NYU/CC Reading

Friday night, I read at New York University with Raina Leon (Canticle of Idols) and R. Dwayne Betts (A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison and the poetry collection, Shahid Reads His Own Palm (May 2010).

The reading, sponsored by NYU, Cave Canem, and Poets & Writers, exceeded my expectations, which were pretty high to begin with. We had a full house, and in the audience was Cornelius Eady and Sarah Micklem, Yusef Komanyakaa, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Evie Shockley, and Joseph Legaspi, among others.

Joseph and me

Reading my poems publicly still makes me incredibly nervous. NYU readings mean a lot to me, so I think I get too wrapped up in the moment. But once my portion of the evening was over, I could take a deep breath and relax.

Joseph, me, and Evie.