 48 years before she died in 2006.
“(When) he met my mom, she was walking down the street,” said Lyons’ daughter, Annette, 62, of Pickerington. “He drove up on the sidewalk to get her attention.”
Annette said Lyons was a calm, attentive father to her and her brother, Stanley, and sister, Leah. They had to be at the dinner table at 4 p.m., where they conversed and answered Lyons’ critical thinking questions.
“He's been writing my whole life,” Annette said. “His first book (“Is Said”) was put together with an assembly line of all the kids in the garage.”
Annette said she has been moved by the number of people her father inspired. When she asks people if they know him, 75% say yes, she said.
“I always love to say, ‘That’s my dad.’”
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Lyons was a 'fiery' poet
Former Lincoln Theatre board member Jack Marchbanks said Lyons made an impression on him in the late 1970s.
“When I first met him, I said, ‘This guy's kind of like (spoken-word icon) Gil Scott-Heron and The Last Poets,” said Marchbanks, of King-Lincoln/Bronzeville, an arts advocate, historian and radio personality.
“That fiery tradition of in-your-face street poetry, he comes out of that,” Marchbanks said.
Lyons is known for poems such as "Product of Africa," "Gimme Something for the Head” and "Everybody Will Be Equal after The Bomb”—a full video production with compelling images and war footage.
Woods said Lyons’ poetry was most powerful when it was heard live.
“There's so much history in his voice,” Woods said. “There's so much revelation in his tone. And there's so much belief in people in his words.”
Lyons’ mentee Barbara Fant also recalled the impact of Lyons’ words.
“He could make you feel good about yourself,” said Fant, 35, an acclaimed poet who spent much of her adult life in Columbus before moving to Los Angeles.
“He made you feel good about being Black, made you feel good about being God's child. And he's somebody who everybody loved. He could say one poem and it would hit the 7-year-old and the 77-year-old.”
Fant also said Lyons inspired her and others to visit Africa. Lyons took a month-long trip to Senegal each year for 34 years, according to daughter Annette.
“He would bring a piece of Africa onstage with him, and made it come to life,” Fant said. “It made it palatable for us.”
Lyons also infused humor into his poetry, plays and everyday conversation, which Candy Watkins experienced firsthand.
“I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I laughed with Is Said riding around on a golf cart at ComFest,” said Watkins, 76, of Olde Towne East, who has logistical roles in both ComFest and the Hot Times fest.
But Watkins stressed that Lyons also was a deep thinker.
“His plays were incredible,” Watkins said. “They were fun, but they always had a meaning. Is Said was a real serious guy when it came to discrimination. He was serious about women's rights and civil rights. He was always teaching.”
And he could impart those lessons to young people with his plays for children, Whitney-Scott said.
“Since he spent a lot of time in Africa, a lot of his plays were like folklores, stories that had a moral,” she said.
“There was one he did where people came down from outer space and the kids had to figure out how to get along with somebody else from another place and time — which deals with segregation and discrimination.”
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Lyons’ influence stretched across art forms
Lyons not only inspired poets and playwrights, but visual artist Melvin Robinson, who was an Ohio State student when he met the elder in the 1980s.
“He knew everybody in every art field,” said Robinson, 60, of Canal Winchester, who specializes in paint among other mediums. “If he knew you were interested in (something), he’d say, ‘Hey, here’s people that do this.’ He was plugged into everything. He's like a spider web.”
Robinson said working is one of the best ways to celebrate Lyons.
“I just would hope that everyone he touched would honor him with continuing your purpose and whatever it is you’re supposed to be doing.”
The viewing for Charles "Is Said" Lyons will be Wednesday, 1-4 p.m., at Marlan Gary Funeral Home, Chapel of Peace, 5456 E. Livingston Ave. The memorial service will be Thursday, 1-3 p.m., at Lincoln Theatre Ballroom (enter through red doors on 2nd floor), 769 E. Long St.
The repass service will be Thursday, 4-6 p.m., at King Arts Complex, 835 Mt. Vernon Ave. The burial will be at 10 a.m. Friday, leaving from Marlan Gary Funeral Home, Chapel of Peace and going to Evergreen Burial Park, 1401 Woodland Ave.
@miss_ethompson
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus poet and playwright Charles Is Said Lyons died at 88
