S3E21, Part 2: Thea Matthews on Her Poetry and the Uprising

Thea Matthews is a powerful poet. In this podcast, Thea picks up where she left off in Part 1, talking about the early days of her writing and performing poetry. She helped established the Black Student Union at City College and later went to UC Berkeley, commuting the whole time from her home in The City. Later in the episode, Thea reflects on the current uprising for racial and social justice. And she ends the podcast by reading four poems: "Gazonia," "Azalea Rhododendron," Fuchsia Fuchsia magellanica," and the prelude ("Praeludium") to her book of poems that comes out on June 20, Unearth [the Flowers], which you can buy at Green Apple Books, Bookshop.org, or your local bookstore. You're invited to check out Thea's reading at her launch party for Unearth [the Flowers] on June 27 at 6 p.m. Here's the event link. The password is "Flowers". We recorded this podcast during quarantine in San Francisco in June 2020. Photography by Michelle Kilfeather