i hope my sister saul that levar burton said my name. thank you so much to the national book foundation for inviting me here. it is so nice to be in a room where everyone knows i am a poet and nobody is stressed out about it. [ laughter ] i know for a fact that in this room, no one has ever tried to ban a book by jericho brown. >> [ cheers and applause ] >> i don't know that in every room, but give yourselves a hand. so, i feel at home here, though i have traveled some distance, i have come all the way from georgia, so you can hear and see me thank god for sending a particular poet to walk the earth with us, a light that shines brighter than my tuxedo. [ laughter ] my challenge today is to tell you, just one of the many ways my life has been changed by the lady you know as the pulitzer prize winner, the former poet laureate of the united states of america, the lady we refer to around my house as our best example, the lady i refer to in my mind as my sister. tonight's medal for distinguished contribution to american letters recipient , ri