What are you working on?
Mostly my dissertation is consuming my time as of late. I have one more year to defend and graduate, so a lot of my energy is being poured into writing the best document I can and paying homage to these amazing Black artists and their works that I find myself critically engaging. In terms of creative work, I’m slowly but surely putting together a collection of speculative fiction pieces that take the form of prose poems and short stories.
Why is poetry important?
I can’t say unequivocally and universally why poetry is important, or why it should matter for everyone. I just know for me; poetry has really taught me to care about language on the most minute, almost microscopic level. It’s made me conscious of how and why and when the best time is to say something. I really think that poetry can teach people to be careful with language, to be precise and nurturing. Poetry makes me think of how to say the most impactful and honest thing with a few words as possible. It’s really about the economy of language, of paring things down to their most beautiful, evocative, and honest expression. For me, all poetry is about is care and using words with discretion and precision. To me, that’s why poetry is important, for the way it makes me slow down and be careful, to be mindful of what I’m saying.
What other poetry books have you been reading lately?
I’ve been mostly working on my research for my dissertation, so I sadly haven’t had enough time to read a lot of poetry this year. But my two favorite poetry collections that I read in the past year have been Nikky Finney’s Love Child's Hotbed of Occasional Poetry and Teeth Never Sleep by Ángel García. Both of these books are so open and honest and raw in their explorations of each poet’s life and how they have processed their experiences. Both also have such a grace to them, how they turn grief and uglier emotions into so much beauty. They really know how to incisively balance anguish and affection in their writing, to speak to both the hurt and all the wonder that happens simultaneously and that exceeds the pain. I truly can’t imagine surviving 2020 without either of these works. They are both such possibility models for me.
How do you know when a poem is finished?
It’s really just a feeling. Just like how poems start for me is how they end. A poem will rush into my life and linger for a while. So, I know a poem is finished when I feel like the immediacy of it is over, when I feel like all the noise and heat has receded and I can see what beauty is left behind. That’s at least how a first draft goes. In terms of editing and revising, I know a poem is done when I can read it out loud without stumbling over a line. I’ve found voice is really important to me as a poet, so I pay attention to how the poem sounds spoken aloud, how it flows sonically. So, for me, I always read the poem out loud and when I feel like the flow is there, when it rises and falls, and dissipates naturally, then that’s the end for me.
How does a poem begin?
Usually with a random flash of inspiration: I’ll get fixated on an image, or even a feeling. Sometimes it’s a memory or experience that I can’t shake, that keeps floating around my skull. If whatever it is lingers long enough, I can hear the first line of the poem and then I just want to write the rest of it to see where I end up.
