Keisha-Gaye Anderson is author of the poetry collection (Jamii Publishing, 2014), which has been described as “a lyrical outpouring of kinship, heritage, and a woman’s transformation within the world that envelops her . . . a rich compendium of heartfelt poetic verse.” As both a writer & reader of mystical poetry, I found her work lovely and compelling, and invited her to the Infoxicated Corner for a conversation about her aesthetic, influences, process, and work overall.
Fox Frazier-Foley: I first learned about your work from your book, Gathering the Waters, which I was drawn to read because I thought the cover was so lovely and striking. Can you tell us a little bit about the genesis of that book? What was your process like in creating it? And how did you find this beautiful cover art, or was it created specifically for the book?
Keisha-Gaye Anderson: I’m constantly writing. I don’t remember a time I was ever not writing—on napkins, the backs of receipts. But as I was working on my MFA in fiction, I would give my brain a rest from that work and review or write poetry. When stepping back and looking at the work in totality, it dawned on my just how many poems I’d written over the years. I’d self-published a poetry chapbook back in 2002, and steadily published poems in journals and magazines since that time, but hadn’t put together a collection. So I began to organize some of the pieces into a body of work that spoke to themes I was most interested in at the time, like ancestral memory, the things we carry from generation to generation, and what it means to truly empower the self on a spiritual and emotional level. As a mother of two children, working full-time and attending graduate school, these were particularly resonant topics for me. I started to send the manuscript out to publishers and contests. I was so thrilled to learn that Jamii selected my manuscript from more than 100 entries! Elated is a better word, in fact.
The cover art is part of a series of water goddesses that were created especially for me by my beautifully talented friend Angelina. They were her idea. She created them out of felt and they are so very gorgeous. Oshun just emerged as the best choice for the cover.
F3: We’ve talked a little bit about spiritual and religious poetry — poetry that has tendencies towards the mystical, the metaphysical. Do you think of yourself as a spiritual or religious poet? How would you say spirituality informs your work?
KGA: I am just me. What results as poems are conversations with myself about the world outside of and inside of me. In that sense, I suppose I have always been more attuned to, or interested in, the more subtle realities of my lived experience—things you can’t see but which affect you in profound ways. I wouldn’t label myself as a spiritual or religious poet, though I am interested in learning about how people around the world engage in religious rites and spirituality, and how these things help them to create life experiences that are beneficial to them. It’s probably one of my obsessions. But I would say that spirituality informs my work through my ability to be a good listener. I allow the writing to flow through me and record what comes. Yes, poetry has rules and structure as an art form, and that’s where the editing comes in, but the initial process of allowing the words to take form without judging them or censoring what comes through is definitively an act of listening and, in a sense, faith. I know that what I’m writing is about me but can also resonate with many more people than just me. I like the way the writing process connects me to the larger human experience but also helps me celebrate my individual talent.
F3: I love that you used the word ‘rituals’ there. Rituals are so important and interesting to me, from the religious kind, to the more secular/cultural sorts, to even the idiosyncratic, personal rituals that we all have. Do you have any little daily rituals as a writer, or things you like to do that help your writing in some way — meditation, taking walks, listening to a certain type of music, etc.? What’s your writing life like?
KGA: My writing life is inextricable from my “life” life; Motherhood, 9-5 job, and creative writing are all entangled, and I have to make sure that each area is balanced or everything will fall apart. That being said, I take every spare moment I can to honor my writing above other social commitments because I understand it to be a very special gift that must be cultivated on a regular basis to be of any use to me or others. After dropping the children off at school, I give myself 20 minutes at a nearby bodega to get coffee and sketch out ideas. After walking the two miles to work—a kind of meditation and the only space in the day for exercise—I’ll often write for 30 minutes. I’m also up writing after the children have gone to sleep. When there’s a body of work I want to complete (a collection of poems, short story, screenplay), I will block out three hours every Sunday morning and go off to a coffee shop to write. I do not allow anyone to intrude upon this time, no matter who they are. After a particular project is complete, I’ll give myself a break. It’s important to break things up into small batches and take a breather, or you’ll just burn out.
F3: I think that’s such great advice to hear, especially for poets who are still figuring out their own pace and how to make time for their craft while doing other things in the world. For poets who are also interested in writing spiritual or mystical poems, what would you suggest they read? Are there any poets or authors who have been especially influential or inspiring for you as a writer?
KGA: While you can read about others’ spiritual and religious experiences in books, I don’t think you can’t find your own connection to spirit or the mystical in a book. By extension, I don’t know that one can set out to write ‘mystical poetry’ because these states of awareness are the manifestation of a certain life path that is marked by the destruction of dogma in the mind, surrender to the moment, and openness to learning every single day. It’s frightening but exhilarating to continually discard what you thought was indisputable fact and just stay open to the process of learning, taking things as they come and reflecting these realizations in your art. They physical eyes are pathological liars! lol…
Poetry like any other art form is just an extension of the artist; you have to be that which you wish to produce. Wisdom cannot be contrived or purchased, and the way that this level of awareness we’ll call ‘spirituality’ takes shape in the physical world, in the arts, is highly individual. So my advice is to follow your bliss. Read what inspires you. Read what you are naturally drawn too. All of your interests, if you approach them without fixation on a particular outcome, are like breadcrumbs that will lead you to the mystical revelations you seek. Free yourself of the idea that those revelations have to ‘look’ a particular way. A reggae dance hall can produce the same altered states as an ashram. Believe that! Never listen to anyone who tells you there only one way of getting closer to the mysteries of life; we are all equally capable, if we are willing to be disciplined and open, to broaden our understanding of ourselves and the wider world.
There are so many poets who inspire me. Lucille Clifton and Pablo Neruda come to mind immediately. Rumi, of course. There’s June Jordan, Sekou Sundiata, Audre Lorde. Novelists like Toni Morrison, Gayl Jones, Vladimir Nabakov, Octavia Butler…Too many to list.
F3: A ot of those are on my list, too, especially the first three. Is there anything else you think is integral to the writing life, or your creative process, that you’d like to share with us?
KGA: An important part of writing, apart from self-discipline, is to enjoy yourself. Get silly. Laugh at yourself. Talk to your characters out loud. You’ll surpass your own expectations if you’re creating from a place of joy.
F3: That’s so important to remember! This has been such a great conversation for me, and I hope for you too. I’ll close by asking whether you have any new projects on the horizon? What are you working on right now?
KGA: I’m thrilled to be curating two events in conjunction with the annual BEAT Festival in Brooklyn in September. One is an evening of poetry at Five Myles Art Gallery in Crown Heights, featuring talented poets JP Howard, Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, and Ras Osagyfo. The other is a celebration of theater, dance and voice at Weeksville Heritage Center, also in September. It’s going to be so much fun!
I’m also working steadily on polishing my first novel, which explores what happens when an African ancestor interferes in the lives of a Jamaican family that is in pursuit of the American dream. That one soon come! ;-)
