Kwame Dawes interviewed on WUNC

Tune in to North Carolina Public Radio's "The Story" to hear Kwame Dawes talk about HOPE, his poetry that will be performed at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, on August 6 and 7.

In 2007, Kwame traveled to Jamaica, the country of his youth, to write a series of articles on HIV/AIDS commissioned by the Pulitzer Center. The people he met told him their stories, and taught him about resilience, hope and possibility in the face of despair. Kwame was inspired to write his poetry, and says that poems can actually create empathy in a way that journalism cannot. Guest host Janet Babin talks to Kwame about why Jamaicans with HIV are stigmatized, and how people can be brave and weak, angry and loving, all at the same time.