MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT
has in common is that they’re fallible. No matter how much money or status anyone has, they make mistakes every single day.”
THE PAPER MIXTAPE
The conversation turns a new page and develops into a discussion of current events affecting the racial instability of the US. Once prompted to speak about her experience as an African-American poet, she pauses and says, “I believe first and foremost that the only thing I can unequivocally talk about is my experience as human being. I feel very inept to represent a group of people unless it’s just people.” She affirms that while she will contribute to the conversation, she attempts to distance herself from segregation as much as possible.
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commitment to authentically represent the truth. Published last year to mark the conclusion of National Poetry Month, Azure’s “The Business of Being Human” evokes the struggle millennials face in transitioning to adulthood. “We miss how good things were when we were all kids,” she says. “At whatever point your life got real—whether you were three or seven or sixteen, there was a day that we can all probably put a finger on that we lost our light. And I think you spend a good amount of time as an adult trying to keep it on, to get it back. ‘The Business of Being Human’ is my way of affirming that the one thing that every single human being
For millennials faced with the choice of committing to their current career paths or the pursuit of their true callings, visions of failure can be daunting. When faced with this decision, Azure departed from her career in Human Resources to pursue her dream of being a poet. “Failure doesn’t scare me,” she says, meeting my gaze with confidence. “Mistakes are sometimes avoidable but I believe very necessary. They’re our greatest teachers. I think that failure means that you’re very, very, very close to success.”