As a kid, M. Ayodele Heath didn’t like to read. He was good at math and science but could care less about literature. Much less poetry, which he thought was corny.

In his teens, however, the geek discovered two things that had a profound effect on his life: the lyrics of hip-hop and the writings of Richard Wright.

“There was something in “Black Boy” that made me connect with literature like never before. For the first time I saw my own personal story as a black Southern boy as something that might be worthy of literature. And then I made parallels between rap lyrics and books I had to read for school. I realized that my story mattered.”

But the geek ruled out and that Atlanta native enrolled at Georgia Tech in the 90s to study computer engineering. It was only when he needed an “easy class” to fill out his schedule that he registered for a poetry workshop.

“That class absolutely changed my life. It was the most magical experience I had ever had. Our teacher told us that he had gotten a poem published in The New Yorker magazine and had earned $400. It gave me some sense of motivation, as well as my passion for writing.”

One night, Ayodele went with some classmates to a poetry reading. He was just going to check it out. But after much convincing, he finally got up on stage, sat on a stool, and fought through an intense case of stage fright to deliver a four-minute poem he had memorized.

“It was horrifying. Like jumping off the Empire State Building. I couldn’t bear to look at the audience. I closed my eyes and just dove in. My hands started moving in rhythm with the poem. I was completely lost in the performance. Then it was over and I opened my eyes. I could see the audience was enthralled and applauding. It was magical and a very transformative moment.”

Since then he has become socially committed to poetry that forces us to examine the stereotypes and cultural expectations humans create about one another.

“My goal in my art is to get us to examine the assumptions that we make about each other because they are just social constructs which get in the way of us seeing that we’re all really here on earth trying to do the same thing: to be happy and do good in the world.”

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Rosemary Taylor, APR, is a writer and digital content strategist at PR Focus.