Excited to announce I’ll be part of Tupelo Press’s 30/30 in September!
Tag Archives: poetry
Interview with Yale University Radio
I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Brainard Carey for Yale University Radio on my poetry and art. Click the link to listen to the full interview and see some of my paintings. (TW talk of suicide, domestic violence, and war.)
Interview on Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural Poem; Newsy
I had the opportunity to share my thoughts on Amanda Gorman’s poem for the inauguration of Joseph Biden. Special thanks to Newsy reporter, Casey Mendoza!
Marvin Bell, 1937-2020
I write this in fits and starts, just adding things about Marvin as they come to mind, moving up and down the page. It’s strange to look at websites make the necessary update, the cementation that he is, in fact, gone. It’s a strange addition to the grieving process. A friend of mine who was in my first workshop with Marvin had said upon hearing the news of his passing, “I thought he’d live to 101.” I thought so too.
About that Speech
“I like X too, but…” or “I say this as a fan of X’s poetry…” or “I read X in high school and loved it…” or [insert your phrasing of choice here]. For any poet or color, it’s the necessary incantation before one can make any criticism, no matter how benign, of any white poet (dead or alive).
This isn’t paranoia. All one would need to do is look through Poetry Twitter right now and see this dance being performed by poets of color. And what is the criticism currently?
