Tongo Eisen-Martin: October 5, 2017

Steve Dickison introduces Tongo Eisen-Martin. Eisen-Martin performs poems from Heaven is All Goodbyes, and someone's dead already, including "Faceless," "Movie Star," "I have to talk to myself differently now," "It's Midnight Already," "For the 14 Mission St," "Climbing Back Down the Wind," "Cut a hand from a hand," "Skid Bid," "Heaven is All Goodbyes," "Four Walls," and "The Course of Meal."

Tongo Eisen-Martin takes questions from the audience. He is asked where he gets his craft from, and (after laughing) he says that it comes from critical conversations with himself and the world. When asked how he knows when to begin and when to end a poem, he advises students to start and end with what is strong, insightful, and inviting. However, he states that his poetry has no point A to point B, and that he draws from "a soup of repression and pain of resistance." He also emphasizes going beyond inspiration and theory, to instead practice writing in order to look at the material more broadly and gain a more human experience. When asked about the cover art of Heaven is All Goodbyes, he explains that his brother, Biko Eisen-Martin, did the cover, which was inspired by medieval art synthesized with the reality of blacks living today in fear of police brutality. He then shares his tips on writing poetry and giving strong performances, while giving recommendations for books and his own musical influences, among these John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, for inspiration. He emphasizes the importance of performing instead of reading poetry in order to know the work more intimately, and also advises against writing while being under the influence. He states that if one holds themselves to their own standards, they will always be able to tell the difference between their good writing and their bad writing.