Begging is the present participle of the verb 'beg.' To beg is to entreat earnestly, implore, or supplicate. It often occurs for the purpose of securing a material benefit, generally for a gift, donation or charitable donation. When done in the context of a public place, it is known as "panhandling", perhaps because the hand and arm are extended like the handle of a cooking implement, and not infrequently, a kitchen implement such as a pot or cup may be used.^[1]

Beggar, 1622, by Jacques Callot

According to a study in the journal of the Canadian Medical Association, "(70%) stated that they would prefer a minimum-wage job, typically citing a desire for a 'steady income' or 'getting off the street.' However, many felt they could not handle conventional jobs because of mental illness, physical disability or lack of skills."^[2]

Beggars may be found in public places such as transport routes, parks, and near busy markets. They mostly request money, but may also ask for cigarettes or other small items.

History of begging[link]

In a 1786 James Gillray caricature, the plentiful money bags handed to King George III are contrasted with the beggar whose legs and arms were amputated, in the left corner

A Caveat or Warning for Common Cursitors, vulgarly called vagabonds was first published in 1566 by Thomas Harman. From early modern England other examples are Thomas Harman, and Robert Greene in his coney-catching pamphlets he titles of which included "The Defence of Conny-catching," in which he argued there were worse crimes to be found among "reputable" people. The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay. The Life and Adventures of Bampfylde Moore Carew was first published in 1745. There are similar writers for many European countries in the early modern period.^{[citation needed]}

According to Jackson J. Spielvogel, "Poverty was a highly visible problem in the eighteenth century, both in cities and in the countryside... Beggars in Bologna were estimated at 25 percent of the population; in Mainz, figures indicate that 30 percent of the people were beggars or prostitutes... In France and Britain by the end of the century, an estimated 10 percent of the people depended on charity or begging for their food."^[3]

Begging and spirituality[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

In some countries begging is much more tolerated and in certain cases encouraged. In many, perhaps most, traditional religions, it is considered that a person who gives alms to a worthy beggar, such as a spiritual seeker, gains religious merit.

Many religious orders adhere to a mendicant way of life, including the Catholic mendicant orders, Hindu ascetics, some dervishes of Sufi Islam, and the monastic orders of Buddhism. In the Catholic Church, followers of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Dominic became known as mendicants, as they would beg for food while they preached to the villages.

Children in Tamil Nadu, India, begging in front of a Catholic Church on Sunday 27 February 2010

In traditional Christianity, the rich are encouraged to serve the poor.

In many Hindu traditions, spiritual seekers, known as sadhus, beg for food. This is because fruitive activity, such as farming or shopkeeping, is regarded as a materialistic distraction from the search for moksha, or spiritual liberation. Begging, on the other hand, promotes humility and gratitude, not only towards the individuals who are giving food, but towards the Universe in general. This helps the sadhu attain a state of bliss or samādhi.

In traditional Shaivite Hinduism, old men, having lived a full life as a householder in the world, frequently give up materialistic possessions and become wandering ascetic mendicants (sadhus), spending their last months or years seeking spiritual enlightenment. Villagers gain religious merit by giving food and other necessities to these ascetics.

In Buddhism, monks and nuns traditionally live by begging for alms, as did the historical Gautama Buddha himself. This is, among other reasons, so that lay people can gain religious merit by giving food, medicines, and other essential items to the monks. The monks seldom need to plead for food; in villages and towns throughout modern Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and other Buddhist countries, householders can often be found at dawn every morning streaming down the road to the local temple to give food to the monks. In East Asia, monks and nuns were expected to farm or work for returns to feed themselves up.^[4][5][6]

There is also a long traditional of rather less spiritual beggars, in India and elsewhere, who are simply begging as a means to obtain material wealth. Some are even beggars for generations, and continue their family tradition of begging. A few beggars in the subcontinent even have sizable wealth, which they accumulate by "employing" other, newer beggars. They can claim to have territories, and then may engage in verbal and physical abuse of encroaching beggars.^{[citation needed]}

Legal restriction of aggressive panhandling[link]

A kindness meter in downtown Ottawa, Canada

The definition of "Aggressive panhandling" may vary. In the USA, aggressive panhandling generally involves the solicitation of donations in an intimidating or intrusive manner. Examples may include:

• Soliciting near ATM banking machines.^[7]
• Soliciting from customers inside a store or restaurant.^{[citation needed]}
• Soliciting after dark.^{[citation needed][dubious – discuss]}
• Approaching individuals from behind, as they are exiting their vehicles, to solicit.
• Soliciting in a loud voice, often accompanied with wild gesticulations.^{[7][citation needed][dubious – discuss]}
• The use of insults, profanity, or veiled threats.
• Refusing to take "No" for an answer or following an individual.
• Demanding more money after a donation has been given.^{[citation needed]}
• Invasion of personal space, cornering, blocking or inappropriate touching.^{[citation needed]}
• A "team" of several beggars approaching an individual at once, often surrounding the person.^{[citation needed]}
• "Camping out" in a spot where begging negatively influences some other business (such as in front of a store or restaurant) in the hope that the business owner will give money to make the beggar go away.^{[dubious – discuss]}

A broad view of legal restrictions[link]

Canada[link]

Man begging in Vancouver in 2008.

"Begging for fun". Man with sign "Can I Have A Beer Man"

The province of Ontario introduced its Safe Streets Act in 1999 to restrict specific kinds of begging, particularly certain narrowly-defined cases of "aggressive" or abusive begging.^[8] In 2001 this law survived a court challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.^[9] The law was further upheld by the Court of Appeal for Ontario in January 2007.^[10]

One response to the anti-panhandling laws which were passed was the creation of the Ottawa Panhandlers Union which fights for the political rights of panhandlers. The union is a shop of the Industrial Workers of the World.

British Columbia enacted its own Safe Streets Act in 2004 which resembles the Ontario law. There are also critics in that province who oppose such laws.^[11]

United States[link]

In 2004, the city of Orlando, Florida passed an ordinance (Orlando Municipal Code section 43.86) requiring panhandlers to obtain a permit from the municipal police department. The ordinance further makes it a crime to panhandle in the commercial core of downtown Orlando, as well as within 50 feet (15 m) of any bank or automated teller machine. It is also^{[citation needed]} considered a crime in Orlando for panhandlers to make false or untrue statements, or to disguise themselves, to solicit money, and to use money obtained for a claim of a specific purpose (e.g., food) to be spent on anything else (e.g., drugs). In Santa Cruz, California, there are regulations for panhandlers on where they can and cannot "spange" (beg for "spare change"). For example, they must be a certain distance away from the door of any business.^{[citation needed]}

In parts of San Francisco, California, aggressive panhandling is prohibited.^[12]

In May 2010, police in the city of Boston started cracking down on panhandling in the streets in downtown, and were conducting an educational outreach to residents advising them not to give to panhandlers. The Boston police distinguished active solicitation, or aggressive panhandling, versus passive panhandling of which an example is opening doors at store with a cup in hand but saying nothing.^[13]

United Kingdom[link]

Begging is illegal under the Vagrancy Act of 1824. However it does not carry a jail sentence and is not well enforced in many cities,^[14] although since the Act applies in all public places it is enforced more frequently on public transport.

Finland[link]

Begging has been legal in Finland since 1987 when the Poor Law was invalidated. In 2003, the Public Order Act replaced any local government rules and completely decriminalized begging.^[15]

Louis Dewis, "The Old Beggar", Bordeaux, France, 1916

"The Man with the Twisted Lip", a beggar playing a major role in a Sherlock Holmes adventure.

Romania[link]

Law 61 of 1991 forbids the persistent call for the mercy of the public, by a person which is able to work.^[16]

US State Department Human Rights reports note a pattern of Roma children registered for "vagrancy and begging".^[17]

Japan[link]

Buddhist monks appear in public when begging for alms.^[18] Although homelessness in Japan is not uncommon, such people rarely beg.

Portugal[link]

In Portugal, panhandlers normally beg in front of Catholic churches, on semaphores or on special places in Lisbon or Oporto downtowns. Begging is not illegal in Portugal. Many social and religious institutions support homeless people and panhandlers and the Portuguese Social Security normally gives them a survival monetary subsidy.

Use of funds[link]

A 2002 study of 54 panhandlers in Toronto reported that of a median monthly income of $638 Canadian dollars (CAD), those interviewed spent a median of $200 CAD on food and $192 CAD on alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs, according to Income and spending patterns among panhandlers, by Rohit Bose and Stephen W. Hwang.^[19] The Fraser Institute criticized this study citing problems with potential exclusion of lucrative forms of begging and the unreliability of reports from the panhandlers who were polled in the Bose/Hwang study.^[20]

In North America, panhandling money is widely reported to support substance abuse and other addictions. For example, outreach workers in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, surveyed that city's panhandling community and determined that approximately three-quarters use donated money to buy tobacco products while two-thirds buy solvents or alcohol.^[21] In Midtown Manhattan, one outreach worker anecdotally commented to the New York Times that substance abuse accounts for 90 percent of panhandling funds.^[22]

Communities reducing street begging[link]

Because of concerns that people begging on the street may use the money to support alcohol or drug abuse, some advise those wishing to give to beggars to give gift cards or vouchers for food or services, and not cash.^[21][23] Some shelters also offer business cards with information on the shelter's location and services, which can be given in lieu of cash.^[24]

Notable beggars[link]

• Bampfylde Moore Carew, self styled King of the Beggars
• Diogenes of Sinope
• Gautama Buddha,the founder of Buddhism accepted alms from people to survive^[25]
• Gavroche Thenardier in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables
• Lazarus
• Nicholas Jennings in Thomas Harman's Caveat for Common Cursitors
• Ryan Larkin
• Shabkar^[26] Tibetan itinerant monk
• So Chan, Chinese folk hero of Drunken Fist

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Begging

Look up begging, spanging, panhandling, or mendicancy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article mendicancy.

• Aggressive panhandling
• Alms
• Begging letter
• Belisarius
• Busking
• Child Begging
• Fundraising
• Internet begging
• Mendicant Orders
• Poor law

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Karash, Robert L., "Spare Change?", Spare Change News, March 25, 2010.
• Malanga, Steven, The Professional Panhandling Plague, City Journal, v.18, n.3, Summer 2008, The Manhattan Institute, New York, NY.
• Sandage, Scott A., Born Losers: A History of Failure in America, Harvard University Press, 2005

Mos Def
Mos Def at YBCA in San Francisco on December 31, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Dante Terrell Smith
Also known as	Yasiin Bey
Born	(1973-12-11) December 11, 1973 (age 38) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres	East Coast hip hop, alternative hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, actor, singer, activist
Years active	1996 – present
Labels	Rawkus, Priority, Geffen, Downtown, GOOD Music, DD172
Associated acts	Soulquarians, Black Star, Talib Kweli, Native Tongues Posse, Kanye West, Gorillaz, Massive Attack, Pharoahe Monch, Eminem, Blakroc, Robert Glasper Experiment

Dante Terrell Smith (born December 11, 1973) is an American actor and MC, known by the stage names Mos Def ( /ˌmoʊsˈdɛf/) and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which released the album Black Star in 1998. He was a major force in late 1990s underground hip hop while with Rawkus Records. As a solo artist he has released the albums Black on Both Sides in 1999, The New Danger in 2004, True Magic in 2006, and The Ecstatic in 2009.^[1]

Although he was initially recognized for his musical output, since the early 2000s, Mos Def's screen work has established him as one of only a handful of rappers who has garnered critical acclaim for his acting work. He is well known for his portrayal of Brother Sam in the American drama series Dexter. Mos Def has also been active in several social and political causes.

Early life[link]

He was born Dante Terrell Smith in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Sheron Smith and Abdul Rahman.^[2] He was raised by his mother in Brooklyn; his father lived in New Jersey. While his father was initially a member of the Nation of Islam and later an active member in the community of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, who merged into mainstream Islam from the Nation, Mos Def was not exposed to Islam until the age of 13. At 19, he took his shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith. He is friends with Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest.^[2]

Career[link]

Music[link]

In 1996, Mos Def emerged as a solo artist and worked with De La Soul and Da Bush Babees, before he released his own first single, "Universal Magnetic".

Mos Def in 1999

Mos Def signed with Rawkus Records and formed the group Black Star with Talib Kweli. They released an album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star, in 1998.^[3] Mostly produced by Hi-Tek, the album featured the hit singles, "Respiration" and "Definition", which would go on to be featured in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.^[4] Mos Def released his solo debut album Black on Both Sides in 1999, also through Rawkus.^[5] Around this time he also contributed to the Scritti Politti album Anomie & Bonhomie and Rawkus compilations Lyricist Lounge and Soundbombing.

Def performing at Rock the Bells (New York).

After the collapse of Rawkus, he signed to Interscope/Geffen Records, which released his second solo album The New Danger in 2004.^[6] The New Danger contained a mix of several musical genres, including soul, blues, and rock and roll, performed with his rock band Black Jack Johnson, which contained members of the bands Bad Brains and Living Colour. The singles included "Sex, Love & Money" and the B-side "Ghetto Rock"; the latter went on to receive several Grammy Award nominations in 2004.

Mos Def's final solo album for Geffen Records, True Magic, was released in 2006.

The song "Crime & Medicine" is essentially a cover of GZA's 1995 single "Liquid Swords", though it contains different verses. Also, the track "Undeniable" samples a version of the Barrett Strong/Norman Whitfield composition "Message from a Black Man". The song "Dollar Day" uses the same beat as Juvenile's "Nolia Clap".^[7]

On November 7, 2007, Mos Def performed live in San Francisco at a venue called The Mezzanine. This performance was recorded for an upcoming "Live in Concert" DVD. During this performance Mos Def announced that he would be releasing a new album to be called The Ecstatic. He sang a number of new tracks; in later shows, Def previewed tracks produced by Madlib and was rumored to be going to Kanye West for new material. Producer and fellow Def Poet Al Be Back stated that he would be producing as well.^[8] The album was released on June 9, 2009; upon its release, only Madlib's production had made the cut, along with tracks by Preservation, The Neptunes, Mr. Flash, Madlib's brother Oh No, a song by J. Dilla, and Georgia Anne Muldrow.

Mos Def appears alongside Kanye West on the track "Two Words" from The College Dropout album, the track "Drunk And Hot Girls" and the bonus track "Good Night" off West's third major album, Graduation. In 2002, he released the 12" single Fine, which was featured in the Brown Sugar Motion Picture Soundtrack.^[9]

Mos Def also appears on the debut album from fellow New Yorkers Apollo Heights on a track titled, "Concern." In October, he signed a deal with Downtown Records and appeared on a remix to the song "D.A.N.C.E." by Justice.^[10] Mos Def appeared on Stephen Marley's debut album Mind Control on the song "Hey Baby." In 2009, Mos Def worked together with Somali rapper K'naan to produce the track "America" for K'naan's album Troubadour.^[11]

In April 2008 he appeared on the title track for a new album by The Roots entitled Rising Down. The new single, Life In Marvelous Times, was made officially available through iTunes on November 4, 2008, and is available for stream on the Roots' website Okayplayer.

April 2009 saw him traveling to South Africa for the first time where he performed accompanied by The Robert Glasper Experiment at the renowned Cape Town International Jazz Festival. He enticed his bemused African following with an encore introduced by his own rendition of John Coltrane's "Love Supreme" followed by a sneak preview of the track "M.D. (Doctor)", much to the delight of the fans.^[12]

Mos Def also designed two pairs of limited edition Converse shoes. The shoes were released to Foot Locker stores on August 1, 2009 in very limited amounts.^[13]

In late 2009, Mos Def created a brand of clothing line with UNDRCRWN called the "Mos Def Cut & Sew Collection." All clothing items will be sold in select stores located around the U.S. and almost exclusively on the UNDRCRWN website.^[14] 2009 also found Mos Def among the MCs collaborating with the Black Keys on the first Blakroc album, a project headed by the Black Keys and Damon Dash. Mos Def appeared with Jim Jones and the Black Keys on the Late Show with David Letterman to perform the Blakroc track "Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo)".

In March 2010, Mos Def's song Quiet Dog Bite Hard was featured in Palm's "Life moves fast. Don't miss a thing." campaign.^[15]

Mos Def features on the first single, "Stylo", from the third Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach, alongside soul legend Bobby Womack. He also appears on the track titled "Sweepstakes".

In September 2010, after appearing on Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Friday track "Lord Lord Lord", Mos Def confirmed his signing with GOOD Music.^[16]

Mos Def has been an active contributor to the recovery of the oil spill in the Gulf, performing concerts and raising money towards the repair of the damages. In June 2010, he recorded a cover of the classic New Orleans song originally by Smokey Johnson, "It Ain't My Fault" with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Lenny Kravitz and Trombone Shorty.

In September 2011, Mos Def announced that he planned to use the name Yasiin instead of Mos Def beginning in 2012.^[17]

In January 2012, it was reported that Mos Def and Talib Kweli had begun "to resurrect" Black Star.^[18]

Acting[link]

He began his professional acting career at the age of fourteen, appearing in the TV movie God Bless the Child, starring Mare Winningham. He then played the oldest child in the short-lived family sitcom, You Take the Kids, starring Nell Carter and Roger E. Mosley. His most notable acting role before his music career was that of Bill Cosby's sidekick on the short-lived detective show, The Cosby Mysteries. He also starred in a 1996 Visa check card commercial featuring Deion Sanders. In 1997 he had a small role alongside Michael Jackson in his short film and music video "Ghosts".

After brief appearances in Bamboozled^[19] and Monster's Ball,^[20] Mos re-invigorated his acting career with his performance as a talented rapper who is reluctant to sign to a major label in Brown Sugar.^[21] He was nominated for an Image Award and a Teen Choice Award.^[22]

In 2001, he took a supporting role to Beyoncé Knowles and Mehki Phifer in the MTV movie Carmen: A Hip Hopera as Lt. Miller, a crooked cop.

In 2002, he played the role of Booth in Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog/Underdog, a Tony-nominated and Pulitzer-winning Broadway play. He and co-star Jeffrey Wright won a Special Award from the Outer Critics Circle Award for their joint performance.^[23] He also received positive notices as the quirky Left Ear in the blockbuster hit, The Italian Job in 2003.^[24] He also appeared in 2003 in the music video You Don't Know My Name of the song by Alicia Keys.

In television, Mos Def has appeared on NYPD Blue,^[25] on Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show,^[26] and has hosted the award-winning HBO spoken word show, Def Poetry since its inception.^[27] The show's sixth season aired in 2007. He also appeared on the sitcom My Wife And Kids as the disabled friend of Michael Kyle (Damon Wayans).

Mos Def won Best Actor, Independent Movie at the 2005 Black Reel Awards for his portrayal of Detective Sgt. Lucas in The Woodsman.^[28] For his portrayal of Vivien Thomas in HBO's film Something the Lord Made,^[29] he was nominated for an Emmy Award^[30] and a Golden Globe, and won the Image Award. He also played a bandleader in HBO's Lackawanna Blues. He then landed the role of Ford Prefect in the 2005 movie adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.^[31]

Def and Bruce Willis on the set of 16 Blocks, filmed on location in Chinatown, Manhattan on Pell Street.

In 2006, Mos Def appeared in Dave Chappelle's Block Party alongside fellow Black Star companion Talib Kweli, while also contributing to the film's soundtrack.^[32] Also, Mos Def was featured as the black banjo player in the infamous "Pixie Sketch" from Chappelle's Show: The Lost Episodes. He was later edited out of it on the DVD. Additionally, Mos Def starred in the action film 16 Blocks alongside Bruce Willis and David Morse.^[33] He has a recurring guest role on Boondocks, starring as "Gangstalicious". He is also set to be in Toussaint, a film about Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, opposite Don Cheadle and Wesley Snipes. He made a cameo appearance — playing himself — in the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.^[34]

In 2007, Mos Def narrated the PBS-broadcast documentary Prince Among Slaves.

In 2008, Mos Def starred in the Michel Gondry movie Be Kind Rewind, playing a video rental store employee whose best friend is played by co-star Jack Black.^[35] He also portrayed Chuck Berry in the film Cadillac Records,^[36] for which he was nominated for a Black Reel Award and an Image Award.

In 2009, he appeared in the House episode entitled "Locked In" as a patient suffering from locked-in syndrome. His performance was well-received, with E! saying that Mos Def "delivers an Emmy-worthy performance."^[37] He was also in the 2009 film Next Day Air.

In 2010, he appeared on the children's show Yo Gabba Gabba! as Super Mr. Superhero. He also appeared in A Free Man of Color, John Guare's play at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre.^[38]

In 2011, he began a multi-episode appearance on the Showtime television series Dexter. He played Brother Sam, an ex-con who has supposedly found religion despite finding himself in violent situations.^[39]

Social and political views[link]

In 2000, Mos Def performed a benefit concert for death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal.^[40]

In September 2005, Mos Def released the single "Katrina Clap," renamed "Dollar Day" for True Magic, (utilizing the instrumental for New Orleans rappers UTP's "Nolia Clap"). The song is a criticism of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina. On the night of the MTV Video Music Awards, Mos Def pulled up in front of Radio City Music Hall on a flatbed truck and began performing the "Katrina Clap" single in front of a crowd that quickly gathered around him. He was subsequently arrested despite having a public performance permit in his possession.^[41]

On September 7, 2007, Mos Def appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher where he spoke about racism against African Americans, citing the government response to Hurricane Katrina, the Jena Six and the murder conviction of Mumia Abu-Jamal. He appeared on Real Time again on March 27, 2009, and spoke about the risk of nuclear weapons.^[42] Mos Def said that he did not listen to any of Osama Bin Laden's messages because he did not trust the translations.^[43]

Personal life[link]

In 1996, Def married Maria Yepes. After having two daughters, Chandani and Jauhara Smith, he filed for divorce in 2005.^[44]

In October 2006 Mos Def appeared on 4Real, a documentary television series.^[45] Appearing in the episode "City of God," he and the 4Real crew traveled to City of God, a slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to meet Brazilian MC MV Bill and learn about the crime and social problems of the community.^[46]

Nominations[link]

• Black Movie Awards
  • 2006 Source Awards
• Black Reel Awards
  • 2008, Best Supporting Actor: Cadillac Records
  • 2003, Best Actor- Independent: Civil Brand
  • 2004, Best Supporting Actor: The Italian Job
  • 2005, Best Actor TV Movie/Mini-Series: Something the Lord Made
  • 2005, Best Indie Actor: The Woodsman (won)
• Emmy Award
  • 2004, Best Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series: Something the Lord Made
• Golden Globes
  • 2005, Best Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series: Something the Lord Made
• Grammy Awards
  • 2005, Best Urban/Alternative Performance: "Sex, Love & Money"
  • 2006, Best Urban/Alternative Performance: "Ghetto Rock"
  • 2007, Best Rap Solo Performance: "Undeniable"
  • 2010, Best Rap Solo Performance: "Casa Bey"
  • 2010, Best Rap Album: "The Ecstatic"
  • 2011, Best Short Form Music Video: "Stylo" (with Bobby Womack and Gorillaz)
• Image Awards
  • 2009, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Cadillac Records
  • 2003, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Brown Sugar
  • 2005, Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series: Something the Lord Made

Discography[link]

• Black on Both Sides (1999)
• The New Danger (2004)
• True Magic (2006)
• The Ecstatic (2009)
• Yasiin Bey Presents (TBA)^[47]

Collaborations

• Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star (1998) (with Talib Kweli as Black Star)
• Black Star Aretha (2012) (with Talib Kweli as Black Star)^[47]
• Cruel Summer (2012) (with GOOD Music)^[48]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mos Def

• Mos Def / Dante Smith discographies at Discogs.
• Mos Def at Geffen Records.
• Mos Def at MTV
• Mos Def at the Internet Movie Database
• Mos Def at Emmys.com

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2009)

John Gay

John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peachum, became household names.

Early life[link]

Gay was born in Barnstaple, England and was educated at the town's grammar school. On leaving school he was apprenticed to a silk mercer in London, but being weary, according to Samuel Johnson, "of either the restraint or the servility of his occupation", he soon returned to Barnstaple, where he was educated by his uncle, the Rev. John Hanmer, the Nonconformist minister of the town. He then returned to London.

Early career[link]

The dedication of his Rural Sports (1713) to Alexander Pope was the beginning of a lasting friendship. In 1714, Gay wrote The Shepherd's Week, a series of six pastorals drawn from English rustic life. Pope had urged him to undertake this task in order to ridicule the Arcadian pastorals of Ambrose Philips, who had been praised by a short-lived contemporary publication The Guardian, to the neglect of Pope's claims as the first pastoral writer of the age and the true English Theocritus. Gay's pastorals achieved this goal and his ludicrous pictures of the English country lads and their loves were found to be entertaining on their own account.

Gay had just been appointed secretary to the British ambassador to the court of Hanover through the influence of Jonathan Swift when the death of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, three months later put an end to all his hopes of official employment.

In 1715, probably with some help from Pope, he produced What d'ye call it?, a dramatic skit on contemporary tragedy, with special reference to Thomas Otway's Venice Preserv'd. It left the public so ignorant of its real meaning that Lewis Theobald and Benjamin Griffin published a Complete Key to what d'ye call it to explain it. In 1716 appeared his Trivia, or the Art of Walking the Streets of London, a poem in three books, for which he acknowledged having received several hints from Swift. It contains graphic and humorous descriptions of the London of that period. What is most interesting about the poem, however, is not the fact that it depicts the city with photographic accuracy, but that it acts as a guide to the upper, and upper-middle class walkers of society. In taking a mock-heroic form, Gay's poem was able to poke fun at the notion of complete reformation of street civility, whilst also proposing an idea of reform in terms of the attitude towards walking. In January 1717 he produced the comedy, Three Hours after Marriage, which was grossly indecent without being amusing and a failure. He had assistance from Pope and John Arbuthnot, but they allowed it to be assumed that Gay was the sole author.

Patrons[link]

Gay had numerous patrons, and in 1720 he published Poems on Several Occasions by subscription, taking in £1000 or more. In that year James Craggs, the secretary of state, presented him with some South Sea stock. Gay, disregarding the advice of Pope and others of his friends, invested all his money in South Sea stock, and, holding on to the end of the South Sea Bubble, he lost everything. The shock is said to have made him dangerously ill. His friends did not fail him at this juncture. He had patrons in William Pulteney, afterwards Earl of Bath, in the third Earl of Burlington, who constantly entertained him at Chiswick or at Burlington House, and in the third Duke of Queensberry. He was a frequent visitor with Pope, and received unvarying kindness from William Congreve and John Arbuthnot. In 1727 he wrote for six year old Prince William, later the Duke of Cumberland, Fifty-one Fables in Verse, for which he naturally hoped to gain some preferment, although he has much to say in them of the servility of courtiers and the vanity of court honours. He was offered the situation of gentleman-usher to the Princess Louisa, who was also still a child. He refused this offer, which all his friends seem to have regarded as an indignity. He had never rendered any special services to the court.

The Beggar's Opera[link]

He certainly did nothing to conciliate the favour of the government by his next work, The Beggar's Opera, a Ballad opera produced on the January 29, 1728 by John Rich, in which Sir Robert Walpole was caricatured. This famous piece, which was said to have made "Rich gay and Gay rich", was an innovation in many respects. The satire of the play has a double allegory. The characters of Peachum and Macheath represent the famous highwayman and gangster Jonathan Wild and the cockney housebreaker Jack Sheppard. At the same time, Jonathan Wild was understood to represent Robert Walpole, whose government had been tolerant of Wild's thievery and the South Sea directors' escape from punishment. Under cover of the thieves and highwaymen who figured in it was disguised a satire on society, for Gay made it plain that in describing the moral code of his characters he had in mind the corruptions of the governing class. Part of the success of The Beggar's Opera may have been due to the acting of Lavinia Fenton, afterwards Duchess of Bolton, in the part of Polly Peachum. The play ran for sixty-two nights. Swift is said to have suggested the subject, and Pope and Arbuthnot were constantly consulted while the work was in progress, but Gay must be regarded as the sole author. After seeing an early version of the work, Swift was optimistic of its commercial prospects but famously warned Gay to be cautious with his earnings: "I beg you will be thrifty and learn to value a shilling."

Later career[link]

He wrote a sequel, Polly, relating the adventures of Polly Peachum in the West Indies; its production was forbidden by the Lord Chamberlain, no doubt through the influence of Walpole. This act of "oppression" caused no loss to Gay. It proved an excellent advertisement for Polly, which was published by subscription in 1729, and brought its author several thousand pounds. The Duchess of Queensberry was dismissed from court for enlisting subscribers in the palace. The Duke of Queensberry gave Gay a home, and the duchess continued her affectionate patronage until Gay's death, which took place on December 4, 1732. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. The epitaph on his tomb is by Pope, and is followed by Gay's own mocking couplet:

Life is a jest, and all things show it,

I thought so once, and now I know it.

Partial list of works[link]

• Wine - 1708
• The Present State of Wit - 1711
• The Rural Sports - 1713
• The Shepherd's Week - 1714
• The What D'ye Call It - 1715
• Trivia, or The Art of Walking the Streets of London - 1716
• Acis and Galatea - 1718
• Poems on Several Occasions - 1720
• Fables (also known as Fifty-one Fables in Verse or Fables of John Gay) - 1727 (Part the Second - 1738)
• The Beggar's Opera - 1728
• Polly - 1729
• Achilles - 1733
• The Distress'd Wife - 1734
• Three Hours After Marriage

See also[link]

• Fable

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

External links[link]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: John Gay

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: John Gay

Jeremy Barlow (born August 11, 1985 in San Francisco, California) is an American soccer player currently playing for Richmond Kickers in the USL Second Division.

Career[link]

Youth and college[link]

Barlow grew up in Herndon, Virginia, and attended Langley High School, where he was named the Liberty District Player of the Year and was selected to the All-Region and All-Journal teams. He played club soccer for Reston FC and DC United Youth, before going on to play four years of college soccer at the University of Virginia. He was named to the 2004 ACC Tournament MVP, and was selected to the 2004 ACC All-Tournament Team and the 2004 ACC All-Freshman Team in his debut year, and went on to be a Second Team VaSID All-State selection as a sophomore. He totaled seven goals and an assist in his freshman year, added two goals and nine assists during his sophomore campaign and two goals and two assists in his junior year before finishing his collegiate career with a goal and six assists last fall.

During his college years Barlow also played in the USL Premier Development League for Richmond Kickers Future,^[1] before turning professional in 2008.

Professional[link]

Barlow was selected in the fourth round (56th overall) of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft by Houston Dynamo. His contract rights were subsequently transferred from Houston to DC United,^[2] where he signed a developmental contract. He went on to feature in eight reserve games for DC in 2008, but was released in August of that year without having seen first team action.^[3] He was later picked up by Los Angeles Galaxy on waivers, but again never made a first team appearance for the club, and was released during the 2009 MLS pre-season.

Barlow moved to Europe in the spring of 2009 in search playing time, and subsequently signed with Pallo-Iirot of the Kakkonen, the third tier of Finnish football. He returned to the United States in the summer of 2010 when he signed with the Richmond Kickers of the USL Second Division. He made his first appearance for the team on July 31, 2010 in 2-0 win over the Harrisburg City Islanders,^[4] and went on to feature in three league games for the Kickers during the season.

Personal[link]

Jeremy is the older brother of fellow professional soccer player Neil Barlow.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Virginia bio