Who/what inspires your practice?
“I am inspired by my family.”
“I'm inspired by my experience as a Black person and a woman, and I'm inspired by the women storytellers and orators who have come before me. Specifically Zora Neale Hurtson because of her devotion to documenting Black people and Black culture in a very raw and, authentic way, which was kind of different and unheard of at the time when she was doing it. But now when we look back at her work, it is it's amazing. It is beautiful.”
What's your why?
“My why is my son Zakai, and his generation.”
“The generation that's coming up now is being raised in a society where we can't continue to do things the way that we've done them.”
“The world is literally on fire. And I would just like to be able to continue to capture, and document what's going on right now, so that they can access it and see where they come from and how far they've come.”
How would you describe your practice?
“My practice is really different depending on what I'm working on. If I'm working on a deadline, my practice can be kind of chaotic, kind of intense, kind of like, “let's get this shit done wherever you're at.” Sometimes it looks like me getting Zakai ready for daycare while I’m going back and fourth pitching to my editor over email. If I have to sit on the floor and write, or if I have to pull out my laptop in a public space and just get it done, sometimes I just need to get a story done. And then sometimes my practice is a little more relaxed and I'm writing in my notebook and journaling, and then something that I've journaled will inspire a larger piece.
“So, I think maybe the best word for my practice is organic. Like I try not to put too much pressure on myself. I try to allow myself to flow and express whatever it is that's in my mind and heart.”
How do you sustain your discipline?
“That's a really difficult question for me because it's something that I'm still learning how to do, but one of the biggest lessons that I've learned this year really is just to get out of my own way and get out of my own head. When I notice that maybe I'm not writing as much it's usually just me overthinking and rather than overthinking a topic or doubting myself I try to just get outta my own way and be like, bro, like it doesn't have to be perfect, just start. And it sounds like a cliche, but that's really all that it is.”
“There’s nothing to it, but to do it.“
A funny, ironic, wild story or time in my studio.
“My studio is my home, this is where I live. So, funny things happen all the time, sad things, all of the things. But I would say like the most ironic part about this space even being my studio, is that when I moved here, I kind of felt like I was moving away from a community that was inspiring a lot of my work and I wasn't going to be able to keep up momentum. But in reality, this space has been the kickstart to what is my own practice as a writer.”
“I’ve be able to create a space for me to feel comfortable not just living, but also creating. That doubt that I had in the beginning was really just another thing of me having to get out of my own head and get out of my own way. And in doing that, I've been able to accomplish a lot more than I initially imagined.”