I was really thrilled to be a returning guest on NPR’s Code Switch podcast for a special episode highlighting Philly! You can listen to the entire episode online right here.

Thanks Gene and Shereen for having me!

Fall culminated in the most necessary way with a writing residency at the Millay Colony for the Arts, an artist retreat located on the former home of poet/activist Edna St. Vincent Millay! I spent precious, quiet time working on my debut poetry manuscript. Many thanks to the Millay Colony for this gift of time and space!

A special treat for educators and students: "Accents" is now animated. (Watch here)

Thanks to Sarah Kay and TED-Ed for including this as part of the "There's a Poem for That" series, which creates animated interpretations of poems both old and new that give us language for some of life's biggest feelings.

Big thanks to animator, Robertino Zambrano for his incredible work; it's exciting to see this poem live in a new way. I hope this video is useful for your classrooms, there's also a short interview at the end.

Here's a snippet: 
"I wanted to write my mother out of the shame that didn't belong to her. I wanted to write her into a power that she possesses. And I wanted to subvert the hierarchies of language that puts English at the top and every other language at the bottom."

I was happy to join NPR’s Code Switch Live at The Apollo where I shared a few poems and gave an interview with hosts Gene and Shereen on everything from how I started writing, to growing up playing basketball in NYC, to the current humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico. The episode features: Ashley Nicole Black, Marcus Samuelson, and Bobby Sanabria.

Listen here, also available on Spotify.

Podcast Date: November 21, 2018.

Photo Credit: Matthew Septimus

Photo Credit: Matthew Septimus