Countering the Dominant Narrative of Turbulence at the 10th Cusp Conference

A perennial perk of each annual Cusp Conference is the jetstream of sound bites. At the tenth anniversary of this gathering last September, there were plenty. The words that followed me consistently after two days enriched with presentations were from Kevin Coval, a poet—specifically a “BreakBeat Poet” stemming from his love of Hip-Hop—and activist. In his presentation about having an appetite for poetic language—working it to teach inclusivity and argue for it, Coval proclaimed, “Counter the...