The Slowdown is supported by the Collective Trauma Summit.

You're invited to attend a free online event featuring in-depth interviews and poetry readings

by eight award-winning poets, including Ada Lemone, Natasha Trethway, Jericho Brown,

Carolyn Forshey, Andrea Gibson, Claudia Ranking, Jake Skeets, and Padricotuma.

They will all be appearing at the Collective Trauma Summit,

an online gathering of artists, activists, scientists, and visionaries

to explore the effects of trauma in our society and to inspire a collective healing movement.

Go to collectivetrauma-summit.com slash poets to register for the free event which starts September

26. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Life can be overwhelming when my calendar is

filled to the brim. It's hard to concentrate on anything else. My thoughts are constantly

racing with a never-ending to-do list until I remember what therapy taught me to slow down and be

present. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online and

suited for business schedules like mine. Get a break from your thoughts with BetterHelp.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash slowdown today and get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp.

H-E-L-P dot com slash slowdown.

I'm Major Jackson and this is the slowdown.

I describe my friend Nieland's sartorial choices as extra, so very very as one New York

school poet would say. When they walk into a room, whoever is graced by their presence silently

applause or later turns a gaze in their direction which is by design. No shirt is too patterned,

no color is too cheerful. They sport freely sleeves and ruffle colors as though they were a pirate.

Their headwear is Texas big, all hat and all ranch. There's a boldness about their demeanor which

is the kind of spirit I like to encounter in a poem. I'm drawn to language and imaginative

...