Lawrence Robinson

Lawrence Robinson isn't a household name. And he won't be after this blog, but I want to honor him just the same. He also had the moniker, "Square Biz". Lawrence was born in Marshal, Texas, on August 19, 1926, to Hayes Robinson, Sr., and Annie Caroline Bush. He was one of four children. He attended Central High School there. Lawrence's life became joyful after overcoming a great many personal challenges: petty theft, alcoholism and repeated incarceration. He served honorably in the U.S Merchant Marines aboard a ship in the South Pacific in the 1940s. After his honorable discharge in 1945, he began a fifty-year sojourn that included travels to San Francisco, Minnesota, North Carolina, Los Angeles, St Louis and San Diego. During that period, he married Rosaland Scott of Newbern, N.C., in 1980. They traveled across country as crafts merchants.
Following the dissolution of their fiery relationship, he made Las Vegas his permanent home. He began what he referred to as his age of appreciation, spending his last years writing his insights, photographing people and scenery, observing world politics, and listening to his favorite music -jazz. He was most known for his kindness and ability to make people laugh and see the world with a more positive outlook. I met him while he stayed in Los Angeles; introduced him to the Los Angeles-based International Black Writers and Artist group where we performed under the president, Edna Crutchfield at various middle schools and universities. I was overwhelmed by Square Biz's volume and wealth of jazz; needless to say, he was an avid jazz lover; he was a historian and former performing jazz musician and singer and a consummate poet, spoken word banging artist. Needless to say, when thoughts came to him, he would write his thoughts on whatever paper was available, scraps of toilet paper, napkins, casino tickets or scraps of paper picked off the streets. His prized and signature poem, Intelligence is among the collection catalogued in the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, Ripley's Believe It or Not, and has been displayed across the country. His final years were spent with his true soul mate, writing partner and biographer, "CoCo", Parker Philpot of Las Vegas, Nv. In closing, I will post Square Biz's signature poem Intelligence, a poem he said no other poet had ever attempted to write; I believe him because I've researched it. His truth/observation is intact.



INTELLIGENCE

The nuance that is seen
from a blank line between
any two lines of eloquence;

be it ever so small,
if it rings true at all,
what else is INTELLIGENCE?

Cerebral seasoning; the power of
reasoning from logical evidence;
correcting confusion, and knowing
illusion; - is not this INTELLIGENCE?

Meandering visions, affecting
decisions, - man's VERY FIRST
LINE OF DEFENSE?

The only REAL TRACTION FOR WISDOM
IN ACTION is also INTELLIGENCE.

Copyright 1972 - Lawrence Robinson