Devorah Major
San Francisco Poet Laureate 2002-2006
San Francisco, CA USA
"I think there's this idea that you gotta be set right now, and I don't think you have to be set right now. I think what you do is you find something that excites you, and you do that and maybe it grows tangentially from that..."
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Devorah's work combines: Art, Writing, and Being Creative
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
African-American/Black Studies
San Francisco State University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Was always interested in the arts; went to college to study acting and dance, wrote poetry on the side.
2.
Dropped out of college after a year and traveled around Asia, says it "blew open [her] head."
3.
On dropping out to travel, she says, "What's the worst thing that'll happen? You're one year, two years older. You went for something, so you never ask 'what if?'"
4.
Went back to school at San Francisco State University, tried to pursue her acting career but people kept asking about her writing.
5.
Says she got "sucked into poetry, not of her own volition," but her writing spoke to people.
6.
There was suddenly "a fire in her belly," she found herself staying awake writing until 3 a.m.
7.
Says that she didn't ever think of having a career as a poet, but by "being present in the now," she was able to seize upon crucial opportunities.
8.
Deals with negativity by saying, "those people aren't living my life."