Muhammad Ali (previously Cassius Clay) was an incredible boxer. Furthermore, he was a colossal figure in opposing the Vietnam War, standing up for the rights of African Americans in the USA, and yes, a poet!
When he refused to be inducted into the US Army, he had his world heavyweight boxing title taken away from him, as well as his boxing licence. During this period, he was not able to fight to earn a living, so he went to college campuses and gave speeches. These included speeches at Howard University on subjects such as The Intoxication of Life.
In August 1974, there was even a movement by students at Oxford University to have Ali as their professor for poetry. In 1975, he gave a speech at Harvard University.
Ali was an incredible man whose religion and principles were very important to him. He had the ability to express his thoughts poetically and capture an audience.
He was once asked ‘what would you like people to think about you when you’ve gone’.
The Recipe for Life
We have found a few different versions of this on the internet, but it appears that this version may actually be an original composition by Ali.
There was no Google back in the 1960s and 1970s so Ali was quite audacious in the way he would claim the poetry of others as his own. This second clip is particularly cheeky when he brags about poetry coming naturally to him. He claims the poem Truth and goes on to recite it. It is in fact a poem by Hazrat Inayat Khan.
Truth
He is also often credited with the below poem Friendship. It is a poem by Helen Steiner Rice. No matter what, you have to love Ali’s conviction and delivery of these poems and many of us wouldn’t know these poems if it wasn’t for Ali reciting them.
Friendship
It would be remiss to celebrate the poetry of Ali without including any of his boxing related rhymes. There are too many to include them all here, but we have left one of our favourites below for you to enjoy. He predicts how his fight against Frazier will go for those who might not be able to afford a ticket to the cinema to watch it.
The shortest poem in the world is by Muhammad Ali
This is a genuine claim that Muhammad Ali has. As part of the publicity for his world title fight against Sonny Liston in 1964, he released an album of short poems. Of course, the title of the album was I AM THE GREATEST. Have a look at the below clip to hear the poem.
Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Please feel free to share this blog with someone you think may be interested. If you want to improve your English through enjoyable content and expert teachers, check out our online English classes.
Leave us a comment below if you think Muhammad Ali was the greatest poet or have anything else to add!
Further reading
If you are interested in learning more on this topic, we would recommend the below:
Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig
The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life’s Journey by Muhammad Ali and Hana Yasmeen Ali
Helen Steiner Rice – The Healing Touch: Poems, Letters, and Life Stories
or maybe you might find one of our other blogs interesting:
4 Inspirational Poems by Helen Steiner Rice