Oh! Kennedy Kennedy - A Lyrical Diatribe in the Tradition of Poetic Jurisprudence (Scholarly Edition)
Authors/Creators
Description
In Oh! Kennedy Kennedy, American juris-artist Nachaiya Kama transforms President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 Amherst College address into a living dialogue between art and law. Drawing from Kennedy’s plea for artists to keep power honest and imagination free, Kama embodies the very faith he expressed that when power corrupts, poetry cleanses.
Her poem functions as a lyrical diatribe in the tradition of Poetic Jurisprudence, where rhythm and reason operate as twin instruments of civic truth. Through her philosophy of Visual Constitutionalism™, she renders the Constitution as image and conscience, turning the vernacular refrain “The Constitution is OG” into a constitutional psalm. The work reimagines Kennedy’s moral legacy for the twenty-first century, where portraiture, poetry, and advocacy converge to legislate empathy.
Standing at the intersection of art and jurisprudence, Kama proves that the nation’s highest amendments are not fixed in parchment but renewed in perception. Oh! Kennedy Kennedy becomes both artwork and argument, a republic of vision where beauty performs the labor of justice and the artist becomes the law’s most enduring witness.
Files
Kama_Nachaiya_Oh-Kennedy-Kennedy_ScholarlyEdition_2025.pdf.pdf
Files
(393.6 kB)
| Name | Size | Download all |
|---|---|---|
|
md5:cfc6ff62a74e578f9a76d82f2794eabc
|
393.6 kB | Preview Download |
Additional details
Related works
- Is part of
- Journal article: 10.5281/zenodo.17308694 (DOI)
Dates
- Issued
-
2025-10-26Official publication and DOI release date for the Scholarly Edition.
References
- Kama, Nachaiya. Lex Mathematica™: A Mathematical Response. Houston: Nacha Kama Studio, 2021. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17308694.
- ———. The First Amendment (Portrait). Houston: The Nacha Kama Studio Archives, 2024.
- ———. Venus Constitutionalis – The Rebirth of Justice. Houston: Visual Constitutionalism™ Series, 2025.
- ———. Oh! Kennedy Kennedy – Echoes of Freedom: A Dialogue Between the Past and Present. Houston: Visual Constitutionalism™ Series, 2025. Oh! Kennedy Kennedy. Echoes of Freedom: A Dialogue Between… | by Nachaiya Kama | Oct, 2025 | Medium
- ———. Petition for Rehearing, Kama v. Memorial Hermann Health Systems, No. 22-668. Filed April 10, 2023. Supreme Court of the United States. https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-668/263563/20230414143315787_KamaMainDoc.pdf.
- Kennedy, John F. Inaugural Address. Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1961. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1962.
- ———. "Remarks at the Groundbreaking for the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College." Amherst, MA, October 26, 1963. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964.
- Baldwin, James. The Fire Next Time. New York: Dial Press, 1963.
- Botticelli, Sandro. The Birth of Venus. ca. 1485. Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
- Bryant, Kobe. Dear Basketball. Los Angeles: Glen Keane Productions, 2017.
- Frost, Robert. In the Clearing. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962.
- Guardian Life. "Nacha Kama: Creative Visionary, Advocate of Equality and Social Justice." Guardian Life Magazine (Lagos), December 31, 2023.
- Picasso, Pablo. Guernica. 1937. Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid.
- Talley, André Leon. The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir. New York: Ballantine Books, 2020.
- United States. Constitution of the United States. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
- Wintour, Anna. Vogue: The Editor's Eye. New York: Abrams, 2012.