Producing and curating an event like TEDxAustin is collaboration in action. Between TED and TEDx; between members of the production team; between potential speakers and the curators; between TEDxAustin and the people of Austin.

At its best, collaboration feels like shared poetry between the people involved. It flows in a way that may or may not be linear, with its success determined more by the feeling it creates, rather than by a checklist it follows. So who better to start a story of collaboration than a poet.

As the “voice + vibe of TEDxAustin”, I asked our Facebook and Twitter communities to suggest those people who they would love to see on stage for our 2011 event. And in the spirit of collaboration, the community spoke. Beautifully. Vocally. Forcefully. Lovingly. Offering up lots of suggestions for lots of people that they felt would speak to the theme of “Right Now”.

Among them? Joaquin. The poet.

Joaquin Zihuatanejo did more than nominate himself, he told his story: a journey that started in a barrio of East Dallas, with a grandfather who worked as a yardman. A grandfather who advised, "When you read, you will be away from this place, the drugs, the gangs, the violence. You will be safe in the story."

Joaquin listened. And soaked up words; “I had everything stacked against me as a child, young, poor, brown...but something saved me. It was the written word. It as Whitman and Neruda and it was Dickinson and Shakespeare. It was poetry.”

Joaquin kept reading. He grew into a man with a mission and an unwavering belief in the salvation of poetry and words:

“Reading and writing poetry brings us closer to our humanity. It slows us down. It amplifies those small miracles that exist all around us. It can be the difference between falling in love with words and the idea of a distinctive expressive voice or becoming one of the voiceless who never has the courage to raise their voice. It can be the difference between succeeding in school, going to college, and carving a beautiful life out for yourself or becoming just another statistic. It can be the difference between saving a life or doing nothing....I believe that poetry can save a life. It saved mine.”

You can see how easy it was to fall for Joaquin. Beautiful words, with a life experience that promised to compel and inspire. But how would he perform? What was Joaquin like in action? Believe it or not he did not send a link. He did not forward a press packet. He simply wrote his own nomination, quoted in part here, and hit “send”. That’s where Google came in, and blissfully, powerfully, delivered this:

Understatement: we were thrilled to invite Joaquin to perform at the TEDxAustin: Right Now event on February 19, 2011.

Now, I could try and describe the five or so minutes that Joaquin had on stage; the way he elevated a room full of hundreds and electrified thousands more viewing on live stream. And until I can share a video of his performance (stay tuned), there’s only one thing left to do.

Thank you, Joaquin. Thank you for your nomination, your presence, your performance. Thank you for your mission and your art. And thank you for your collaboration. Poetry.

* * * Updated March 25, 2011 * * *

Finally. His words, not mine. Joaquin's TEDxAustin: Right Now talk from 02.19.11.

Back to Top >>>