Poet Claudia Rankine on power and democracy

There are times in life when you need to be able to live in the vision, where you are making a leap of faith into something unknowable.

Claudia Rankine is a professor of the Creative Writing Program at New York University, a recipient of fellowships from the MacArthur, Guggenheim, and National Endowment of the Arts, and one of the most celebrated writers of our time.

In this episode, Rankine talks about who holds the power in our democracy and what it means to earn a mother’s understanding of your work. She also reveals her superpower and the advice she would offer everyone who looks for fresh inspiration. 

References

Jennifer Lewis

August Gold

Alex Poots

The Shed

“Ain't Nobody Got Time For That”

“Animal Joy” by Nuar Alsadir

Robert Wilson and Bernice Johnson Reagon's “The Temptation of St. Anthony”