?The John Dewey Lounge was filled with students eagerly listening to the beloved works of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa on Friday, September 20. Komunyakaa read several poems and then held a question and answer panel with UVM English Professor Major Jackson. Many of Komunyakaa?s poems feature historical landscapes close to him, such as the Vietnam War, which he served in from 1969 to 1970, as well as the rural Louisiana landscape he grew up in. Komunyakaa?s poems vary in imagery, contexts, and tone. However, they do have one thing in common: they are all in free form. ?I?ve taught those traditional forms and conceits. I still think one has to rehearse them,? Komunyakaa said. ?Well, one has to know what the rules are before you can break them. I sort of come to the edge of form, and break it.? Another similarity between Komunyakaa?s works are the short lines of his poetry. As he read his work, Komunyakaa often paused and let the words sit in the air for a moment before continuing.?I?m conscious of the line. I?m also conscious of the music of the poem.? Komunyakaa said. Komunyakaa studied Psychology at the University of Colorado and went on to earn two masters degrees at both University of California, Irvine and Colorado State University. His accomplishments in poetry include the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the William Faulkner Prize, the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, the Thomas Forcade Award, the Hanes Poetry Prize, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets as well as many others. Many of Jackson?s students were present to hear Komunyakaa speak. In fact, Komunyakaa has only been writing since he was a little older than many of the students. Much of the panel began to be swtich gears toward the audience as the afternoon progressed. ?If you?re a young writer, an aspiring poet, how does one attain and get close to language?? Jackson asked. ?Do you read dictionaries?? Komunyakaa laughed as he answered. ?No,? Komunyakaa said. ?I would say trust your ear. Read you work aloud. Another thing is to write longhand. I have a reason for it. The human brain would be an entirely different thing without the hands to accompany it.? Komunyakaa?s most recent work is ?Testimony, A Tribute to Charlie Parker: With New and Selected Jazz Poems.? He currently teaches at New York University as the Distinguished Senior Poet in the Creative Writing Graduate program.