Spoken-word poet and artist Joekenneth Museau started his career from an unusual place: a one-sided rap battle at the age of 11. “I wrote a dis record to Lil Bow Wow and Lil’ Romeo called ‘Respect Me,’” he recalls with a laugh. He’s since turned those first forays into poetry into a career with a large, and expanding, online following. His latest book, Days After Your Departure, about the death of his mother, is accompanied by a short film of the same name.

How did you start incorporating visuals into your work?
I believe that for work to touch people in different ways, it needs to be immersive. I was inspired to take the work further, so that a person who may not be interested in sitting with a book can see the film and then become familiar with the book. It makes the work ...