Tom Dent discusses how his work with the Free Southern Theater (FST) and how it relates, and does not relate, to Black Arts nationally. He describes his return to the South as the "most important thing that ever happened to me" because he was able to synthesize his past experience "u2013 both as the son of a prominent academic leader and as a writer with experience in New York "u2013 to understand how the Black South, and New Orleans in particular, fits within a universal framework: "it didn't really come together for me in New York." He describes that he was not creating important work in New York, but that his return to New Orleans caused his writing to mature and be more useful. Dent then talks more about his own poetry as well as a forthcoming reprisal of his Ritual Murder. He describes his own current work, including teaching part time at the University of New Orleans. He describes New Orleans as "provincial" and adds that he is not seriously considering leaving the city.
