Listen, I Create Me

by Cebo Campbell, Cornelius H. Campbell

"My father's impression on my life flashed through my mind rioting images; the five senses went sour. Cut grass on spring-fresh football fields, the sight of blue skies and red blood, belt lashes sting and whip burn, the itch of rough polyester blankets on soft skin, the stale fish scent of sex, piercing black eyes, hard callous hands, the reek of bologna breath and alcohol, tubes of crack cocaine, the bright-skinned man in a velvet suit, the pigskin grip of a football, a glass wall, my mother. What I felt at that moment, its intense and swift strain on my soul, stretched me across my life span, thinning me out to frailty. My father took trust and turned it into resentment, love and turned it into hate, a son with potential and made him into a young man confused and skeptical. This man, who put his life into my body, left me throbbing with the most ancient revulsion. I hated this man." 17 years old. The year 2000. Divorced parents. Sex. Drugs. Mutiny. A boy grows to a man while fighting the current of popular culture and his own raw introspection, until he finds the meaning of adulthood, freedom, and modern life's one great epiphany. Listen, I Create Me unveils a painful reality of modern American fidelities that will tickle your emotions just before it pinches and twists them. It is the voice of the youth, will you listen?

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

CEBO CAMPBELL is an award-winning, multi-hyphenate creative based in New York and London. He is a winner of the Stories Award for Poetry, and his writings are featured in numerous publications. As co-founder and CCO of the renowned NYC creative agency Spherical, Cebo leads teams of creatives in shaping the best hotel brands in the world. His range of talents as a creative director have sent him all over the globe infusing creativity, from working with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in the UK, to concepting the Million Miracles humanitarian campaign throughout Africa and India, to writing and directing the VR short film Refuge: Triumph in Tulsa, based on the famed Black Wall Street in Oklahoma. Cebo’s expansive work as a writer, designer, and director are powered by a singular mindset: contribute meaningfully to the culture. And he does. With everything he touches.

At present, Cebo is likely somewhere in Europe enjoying good whiskey and better conversation.