Kamau Daaood

Aug. 13, 1965, proved to be the first day of the rest of a new life for Eric Priestley. That morning, the 21-year-old college athlete emerged from the Central Avenue pool hall where he was living to investigate what sounded like the far-off tinkle of wind chimes.

Only moments after what looks to be the last of the rain, Kamau Daaood is catching the first bit of sun. It's early yet, so it's pretty much just him and the birds and someone already set to watering their little patch of cement.

On those busy nights when Leimert Park in the Crenshaw district is brimming with musicians, poets and even a few chess and hard-slamming domino players, you can usually find Kamau Daaood stroking his graying goatee and dispensing wisdom to young writers. For nearly 30 years, since his days as a teenager cutting his literary teeth in the acclaimed Watts Writers Workshop, Daaood has been a forceful, eloquent presence among Los Angeles poets.