Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Spring 2008 - (Page 78) Henry Lacey: It’s my pleasure to introduce and facilitate today’s dialogue with one of the nation’s most outstanding contemporary poets and one of Louisiana’s treasures. A native of Bogalusa and former resident of New Orleans, Yusef Komunyakaa is no stranger to the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. Needless to say, we are delighted with his return. This distinguished American writer began his life in the metropolis of Bogalusa, Louisiana, which was in many ways a typical Southern town, with one dominant industry, a belching, 78 LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES\Spring 2008 malodorous paper mill, a public library that did not admit blacks, a rigidly maintained separate and unequal school system, and, some say, the highest per capita ratio of Ku Klux Klan members of any town in the country. Mr. Komunyakaa’s works are widely acclaimed for his lyrical rendering of his impressionable years in that town and for his remarkable capturing of the language, the music, and the folkways of his community. Some of you will recall Ralph Ellison’s panegyric to Louis Armstrong in his prologue to Invisible Man. Noting Satchmo’s towering artistic achievement, particularly in spite of his humble beginnings in a very racist environment, Ellison says simply, “He made poetry out of being invisible.” He made poetry out of being invisible. These words are literally applicable to Yusef Komunyakaa. Examinations of his phenomenal productivity will quickly evidence the extent of his travel beyond Bogalusa. His universal vision is seen in the widely heralded and monumental poems reflecting his Vietnam War experience and the lyrics born of his extended stay in Australia. His more recent works have showcased his wide-ranging interests and knowledge of world literatures, mythology, philosophy, and art, as well as openness to experimentation with new forms and new genres. He’s a hard man to pin down. I note some of his works here: Lost in the Bone Wheel Factory, Copacetic, I Apologize for the Eyes in My Head, Dien Cai Dau, Magic City, and, of course, Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems, for which he won the Pulitzer in 1994, and also, I think, the Faulkner prize for that same text. More recent works are Thieves of Paradise, Pleasure Dome, Talking Dirty to the Gods, Taboo, and Gilgamesh. He holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado, M.A. in creative writing from Colorado State, and an M.F.A. from the University of California-Irvine. He has held appointments at the following institutions: the University of New Orleans, Indiana University, CalBerkeley, Washington University, Princeton, and, presently, New York University. He is also a Chancellor of the American Academy of Poets. We thought we would begin today’s session by having him read a few of his works. At this time I am delighted to present to you Yusef Komunyakaa. Yusef Komunyakaa: Thanks for such a wonderful introduction. I am going to start by reading something quite recent. I’ve never done this before today, this very morning. I won’t say what it’s about, I think you’ll understand. Blues, I’m down in the Big Easy Back in the Crescent City. Taking a long hard look at the naked truth TOM WALLACE Conversation with a Native Son:
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