The D. Watkins Experience

I very much enjoyed the visit from poet D. Watkins, not only at the Rockland event, but also at my English 287 street poetry class. Although I don't live there anymore, I am from Baltimore and I'm either in or around the city frequently so I'm familiar with a lot of the things he spoke about. The thing I enjoyed the most was D. Watkins' authenticity. He didn't try to sound more eloquent than normal or try to amend his personality because he was speaking to college students and professors. Instead, he "stayed in his lane" and kept true to who he was as he delivered his message to his audience. At the same time, you could tell that he was well-versed on everything he was talking about so his knowledge and intelligence still showed. Also, I liked how he wasn't afraid to admit when he wasn't sure of something or when he didn't know something. For example, there was a professor that asked him how he coped with returning to his neighborhood in East Baltimore knowing that he was going to see more of the same, and he responded by saying that he didn't really know much about coping mechanisms so he wouldn't be able to help her or anyone else. This type of honesty and humbleness was extremely refreshing, and it made me really reflect on the advice he gave, not only in that instance, but throughout his entire speech. Lastly, amongst the great advice D. Watkins gave, the thing that is sticking with me is what he said when he came to speak to my English class. One student asked him a question about comparing himself to other writers and adopting some of his writing style from the work of other writers, but D. Watkins responded by saying that he doesn’t like copying other writers. He said that copying other writers isn't his style at all because then his writing wouldn't be authentic or true to him; and as someone who has been struggling recently with his writing in an attempt to sound more authentic, I really took his words to heart. I don't see myself forgetting this experience for a long time, and I hope to become just as humble and authentic as he presented himself to be.