Art Works Podcast: Kevin Young

This week’s podcast features Kevin Young, an accomplished poet who weaves elements from film, literature, and music into his work. His book, Black Maria, for example, is film noir in verse, while Jelly Roll: A Blues draws its language and form from many styles of music, including different variations of the blues. With his latest book, Young turned to history to craft an epic poem---Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels. Ardency tells the story of the famous rebellion and the subsequent trial in a chorus of voices: the translations of the rebels’ interpreter, their letters from jail, and finally, a libretto in the voice of Cinque, the rebellion’s leader.