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Take Two

Remembering poet Wanda Coleman

By Take Two Staff
Published Nov 25, 2013
from the album BLACK ANGELES (1988) HOW NOT TO DIE YOUNG - Wanda Coleman 1. MONEY IS GOD. 2. Sex, good food and shelter are the only morals you need. 3. Never trust any man, woman or child. 4. BE SELFISH. 5. Compromise your ideals. 6. Anything that's too good to be true usually is. 7. There's a sucker born every minute; try not to be one of them. 8. Never worry about being on time; all things wait for he who comes. 9. BE LAZY. Let someone else do it. 10. Never dwell on your mistakes. 11. Never explain your actions to anyone.
Poet Wanda Coleman early in her writing career
Poet Wanda Coleman early in her writing career
(
Susan Carpendale
)
Poet Wanda Coleman with her latest collection, "The World Falls Away."
Poet Wanda Coleman with her latest collection, "The World Falls Away."
FILE: Wanda Coleman with Arthur Miller at the 2001 National Book Awards at the Mariott Marquis in New York City.
FILE: Wanda Coleman with Arthur Miller at the 2001 National Book Awards at the Mariott Marquis in New York City.
(
Scott Gries/Getty Images
)

Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.

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Remembering poet Wanda Coleman

Poet Wanda Coleman passed away Friday of natural causes at the age of 67

She completed more than 20 books, won the Lenore Marshall National Poetry Prize in 1999 and was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2001.  But Coleman, who was born and raised in Watts, was often considered the "unofficial" poet laureate of Los Angeles. She used the city often as a backdrop for her take on identity, race and politics

For more on her impact and influence we're joined by Tom Lutz of UC Riverside and the editor in chief of the Los Angeles Review of Books