Yusef Komunyakaa

Yusef performed on stage for Seriously Entertaining at City Winery on November 11, 2015, speaking on the evening’s theme, “Happy Now.” Watch it below.

Yusef Komunyakaa’s books of poetry include Taboo, Dien Cai Dau, Neon Vernacular, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize, Talking Dirty to the Gods, Warhorses, The Chameleon Couch, The Emperor of Water Clocks, Night Animals (art by Rachel Bliss) and Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth. His honors include the William Faulkner Prize (Université Rennes, France), the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and the 2011 Wallace Stevens Award. His plays, performance art, and libretti have been performed internationally and include Saturnalia, Wakonda’s Dream, Testimony, and Gilgamesh. His most recent work is the third book in his graphic novel series, Jupiter Invincible, titled The Midnight Rider. He teaches at New York University.

In his own words: “…if one becomes a close reader, I believe that one is already a half step from grabbing up a pen and scribbling down those first lines.”

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