"Poetry is much more important than food"

I am sitting here in the Langston Room at Busboys and Poets listening to prison poetry. What an incredible panel. This is the second day of "Split This Rock" poetry festival.

What an incredible collection of poets and artists. Yesterday Sonia Sanchez took center stage in the main dining room. There were over 300 poets - artists - dreamers - activists and friends sharing their humanity - together. All of us were there to mark the 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq. All of us struggling to make sense of the senseless - to make sense of the depravity - to make sense of the devastation - and ask ourselves - why?

We are all here to bare witness - to speak the unspoken - to hear the unbearable - and to express our collective rage.

We are all here to connect and reconnect with other artists and poets... to provoke and challenge "conventional wisdom".