![]() ![]() I had a lot of artistic interests, not only writing, and adults kept saying: “You have to pick something to pursue.” But my dad said, “No, no, explore everything you’re interested in, and then when you decide, you’ll be able to use everything in what you do.” It’s the single best piece of advice anyone has ever given me. He got me my first signed book, took me to concerts, brought me to a celebration of Lorraine Hansberry, and also got me involved in theater in Harlem. My dad set it up-he was always getting me into trouble! He was both a violinist and a composer, very rare for a Black man at that time, and he took over my art education. How did that formative performance happen? Everyone else was around 17 or 18, and there I was! I feel as if I’ve stepped into this continuum of poets, and so I am speaking with them, as well as for them. ![]() They had organized a young people’s poetry reading, and I was the youngest reader. I gave my first poetry reading at age 13, at Countee Cullen Library. This is sort of me talking to myself at this age. What does it mean for you, with Legacy, to introduce the Harlem Renaissance to young readers at the specific age group of 10–14? ![]()
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