Flint’s First Poet Laureate On The Power of Literary Arts: “Flint Is Rising, Don’t Count Us Out”

Stephen Henderson sits down with Semaj Brown to talk about the ways that creative writing and thinking can heal a community.

When is the last time you sat down and wrote a poem, a story or a letter just for fun?

This weekend, the community-based literary center, the Tuxedo Project, along with the Live6 Alliance, will host Write-A-Thon Detroit.

The event takes place tomorrow and will feature Semaj Brown, who will deliver a keynote speech. Semaj Brown is Flint’s first poet laureate, and ahead of her appearance at the Write-A-Thon, she joins Detroit Today’s Stephen Henderson in studio at WDET.

“We are resilient people in Flint, we call ourselves Flint-stones for a reason,” Brown tells Henderson. In discussing the trauma that came with the Flint Water Crisis, she notes that “art has been a major force, there is a movement and a spirit in Flint of people being enlivened.” 

Brown says “Flint is rising, don’t count us out. Yes [the crisis] happened, yes we are still repairing but at the same time we are rising.” 

Click on the player above to hear Flint’s Poet Laureate Semaj Brown speak about the power of the written word.

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  • Detroit Today
    Dynamic and diverse voices. News, politics, community and the issues that define our region. Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson, Detroit Today brings you fresh and perceptive views weekdays at 9 am and 7 pm.