Video lit: National Book Award-winning poet Terrance Hayes

Terrance Hayes won the National Book Award for poetry Nov. 17 for his collection "Lighthead." In this 2009 video, produced by the Pittsburgh-based Pop City Media, the Carnegie Mellon professor explains why poetry, why Pittsburgh, and reads some of his poetry with jazz accompaniment.

For more of Hayes' poetry, there is this 48-minute video of him reading at Cornell University.

-- Carolyn Kellogg