What poets changed the way you thought about poetry?
As mentioned earlier, I had a less than stellar first year of college, but I still learned a great deal about being a poet and human that year. That year I developed a bond with one of the professors—Hey Jamie D’Agostino!— and with him alongside, I was constantly surrounded by good reads. We read Mary Ruefle in his class and he introduced me to such dynamic poets as Lynda Hull and Jericho Brown outside of it. When I went to my community college, I made it a point to read every single book of poetry at their library. There I fell in love with Steve Orlen, Galway Kinnell, Cornelius Eady, among others. I also was introduced Yusef Komunyakaa during my stay. I must’ve borrowed Neon Vernacular at least a dozen times the first year I read his work. As a result, I still hold onto a line of his whenever I go to the page: Say something worth breath. Currently, such luminaries as Chen Chen, Devin Kelly, Amorak Huey, Chelsea Dingman, Jay Besemer, Jessica Lynn Suchon, Lauren Milici, Kaveh Akbar, and Paige Lewis all keep me afloat and constantly challenge and reward the way I see and interact with poetry. I could go on for days. Months. Years. If you let me.
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