Talking truth with poet Toi Derricotte

In this edition of HoCoPoLitSo's The Writing Life, poet Toi Derricotte speaks with poet and literary activist E. Ethelbert Miller about her childhood working in the funeral home and surviving abuse, the affect of class on 1950s African-American families in Detroit and her beginnings as a writer. Derricotte reads from two works that transformed her into a poet – Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” and Sterling Brown’s “Southern Road.” After reading those poems, Derricotte says, “I suddenly understood what I could do with my life.” The pair of poets talk about Cave Canem, the writing workshop for African-American poets that Derricotte founded with Cornelius Eady; prose poetry and Derricotte’s method of writing. Miller asks Derricotte what was the most important thing for readers to take away from her work. She answers: “To tell the truth. I really believe, in my generation, it was very important to uncover secrets and stuff that was buried. That in those things there was something that caused a release of power that only made the next work we would do more powerful.” For more information about HoCoPoLitSo's readings, student events or archived programs, visit www.hocopolitso.org