Thanks, Hannah.
So first I want to--
well, I think of this as a poetry community.
And in an interview Danniel gave on The Rumpus,
I believe it was, he referenced a quote--
wow, there I am in stereo.
What was I talking about?
He referenced a quote about community,
saying that it's individuals who lift up other individuals.
And are not necessarily, as we sometimes
might think when we're in a community, trying to critique
or tear each other down.
And in that vein, I wanted to recognize someone
in this community who just won a really kickass award,
and who shares that with these two folks.
And I don't know if Jos is here.
I haven't seen them.
But Jos Charles just won the Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent
Award through the Poetry Foundation.
Totally.
[APPLAUSE]
So when you see them, give them flowers.
The last and first time I met Danniel Schoonebeek,
he was on tour for his first book, American Barricade.
It was 2014, and I was right in the thick of it.
I was right in the thick of 2014,
but I was also right in the thick of the business
of poetry, not poetry.
I was increasingly sad, but unable to look
that sadness in the eye or let that sadness speak.
Workaholism is, no matter where you practice it,
still capitalism's wet dream.
And, as academia demands, I was focused on production.
And I was spending a lot of time with my personal ledger,
the Almighty CV.
I remember going to the reading in a bit of a fog,
the checklist ever increasing.
And I'm sure, when I was sat down to listen,
I was still working through things on the list.
And when I think of that time now,
I think of something I read in an interview with Danniel
where he said, quote, "Capitalism
not only forces, but encourages good people
to be cruel to one another."
End quote.
And sometimes I think the biggest cruelties
of human existence can be traced directly back
to our lack of attention.
I wasn't prepared for how stilled
I would be by his reading.
A stillness I both needed, and had studiously avoided.
A stillness that was born of direct eye contact.
It wasn't aggressive, but it was unrelenting.
Yes, it was relentless.
I remember and know this to be the beauty of his work.
A work that is emboldened by searching.
What I want to say to you, Danniel,
even though I'm talking to you in public, is thank you.
Since reading your forthcoming book, Trebuchet,
I've been carrying a pen and paper in my pocket, something I
actually haven't done in years.
And there are poems trying to find me there.
There are stillnesses.
There is speaking.
Your work gives back a sacred searching, and I, and we,
are so lucky to be here as you read.
Danniel Schoonebeek.
[APPLAUSE]