[5] She has a Master of Arts in teaching from Brown University, and an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Grinnell College.

[6] That year, she was the youngest person competing in the National Poetry Slam in Austin, Texas.

In 2007 Kay made her television debut, performing the poem "Hands" on HBO's Def Poetry Jam.

[10] On March 3, 2011, she performed at the TED conference in Long Beach, California as part of a series entitled "Beauty, Imagination, Enchantment."

[13] In 2019 she announced via Twitter[14] that she would be hosting a podcast called Sincerely, X, which will be produced by TEDTalks and Audible.

[...] of a lifelong grappling with what poetry is for, what it can & cannot do, how it buoys & connects & changes & ushers me through the chapters of my time here, not only as a compass, it turns out, but as a companion, too.