Poetry Friday: Sandra Beasley

Welcome to week 2 of my National Poetry Month series! 
Today I'm featuring an awesome poet that I met in college at VT. As an English major, I was required to attend a certain number of readings for my classes each semester. The English department always did a great job of scheduling some wonderful writers to give craft talks and readings. One poet that I remember quite vividly is Sandra Beasley. 
Beasley came to VT in the fall of my junior year. We'd just read her book I Was the Jukebox in my poetry class that semester. At the time I wasn't very keen on poetry in general, and I'll admit most of the poems in her book confused me (a lot) at first. But after rereading several of the poems, several times, and talking about them in class, they started to make more sense and I realized what a poetic genius Beasley is. Listening to her read was also amazing. She's so animated and expressive!
This video isn't from her reading at VT, but it was what I could find online. In it, she's reading one of my favorite poems from I Was the Jukebox, called "You Were You."

Beasley stayed around after her reading for a little while to sign books and chat with some of us. When I asked her to sign my book, she asked if I was a poet. I chuckled a little and said that I preferred prose, but wanted to explore poetry more. Her note in my book was just what I needed to read, and sometimes I go back to it when I need a little boost. Words of wisdom, right there! 

I haven't written any poetry of my own since my last poetry class at VT, but the prose is still coming.  Thank you, Sandra Beasley, for being awesome and inspiring. If you're interested in learning more, visit Beasley's website and check out her other books. There are also a few of her poems on PoetryFoundation.org.

Do you have a favorite contemporary poet or writer? Who is it? Share your favorites below!