A.L. Nielsen talks with Charles Bernstein about his cultural identity as a poet, the sources of some of this poems, and his work as a scholar of African-American poetry.
Poet Aldon Lynn Nielsen is the Kelly Professor of American Literature at Penn State University. His works of criticism include Reading Race, Writing between the Lines, C.L.R. James: A Critical Introduction, Black Chant, and Integral Music (which won the Josephine Miles Award). His edition of Lorenzo Thomas's Don't Deny My Name: Words and Music and the Black Intellectual Tradition was presented with an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2008. He was born in Nebraska, raised in D.C. and now lives serially in airports between Santa Barbara and State College (32 minutes).