When I think about poetry, there is one movie that comes to mind. It is my favorite rom-com of all time.
Wait. The Best Man is my other all-time favorite.
And The Wood.
Okay, so I have a lot of favorites, but this one is specific to poetry.
Let’s stay focused.
Released in 2002 and directed by Rick Famuyiwa (who also directed The Wood), everything about Brown Sugar is poetic to me. From the title to the opening credits, I was hooked. Still am.
Sidney and Dre are childhood best friends. Sid is an editor for XXL, a hip-hop magazine, and Dre is a producer at a record company he hates. And from the beginning, it’s all poetry.
It starts at the very beginning with that dope, nostalgic opening featuring artists like Common, Kool G Rap, Pete Rock, Talib Kweli, Big Daddy Kane, Questlove, Black Thought, Method Man, and Russell Simmons — describing how they “fell in love with hip-hop.”
My new favorite question when interviewing poets is to ask them, “When did you first fall in love with poetry?” And, to be clear: I am not asking when you first started writing it or when you were introduced to it. I am asking, when did you know you loved it? So anywho, the question comes from this movie.
Then it goes a step further, paralleling Sidney and Dre’s deep, evolving relationship with hip-hop’s growth from street culture to mainstream art.
We see this couple grow from childhood friends to lovers using hip-hop’s language and history as a central metaphor to express their unspoken feelings for one another.
On top of this, Sidney is a writer penning her first book, a love letter to hip hop.
As the movie progresses, we see that this letter serves not just as a confession of Sid’s love for the music, but also her love for Dre. Sidney’s narration is the poetry, and the poetry is hip-hop and everything in between, acting as both the main and supporting character.
Rather than presenting poetry as a fading art, movies like Love Jones and Brown Sugar show it as something embedded in how we love, speak, and make sense of the world, like an instinct woven into how we feel, remember, and connect.
So…
I am nudging an old tape recorder over to you. The reels inside give a faint rattle before my finger hovers over the record button…
When did you first fall in love with poetry?
Yecheilyah’s 8th Annual
Poetry Contest 2026
This year’s poetry contest is in full swing! Entries are being accepted as we speak.
As we are already halfway through April, and ya’ll know May is gonna fly by too, here are some reminders before June sneaks up on us:
- When submitting your poem, please do not forget to add your name to the document! I know it sounds like common sense, but you have no idea how many times we have to send pieces back that don’t include a name.
- Also, for this contest, your piece should be sent as a PDF or Word document.
- By entering this contest, you retain full ownership of your work. Submission to the contest does not transfer any rights, and your poem will not be reproduced, published, or used beyond contest purposes without your explicit permission.
- Don’t forget that your poem must touch on our theme in some way. For the full list of rules and guidelines, please click here.
- Also, cash prizes are only the beginning! We are also doing interviews and social media promo! This is not the year to miss.
What We’re Carrying Now
This year’s theme is “What We’re Carrying Now: We are seeking poems that center on personal loss, collective memory, survival, endurance, or the emotional weight of living in today’s social and political climate.
We are looking for writing that lingers and reminds us why poetry still matters. How have you been processing this moment in history? Bring us the weight you’ve been holding. Bring us the language that knows how to hold it.
This can look like a protest or a prayer, a memory or a breaking point, a quiet confession or a bold declaration.
Examples:
- Social/Political Climate (e.g., living through turbulent times)
- Identity & Selfhood (e.g., what it means to carry your identity, race, gender, culture, faith, in today’s world)
- Ancestry, Memory, Legacy (e.g., carrying the legacy of those who came before you, generational trauma/healing/strength)
- Survival & Resilience (e.g., small acts of survival, joy, rest, boundaries)
- Spiritual/Philosophical (e.g., Faith, purpose, or direction in uncertain times)
…and so on.
We did not always have a website for the contest, but now we do! Be sure you are bookmarking it to stay updated on all things contest-related.
Deadline to enter: June 1, 2026.
The PBS Blog 