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Jan. 30--NORFOLK -- Part of poet Kwame Alexander 's life's mission is making connections with strangers.
Whether it's through his poetry, his films, or his plays, the author who grew up in Chesapeake said he wants audiences to believe him -- not just hear him -- when he says a site is beautiful or an emotion is compelling.
"That's what you want to do in a poem," he said. "It conveys something. It makes you feel something. It takes you somewhere."
Alexander, 37 , first studied poetry at Virginia Tech about 20 years ago under world-renowned poet Nikki Giovanni .
From her, Alexander said, he learned that good poetry is vivid, descriptive and stirring.
Sunday, he read from several of his works at Prince Books in downtown Norfolk.
In a poem titled "Kupenda" from his book, "Kupenda: love poems ," Alexander celebrated a woman's mouth with a few simple words.
"Lips like yours ought to be worshipped. See, I ain't never been too religious but you can baptize me anytime."
Listeners chuckled. They nodded their heads.
"A good poem means people get it," Alexander said in a telephone interview.
That connection with people is critical, he said. "If you're passionate about something, you need validation. You need it from yourself. You need it from your family. You need it from the world."
Although poetry is his true literary love, Alexander said good writers work on mastering several genres. Not only does it help with name recognition, he said , it helps keep artists employed.
Alexander ran his own publishing company, BlackWords Press, between 1995 and 2005 .
Now, he lives in Alexandria and does consulting work for writers looking to get published and for people interested in starting publishing companies.
He's writing books. And Alexander said he's working on a film about Bessie Coleman , the first black female pilot .
In November , Alexander came to Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake to host poetry workshops and readings for students.
"I have never seen the kids so captivated by an author or a poet," said Kathy Allen , who has been a media specialist there for 10 years.
He did a one-man-show, a reading and a poetry slam with students, she said. "I wish he could come once a week."
It inspired the school to have its own poetry slam, which school officials plan to do annually, Allen said.
Alexander's past instructor, Giovanni , said in a phone interview, "He's truly a renaissance man."
"He's like everybody's son," she said. "You're comfortable with Kwame."
Giovanni said she teaches her students to believe in themselves. "Not that dream stuff," she said. She's talking about confidence.
"You have to know what you know," she said. "You have to trust yourself to listen to everybody."
That doesn't mean that anyone should be able to influence your decisions. It means a person is willing to learn in any situation, she said.
Alexander understands that, she said.
"He knows the field inside out. He knows people. And, he knows himself."
Beyond having that business sense, Alexander said his goal is to bring poetry alive for audiences.
"I want you to be moved, and wowed to the point where it makes you want to do something," he said.
"Hopefully, I've written something that important."
Reach Nicole Morgan at (757) 446-2443 or nicole.morgan@pilotonline.com.
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