Episode 5 features newly inducted NC Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green, a true writer, artist and daughter of North Carolina. A self-proclaimed “cultural activist,” Jaki currently teaches documentary poetry at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.

With a career that spans several decades, Jaki shares her compelling story of growing up as a young African-American girl in the rural South and how writing found her against the backdrop of a tumultuous American era. After a long career in community and service work, Jaki shares that it “took a long time to step inside and say ‘I am a writer,’ even as a published writer.”

We tap into Jaki’s well of wisdom as she discusses giving herself the permission to walk away from work that consumes too much energy. She also explains what documentary poetry is, her women’s writing retreat program, SistaWrite, and of course, Beyonce’s Lemonade.

Enjoy the episode and remember to Create & Connect!