Gregory Pardlo was born in Philadelphia, but for the past ten years he's lived in Bed-Stuy with his family. In that time, he's seen the blocks around Tompkins Avenue undergo a dramatic transformation.
"When we moved in I became fascinated with the RIP murals, the Rest in Peace murals, the young men who have died violently across the neighborhood," he said. "When someone passes the family will hire a muralist, an artist to paint this memorial to this individual. There are typical elements: There’s a scroll, some Biblical passage on it. There’s some indication of the person’s personality or interest. For example, he may be on his motorcycle or whatever."
Today, those murals have all been painted over. Pardlo is careful not to get too wistful about the area's violent past, but he wonders about what's been lost. "Of course there are those who say good riddance," he says, "But at the same time, here are people at least being venerated by the community and that is an important role no matter what the mythology is that surrounds that person."
Daily life in Bed-Stuy appears frequently in Pardlo's collection "Digest." He writes about things like playing handball in Herbert von King Park or buying groceries in the Fulton Street Foodtown. The Pulitzer board described it as a collection of "clear-voiced poems that bring readers the news from 21st Century America."
The Pulitzer is sure to lead to new opportunities for Pardlo. But he says that even if he ends up moving for work, he wants to keep his house in Bed-Stuy. "I want some sense of rootedness — even if it is in the fantasy of a perfect neighborhood," he said.