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Cut & Paste: These two poets are generations apart but they both envision a better St. Louis

St. Louis Youth Poet Laureate Bisa Adero and official Poet Laureate Michael Castro met each other awards ceremony on Oct. 14, 2016 at UrbArts.
Vincent Lang
St. Louis Youth Poet Laureate Bisa Adero and offiical Poet Laureate Michael Castro met each other awards ceremony on Oct 14, 2016 at UrbArts.

Two official St. Louis poets don’t always agree on what’s appropriate but they do concur on at least one thing: If you want change, you've got to work for it. For this pair, words are the tools.

In our latest Cut & Paste arts and culture podcast, we talk with St. Louis’ firstPoet Laureate Michael Castro, and new Youth Poet Laureate Bisa Adero, a student at Grand Center Arts Academy.

Castro, 71, finishes his term at the end of this month. Adero, 17, is just getting started. As you'll hear in the podcast, she's tackling subjects ranging from female genital mutilation to misogyny in the halls of high school. Castro thinks her words can make a difference.

Here’s some of what you’ll here in the discussion:

  • Castro, on Adero’s poem about the Delmar Divide(which you'll hear in the podcast):  “It’s a tremendous poem, and it’s amazing; you would have thought that would have come from an older writer.”
  • Adero, about her mom and dad connecting her with community: “My parents get me involved in anything and everything.”
  • Adero, on what she tells her school poetry club about using profanity: "If they can't describe anything without that word, then go ahead and use it."
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Look for new Cut & Paste (#cutpastestl) podcastsevery few weeks on our website. You can also view all previous podcasts focusing on a diverse collection of visual and performing artists, and subscribe to Cut & Paste through this link.

Follow Willis and Nancy on Twitter: @WillisRArnoldand @NancyFowlerSTL

Please help St. Louis Public Radio find artists to feature on Cut & Paste. Tell us which artists and cultural themes deserve a closer look.

Nancy is a veteran journalist whose career spans television, radio, print and online media. Her passions include the arts and social justice, and she particularly delights in the stories of people living and working in that intersection.