Birmingham Student Wins National Poetry Award

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2018/08/Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:1795;s:6:"height";i:1003;s:4:"file";s:39:"2018/08/Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:13:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:39:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-336x188.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:188;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:39:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-771x431.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:431;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:39:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:39:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-768x429.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:429;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"1536x1536";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-1536x858.jpg";s:5:"width";i:1536;s:6:"height";i:858;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:37:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:39:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:39:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:39:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-557x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:557;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:39:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-470x263.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:263;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:39:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:39:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:39:"Daniel_Blokh-e1533856352419-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Source: Andrew Yeager
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => WBHM
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_wp_attachment_backup_sizes] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:10:{s:9:"full-orig";a:3:{s:5:"width";i:1920;s:6:"height";i:1081;s:4:"file";s:16:"Daniel_Blokh.jpg";}s:14:"thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:24:"Daniel_Blokh-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:11:"medium-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:24:"Daniel_Blokh-336x189.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:10:"large-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:24:"Daniel_Blokh-771x434.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:434;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"wbhm-icon-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"Daniel_Blokh-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:24:"Daniel_Blokh-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"wbhm-featured-square-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:24:"Daniel_Blokh-300x300.jpg";s:5:"width";i:300;s:6:"height";i:300;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:23:"wbhm-featured-home-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:24:"Daniel_Blokh-553x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:553;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:27:"wbhm-featured-carousel-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:24:"Daniel_Blokh-470x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:19:"post-thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:24:"Daniel_Blokh-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"sizes";a:1:{s:4:"full";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:28:"The file could not be saved.";}}s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:0;s:14:"optimized_size";i:0;s:7:"percent";i:0;}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => error
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 0
        )

)
1657797142 
1533832102

Students at the Alabama School of Fine Arts return to class Monday, and senior Daniel Blokh can honestly say he’s had an eventful summer.  Blokh was recently named a National Student Poet, one of only five selected from across the U.S. It’s awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists and Writers and is among the nation’s highest honors for young poets. For the next year, Blokh will serve as a poetry ambassador through workshops, service projects and public readings. WBHM’s Andrew Yeager spoke with Blokh.

Interview Highlights

On hearing he won the award:

“I was at a writing camp and I got a call in the middle of class. I thought it was just some kind of spam call and I picked up and they were like we have some wonderful news. And I was like can I call you back in two hours? … It’s a big responsibility and a big award and I don’t know how much I feel I deserve it, but I’m happy to have gotten it.”

How being the son of immigrants affects his work:

“I think it’s a really, really complex experience because, on one hand, they’re Russian, Jewish immigrants and so they’re really happy to have come to America both because [of] financial opportunities and also because Russia was very anti-Semitic. But also they miss home. And also they’re always going to be, in a way, strangers here. And that’s an experience that I’m constantly reminded of and I’ve written it feels like a billion poems about and I could write a billion more about.”

Advocating for poetry:

“I think it’s something that a lot of people don’t think they’ll be interested in and then they’re introduced to it and they find they really like it … [The award] to me is an opportunity to show more people that don’t think they’ll be interested in poetry that really it has the power to connect and it’s not this dry, academic thing.”

 

Flood risk is widespread in the U.S. Few people have insurance for it

Climate change is increasing the risk of dangerous floods. But people often balk at the cost of flood insurance, especially since many doubt they need protection.

With social prescribing, hanging out, movement and arts are doctor’s order

Doctors are writing "social prescriptions" to get people engaged with nature, art, movement and volunteering. Research shows it can help with mental health, chronic disease and dementia.

By land and by sea, these new nonfiction books will carry you away

Helen Whybrow's memoir, The Salt Stones, is a closely-observed account of her life as a shepherd. In A Marriage at Sea, Sophie Elmhirst tells the true story of a couple adrift on a rubber raft.

When does a conservative lawmaker become moderate? After they disagree with Trump

Congressional Republicans have become more aligned with President Trump since he first took office. That makes even a single vote against him a "moderate" stance, even for staunch conservatives.

A lawsuit against Tesla and its driver-assistance technology goes to trial in Florida

The case, which stems from a deadly crash in 2019, raises broader questions about the safety of Tesla's driver-assistance systems, and whether the company has exaggerated their capabilities.

I went on a date with my AI dream guy. Then I cried over shrimp

It started as a one-off dinner with a chatbot — a night of shrimp, sarcasm — then veered into something unsettlingly human.

More Arts and Culture Coverage