Uploaded September 2020 | Updated September 2026, 33 minutes ago
In this craft talk, poet and legal scholar Lawrence Joseph celebrates 40 years of his path through writing and life. He discusses the ways his Lebanese and Syrian Catholic heritage, his professional life as a lawyer, and his working-class background have impacted his writing. Drawing on his latest book—"A Certain Clarity: Selected Poems", spanning nearly forty years of work—Joseph will consider what it means to write poetry during the politically turbulent times in which we live. He takes us through his poem "Once Again," included on the Poetry Path in Battery Park City, then considers Chen Chen's poem fragment, "Set the Garden on Fire," also on the Poetry Path, and gives us a writing prompt. Introduction and conversation by Poets House Program Director Paolo Javier.
In this craft talk, poet and legal scholar Lawrence Joseph celebrates 40 years of his path through writing and life. He discusses the ways his Lebanese and Syrian Catholic heritage, his professional life as a lawyer, and his working-class background have impacted his writing. Drawing on his latest book—"A Certain Clarity: Selected Poems", spanning nearly forty years of work—Joseph will consider what it means to write poetry during the politically turbulent times in which we live. He takes us through his poem "Once Again," included on the Poetry Path in Battery Park City, then considers Chen Chen's poem fragment, "Set the Garden on Fire," also on the Poetry Path, and gives us a writing prompt. Introduction and conversation by Poets House Program Director Paolo Javier.
