I Think That You Certainly Don't Have

As An African-american, As A Woman I Think That I've Been Sensitized To The Way In Which History Privileges The White Male And The Way In Which Certain Aspects Of History, The Things That We Are Taught In School, The Things That Are Handed Down Never, Never Entered The Picture Though They Might Have Been Very Important.

For Years, I Had Heard About The Lack Of Interest In Literature In The U.s. And I Had Complained About The Lack Of Respect Artists Got Here. In My Heart, I Failed To Understand How People Could Fail To Be Moved By Art.

The Sound Of The Mandolin Is A Very Curious Sound Because It's Cheerful And Melancholy At The Same Time, And I Think It Comes From That Shadow String, The Double Strings.

I Grew Up In Ohio, Where Civil-rights Accomplishments Had Already Begun To Accelerate Before Martin Luther King Appeared. In Hindsight, We Know That Many People, Black And White, Were Instrumental In Changing The Jim Crow Status Quo On All Levels.

Being Poet Laureate Made Me Realize I Was Capable Of A Larger Voice. There Is A More Public Utterance I Can Make As A Poet.