Rhyme & Reason: Poetry as a Cultural and Communal Bridge
View the video to enjoy a conversation with Jason Vasser-Elong, poet, cultural anthropologist, and interdisciplinary scholar in African American Studies and Education. Jason was the 2022 SAPIENS poet-in-residence and is earning his Ed.D. in educational practice from the University of Missouri, St. Louis, with a focus on how art influences student retention and persistence.
In this Q&A, Jason discussed how anthropology informs his craft and how his poetics shape dialogue across the ages with past and present writers such as Frantz Fanon, Zora Neale Hurston, Paul Laurence Dunbar, James Baldwin, and others. These writers and so many more speak to identity and social and cultural issues that impact people of African descent around the globe. As part of the discussion, Jason shared excerpts from his poetic contributions to SAPIENS and responded to audience questions.
Check out all of Jason’s SAPIENS poems here.
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In short, you may not make edits beyond minor stylistic changes, and you must credit the author and note that the article was originally published on SAPIENS.
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You may republish this article, either online and/or in print, under the Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 license. We ask that you follow these simple guidelines to comply with the requirements of the license.
In short, you may not make edits beyond minor stylistic changes, and you must credit the author and note that the article was originally published on SAPIENS.
Accompanying photos are not included in any republishing agreement; requests to republish photos must be made directly to the copyright holder.