Afaa Michael Weaver is one of the most celebrated African American poets of his generation. Currently an Alumnea Professor of English at Simmons College in Boston, Weaver has been named a Pew Fellow in Poetry and has published 10 collections of poetry.

Weaver talks about the life stories that inspire his work. He also reads from his latest collection, the 2008 Pushcart Prize-winning The Plum Flower Dance: Poems 1985 to 2005, which draws on his decades-long study of Chinese culture and philosophy.