Hey cool people: Run for office

One of my favorite former politicians is Lloyd Daniel, a poet and educator who spent two terms in the Missouri House of Representatives in the mid-’90s.

These days Daniel writes, travels the country giving lectures, and once in awhile, puts on a cool poetry reading accompanied by a sax player, like he did with the young and talented William Sanders on the Saturday before election day at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center. The morning served as a reminder that words, music and action all go together and can sometimes create something beautiful.

Now, Daniel is putting on another Saturday-morning event in hopes of channeling some of that energy so many people put into politics over the last few months. “Looking for a Leader? Find Yourself” is slated for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on December 20 at the Watkins Center.

Daniel promises a “dynamic and motivational” session focusing on ways in which “candidates without oceans of money, but with a vision and popular grass-roots support can win virtually any race, even when the odds are against them.”

Or, as he tells me in an e-mail: “I’ve established a process designed to stir things up a bit in Kansas City, for the purpose of bringing some new blood and ideas into local politics. Ideas like not being crazy.”