Black Poets Collective

Tonight I went to the Writer's Place to see/hear some poets from the Black Poets Collective perform their work. It was amazing. White it shouldn't be, it is still amazing to me how much hearing the work of others can inspire you to continue to create your own, to believe that you may be able to touch people or make people think as these people have just done to you with their work. I think it is often lost on me all the time and effort and artistry that goes in to things I read on a page because I've been reading books all my life, but it is reinforced whenever I hear someone perform their work. On the other hand, attending these performances by "everyday people", people who may be published but do not get to create their art as their livelihood, demystifies it and makes me feel like I actually might be able to do what they are doing. That the things I am making can do the same thing as their works. That I can "sell-out" and get that day job but still produce meaningful art, as long as I continue to produce. I owe all those who I've witness perform a debt of gratitude that I could never repay, but I also hope to accrue more of that debt by seeing more people perform their work, both to support them and to boost up myself.