"It's true. My focus as a person and poet lately has centered around race, racial experience, and anti-blackness. This focus has come from the dubious position of being white. But I've contended that silence for a white poet on matters of race - and to be clear I'm not talking about if one is silent on this topic on Facebook - is a privilege. In my headspace, white poets should, in addition to all their other obsessions, write poems about their racial experience and some obviously are. The path into those poems should be paved with the gravel of vulnerability, ugliness, and daring and there will be failures, but rather than release an artist statement, those poets should merely ask to be forgiven. At a recent reading in Philadelphia, Paul Siegell jumped into the arena in his own way and I was glad to be there."
Tremendous thanks, John.
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