Detroit Today: Pulitzer Prize winner Tyehimba Jess discusses the power of poetry

The renowned poet is speaking at the Midwest Literary Walk in Chelsea, Mich. this Saturday.

Tyehimba Jess

Tyehimba Jess is someone who does a lot of interpreting and experimenting with the messier spaces of the human condition. Jess is a native Detroiter and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet whose work blends the virtues of music and literature, rhythm and political ideology, emotion and journalism.

In his book, “Olio,” the Jess uses music, artistic symbols and different characters to bring to life what America was like around the Civil War era up until World War I.

The renowned poet is speaking at the Midwest Literary Walk in Chelsea, Mich. this Saturday.

Jess joined fellow Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Henderson on Detroit Today to discuss his career and the journey he’s had with poetry.


Listen: How poetry helps us navigate and interpret the world


Guest

Tyehimba Jess is a Pulitzer-Prize winning poet of the book “Olio.” he’s a Detroit native and will be speaking at the Midwest Literary Walk this weekend. He says the brevity of poetry allows it to be powerful.

“I like to tell stories, so I kind of do journalism in the past into the present, and I kind of do it with poetry, and poetry is a great vehicle for that,” says Jess.

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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.