the author tiffanie drayton. r your time. >> thank you so much, it was a pleasure. >> woodruff: peter kahn has taught english and spoken word poetry to thousands of students at chicago's oak park and river forest high school since 1994. now, in collaboration with his current and former students, kahn is releasinthe anthology "respect the mic, celebrating 20 years of poetry from a chicagoland high school." tonight, he offers us his "brief but spectacular" take on spoken word poetry. it's part of our arts and culture series, canvas. >> one of the things i love about tehing is seeing kids who didn't believe in themself develop that self confidence and then go on to do big things with it. i definitely consider myself a teacher first poet second. i use poetry as a vehicle to reach young people and adults. 30 students look at me and 45 minutes later, look to me and i'm hooked and i'm floating and anchored at the same time, for the first time. and i'm whole and broken open, and i'm spinning and stunned still. i used to h

stephly drayton has had in his own ex-person. very and she joins me now. tiffanyto the newshour. >> thanks for joining us. i want to get to all the details in your book and onstory. the use of the world refugee for a lot of americans conjure as very specific story. i'm curious why you chose that word. >> i it reand that's presightly what my life had come to at that "mlb tonight" when i decide that -- as a black woman who has foughter in way through doling with poverty, violence. beings in the neighborhood eighth or are constantly under limiting that you watch the people who look like you. >> you tart so feel and recognize your life is not a threat. >> in you can still bender let. >> so's eat start at the beginning. you were very young. when you same back -- he was four in four years old. my -- brought you and your sib. s arele. tell me what you remember about that time? what was it like? >> the first memory that i have the of the united states is landing in j.f.k. airport and flying over -- seeing the new york city skyline, like the bright lights a and all of thes