Interview with Roscoe Burnems/Douglas Powell, Richmond, VA’s first poet laureate

In this interview, Roscoe/Douglas talks about fighting for custody of his daughter, being a single parent, transparency in art, and the importance of kissing your kids and telling them they're gorgeous. He also challenges parents who are worried that giving their son permission to feel his whole range of emotions will make him "soft" to ask themselves, "What are you making him hard for?" Roscoe Burnems/Douglas Powell is an author, spoken-word artist, educator, and Richmond, Virginia’s first poet laureate. He is the author of the collections God, Love, Death and Other Synonyms (310 Brown Street, 2019), Chrysalis Under Fire (The Writer’s Den, LLC, 2018), and Fighting Demons (Prysmatic Dreams Publishing, 2014). In his time as a slam poet, he has been a two-time southern regional team finalist, National Poetry Slam Champion, and Season 1 Screen Time Slam Champion. As a poetry slam coach, he has been a NPS Group Piece finalist and taken VCU’s poetry team to rank 3rd internationally. He is a TEDx speaker and founder of the poetry-based art collective The Writer’s Den. In 2021, he received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. Check out his GENIUS and HILARIOUS poetry/comedy special on Amazon Prime: https://tinyurl.com/TraumedyPoetryComedy For more: www.roscoeb.webs.com