Yusef Komunyakaa
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Yusef Komunyakaa (1947- ) is an eminent American poet. He was born in the small town of Bogalusa, Louisiana and currently teaches at Princeton University.
Komunyakaa is a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and of the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. His books include Dedications and Other Darkhorses (1977), Lost in the Bone-Wheel Factory (1979), Copacetic (1984), I Apologize for the Eyes in My Head (1986), Dien Cai Dau (1988), Magic City (1992), Neon Vernacular (1993), Talking Dirty to the Gods (1999), and Pleasure Dome (2002). His subject matter ranges from the African-American experience through rural Southern life before civil rights and his experience as a soldier during the Vietnam War.
"Facing It" is one of Komunyakaa's most well known poems, printed in "Dien Cai Dau" about his experiences visiting the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., and his emotions that he experienced while he was at the memorial. Imagine what the feelings would be like to see a friend's name etched on this wall? On October 30th, 2002 Yusef gave a phone interview. Yusef says later on, "The sky, a plane in the sky. / A white vet's image floats closer to me, then his pale eyes / look through mine. I'm a window."
He gave a poetry reading at Princeton University on March 29, 2006, with Louise Gluck. During this poetry reading it was mentioned that he would transfer to New York University in the following month to teach.