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>> I'm Yolanda Wisher and I'm a
multidisciplinary poet educator

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in the third poet laureate of Philadelphia.

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As a poet, I write, I teach, I
perform, I do community organizing.

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And as the poet laureate, I serve as an
ambassador for poetry throughout the city.

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Well, I work with the organization,

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a national organization called The
U.S. Department of Arts and Culture.

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And it's a performance of a federal agency.

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It's not a real federal agency,
but we're a grassroots organization

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that connects local organizing
all over the country.

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And a lot of our events are arts infused
participatory events that invite people

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to share their arts, their cultural
perspective with each other.

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Well, this past February I was part of an
event called the Poetic Address to the Nation,

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which was part of an initiative called
the People's State of the Union,

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which is kind of our attempt to invite
people to reflect on the state of the union

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as a democratic voice not
just the monologue that kind

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of becomes the president's state of the union.

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And then, you know, we invite
people to share their stories

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in story circles around the country.

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And the stories were coordinated and collated
into a poetic address that was written

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from poets across the nation and
performed by poets here in Philadelphia.