What is your genre of study and why?
At UAB, I was an English major with a Creative Writing Concentration and a Spanish Minor. Right now, I’m a candidate for a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry at Florida International University. Why? Well, that is the question, isn’t it? At the risk of sounding corny, I’ll tell the truth. I’m in the creative writing field because I don’t know what else I could possibly be. I’ve been writing for pretty much my whole life, and I can’t imagine life without it. Writing is the way I communicate, and it’s the art form in which I feel I can excel. Professionally, I guess I’m in the writing profession because it’s the medium through which I can do what I want to do in the world — through writing, I can contribute to the world and help people and express myself. What more could a person ask for? What are your hopes for the future?
In the future, I’d like to be a university president. Of course, I want to be a published author and a successful writing professor, but my ultimate goal is to be president of a university or community college. I am passionate about education, and I really think I could make some change as an administrator. As a future administrator with an ear toward the arts, I can help my university be well-rounded, educationally speaking. I think, too often, people treat art as a novelty rather than a necessity, and that’s really too bad. I also hope to continue my work in the community. Working with students in whatever community I’m in has always been important to me — spreading a love of writing is one of my great passions, and I hope to keep doing this work in the future.
How did your time at UAB prepare you for your dreams and goals?
UAB really helped me to become the productive citizen I am today — I’m sure a lot of people would say that about their college experience, but I really think UAB’s specific brand of magic helped me to reach my post-undergraduate goals. As a member of the University Honors Program, I was introduced to a new way of learning — the interdisciplinary approach really opened me up to ways in which we overlap as scholars. Everyone can converge in an interesting way, and we can learn from each other. As I embarked into the real world, I was better able to appreciate and learn from peers who don’t think like I think, and I thank UHP for that.
The Department of English and Office of Student Media offered me unique opportunities to learn and practice what I’d learned. I studied under professors who had done and seen a lot in the world, but who came to Birmingham to share that knowledge with us. My professors all had different teaching styles, and this helped me to understand and develop my own teaching pedagogy. Not only that, but I was broken of my longtime hatred of Shakespeare — I fully credit Dr. Alison Chapman with curing me of this distaste for dear William! By editing and working with various literary magazines at UAB, I was able to practically apply things I’d learned in Creative Writing and English classes. I was also able to learn publishing and editing techniques that I’ve used throughout my graduate school career.
Through my work with UAB TrailBlazers and the Office of Stewardship, I was able to see the operations of the university system from a new perspective, and this really heightened my desire to work as an administrator in the future. Perhaps the biggest thing that I gained from my time at UAB was an understanding of what it means to be a positive part of a productive community — I met so many amazing people and did some awesome things, and I built up a lot of confidence that helped me to dive into the “real world” without hesitation or fear.
What drew you to UAB and were your expectations met?
I never thought I’d end up at UAB. I went to school in the UAB area from elementary to high school, and it just never occurred to me that I would go to UAB because it was so close to everything I’d always known. But, on a college tour with my high school, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of a UAB education. UAB became a hidden gem, and it quickly edged its way up my college application list. At UAB, I could get the liberal arts education I was used to by joining the University Honors Program, I could immerse myself into my English major with world-class professors, I could get involved in countless student groups and leadership organizations, I could actually afford to attend college without too much worry, and I could rediscover my home city in a way I’d never imagined. My expectations were exceeded — I didn’t know how much I would enjoy attending UAB. I didn’t know how much I would grow, and I didn’t know how much I’d miss it after graduation.
Who are your literary role models and why?
My literary models … well, the list is always expanding, which is good. But, my staple writing role models have to be Lucille Clifton, Kevin Young, and Sherman Alexie. Lucille Clifton is my favorite poet — I’ve always admired her ability to write a deceptively simplistic piece that guts you with its raw, real, edge. As far as Black female authors go, she is the one I always reach for when I’m feeling stuck or just need to lubricate my poetic gears a little. She has a certain sassiness that I always respond to, and her images are so clean — I can only hope to get down to that level of precision. Kevin Young is probably my favorite contemporary poet right now — I could read Jelly Roll over and over again, and I have. Young’s relationship with language is something I really admire. He uses language like a musical instrument or maybe as a voice (as a singer would) — it has a swagger, a special sound on and off the page. He can write about something as simple as a piece of pork and make it swing, you know? Finally, Sherman Alexie. I’m pretty much always a sucker for a man with a sense of humor, but Alexie’s brand of dark, revealing comedy is something I can’t shake. His fiction makes me uncomfortable and thoughtful, and his poetry makes me laugh out loud and curse every injustice in the history of the world. He lets me know that it’s okay to write about my culture unapologetically. It’s okay to explore my truth, no matter who it may offend.
What inspires you and motivates your writing?Honestly, life inspires my writing. I’m an observer by nature — I’m always noticing things that no one else does, and I like to look as deeply into a person as I can without talking to them. Perhaps that’s creepy, but the human race is a fascinating thing. There’s so much going on in a human mind, and it’s fun for me to think about that. I’m also very interested in history, and the ways in which the human mind has bent toward injustice or love or anything at all. There’s so much to discover by just looking around. I want to capture that thing — that human thing, on the page as well as I can. Often, something will happen to me or I’ll hear about something, and I’ll just start hearing a poem form in my head. I rarely sit down to write without revisiting something that’s happened in my life or someone else’s life. That said, it’s definitely still a process — there are no divinely acquired poems on my pages.
Where is your favorite local place to study?
Those who know me know that I’m not a public studier. But, when I do feel the urge to study outside of the comfort of my home, I like going to the library. When I was in school at UAB, I really liked going to a little study cubby at Mervyn Sterne so I could create a little bubble of my own with my books and my paper. Now, I can’t say that I study anywhere in the Birmingham area. Coffee shops are too full of people to observe. Who can study when there’s quality peoplewatching to do?
If you could recommend one book/poem/story what would it be? Why?
I hate this question, because it’s so hard to let one book or poem or story represent all of the good things in the world. But, I guess if I were recommending a book of poetry to someone, I would actually recommend Poetry 180, edited by Billy Collins. I was a huge fan of his Laureate project, as it did exactly what I want to do — get poetry into the hands of the people and reveal the true necessity of it in everyone’s life. Poetry 180 is an anthology of 180 poems, I think, and they’re a part of the “Favorite Poem Project,” in which Collins endeavored to discover the favorite poem of different people in the US. We studied this book in high school, and I really enjoyed reading the introductions by regular people. To hear a construction worker talk about the impact Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” had on his life is a thing of great beauty to me. Poetry is for everyone, and this book exposed me to so many poets, but it also exposed me to the variety of humans who actually enjoy poetry.
Given the chance, what would be one thing you would say to prospective UAB creative writing students?
I would tell them not to be afraid of majoring in English or Creative Writing. It’s a scary thing, focusing on the humanities in a world that doesn’t always value them. But, you have to be smart about it — realize that your talent and your love for writing is the first step. There are so many things you can do with writing, and you should use your talent to make a difference in your community. You can be a writer and something else — you can use your writing in a lot of different careers, but you need to go into it with some sort of plan in mind. You don’t have to know exactly what you want to do, but you need to know that you need to do something with writing other than simply write. The world is wide open for you, and if you can put together a beautiful sentence, I’d say the world is begging you to come in.
