Be the writer for...

...those who have a story to tell and those who don't have a voice. I am the griot of my family. My father is the HISTORIAN yet I am the griot. My father is 86. He hasn't written a book on the family history yet he has it all up in his brain, forget forgetting. My job is to take his recollections, those photos, that story and make it walk and talk. I must make it relevant to the masses.

What about all of the displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Who speaks for them. The poet is to be a voice for social change. Poetry is intensely personal yet it isn't private. Those who are on some narcissitic poetry porkcrap aren't poets in my observation. They just need a hug.

The poet alerts you to reality. The poet is actually the counterpoint to journalism in that they just don't report facts. The poet infuses his view with emotional weight that cries for one to address something.

Make sure that you are writing for something. This allows you longevity in this craft. It also allows you to have a relevant perspective and one that people in general will respect.