Sarah Kay

And you can see it when you watch the video.

Yeah.

Who's just like, wow, here I am.

What a day.

And I think if I tried to say anything, it would, it would betray too much to that kid and it would trample it.

And so I wouldn't, I wouldn't say a thing.

I would just, I would just watch.

Well, poetry is this ancient, ancient art form.

It's as old as we are.

And there are so many poets who were maybe even not allowed the title of poet or were not concerned with the title of poet.

And we're still reaching for language for the unlanguageable.

And I think because I fell in love with poetry in a dive bar, so much of my love of poetry comes from its communal possibilities, both as language.

shared experience of live performance, but also opportunity for community building, opportunity for healing, opportunity for naming, opportunity for showing each other

and our vulnerable humanness and our bravery.

And I would not be here if a room full of adults had not taken me seriously as an artist before I took myself seriously as an artist.

And so I'm so aware of the many shoulders upon which I stand, many of whom are also standing next to me.

You know, I think an accidental, incredible gem of a gift happens.

of being in that dive bar is it allowed me to have intergenerational friendship which is rare but because i was 14 in a dive bar i became friends with people who were at least a decade my senior sometimes more but they were my friends they weren't my parents friends and so having intergenerational friendship

from the beginning then became so ingrained in me as important as a way to learn from someone whose life is at a different stage than yours.

And so now I also have friendships with people who are generationally younger than me.