Connor Watkins-Xu’s project for the 2025 Jack Straw Writers Program is a book of poems covering themes of trauma, depression, and struggling with faith, which he hopes will “carry emotions and revelation.” In his conversation with curator Kathleen Alcalá, they discuss his journey from Alabama to Washington State, some of the poets who’ve influenced him, and the importance of risk and stakes in poetry.  “I was always taught that the highest calling of a poem or maybe its purpose is to be kind of a vehicle for emotion. . . . I think all good writing involves some kind of investment from the writer.”

Music by Greg Kramer, produced in part through the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.

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