Princeton Poetry Festival 2015 Meskwaki poet Ray YoungBear in a panel discussion with Ocean Vuong, Vietnam, and Valzhyna Mort, Belarus. Photo by S. Gilbard, courtesy of Lewis Center for the Arts

On March 13-14, 2015, Ray YoungBear was among thirteen American and International poets invited to Princeton University in New Jersey to read their work and discuss “The Place of Poetry.” Reflecting on the trip, YoungBear said it was inspiring being in a place where F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Great Gatsby” writer, once walked the campus. Another highlight was when he gave Paul Muldoon, The New Yorker magazine’s poetry editor, a flint knife and a sheath that he had beaded over the winter months.