Episode 45: Tyehimba Jess
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Rachel Zucker talks with poet Tyehimba Jess about his Pulitzer-prize-winning book, Olio. They talk about Scott Joplin, Henry Box Brown, Blind Boone, Blind Tom, Millie and Christine McCoy Twins, Edmonia Lewis, the Fisk Jubilee singers and the other historical figures in Jess’ book. They talk about minstrelsy, captivity, agency, wonder and play, and about the forms of the poems within the book including syncopated or contrapuntal sonnets, ghazal, golden shovel and other, and the unusual physical properties of the book. Jess talks about what it was like to write Olio, about having 11 years between his first two books, getting a handshake from Yusef Komunyakaa, living in Brooklyn and working on Staten Island, the tenure clock, trying live up to the challenges and expectations of an earlier project, growing up Catholic, his experience at Cave Canem, meeting Gwendolyn Brooks and being encouraged by her, and so much more.
Books by Tyehimba Jess
Other Books and Writers Mentioned in the Episode
Claudia Rankine’s Don’t Let Me Be Lonely (Graywolf, 2004)
Yusef Komunyakaa’s Neon Vernacular (Wesleyan, 1993)
The Black Poets Anthology, edited by Dudley Randall (Bantam, 1985)
Other Relevant Links
Reading at the 92nd Street Y (with Robert Creeley), New York, NY, 1986
Everything Goes Book Store & Cafe in Tompkinsville, Staten Island
College of Staten Island faculty: Patricia Smith and Cate Marvin
Page Meets Stage, hosted by Taylor Mali and featuring Jess & Komunyakaa:
