.WRITERS.ON.WRITING..Writers.on.Writing.
Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
.W.o.W. #26
Leah Myers
Describe an early experience where you learned that language has power.
When I was in first grade, my teacher tried to shame the class into calming down by saying, “You’re all acting like a bunch of wild Indians!” I burst into tears almost instantly. It is the earliest, clearest memory of learning that words have power because of how I felt, even if the teacher never intended to insult me.
What word(s) do you find yourself using most often in your writing?
My latest project is centered around race and culture, so “Native,” “blood,” and “tribe” are all pretty high-frequency. Thematically, I write about teeth a lot, both in fiction and nonfiction; the primal qualities teeth can show are very interesting to me.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
As a nonfiction writer, my inner voice tells me to write my truth, regardless of how others may judge me. I have written my story and the stories of my family members in how they connect to me and affect my life, and I know that I do not always look like the hero. I know I’m sometimes the coward or the villain. I know some family members would prefer I only tell half-truths, that I cover up the troubles that we have faced in our history. My inner writing voice knows that I can’t hold back. It has to be the entire truth, bare and unflinching, or it isn’t the best it can be.
Leah is a member of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. Pick up a copy of RENASCENCE (Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. VI, No. 1) today to learn more about Leah’s relationship with her tribe’s language in her creative nonfiction piece, “A Writer Who Can’t Read.” Leah recently graduated with an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of New Orleans, where she was awarded the Mockbee Prize for Nonfiction two years in a row.
Connect with Leah at leahmyers.com or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or below in the Comments.
.Writers.on.Writing.
Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
.W.o.W. #25
Kathy Z. Price
Describe an early experience where you learned that language has power.
As a young child, my mother read The Owl and the Pussycat—and to this day I can hear
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
But as a youngster, maybe 10 years old, I was shaken to the very core with “Great Pax Whitie” by Nikki Giovanni (you can find a version on YouTube here). My aunt would go around the house declaring
Ain’t they got no shame—nah, they ain’t got no shame
What word do you find yourself using most often in your writing?
Black.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
Trust yourself.
Kathy Z. Price is one of Yellow Arrow’s incredible RENASCENCE (Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. VI, No. 1) authors. She has a picture book, Mardi Gras Almost Didn’t Come This Year, coming out in January 2022 and is currently working on a memoir. Find Kathy on Twitter (@KathyZPrice or k_obia) and Instagram.
And join us for Renascence: A Reading on June 4 at 7:00 pm EST. Kathy will read a portion of her RENASCENCE piece “For Keeps” along with several other issue contributors. Find out more here.
.Writers.on.Writing.
Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
.W.o.W. #24
Nikita Rimal Sharma
What is a book you wish someone would write?
If only my mother wrote a book. I would love to read about the pain and struggles that my mother has experienced, as a third person. I feel like I would understand her so much more.
How did you first publish your writing and what was it?
It was an essay on “Environmental Pollution in Kathmandu” when I was in grade 5. I submitted it to my local newspaper The Kathmandu Post, and it got published in the weekly kid’s section. I was elated.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
You can heal.
Nikita was born and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal and moved to the U.S. about seven years ago. She currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland. You can learn more about her in Yellow Arrow Journal’s Vol. V, No. 3 issue (Re)Formation, with “Be You, Beautiful,” and find her in our A Reformative (Re)Formation Reading of (Re)Formation from November 2020.
.Writers.on.Writing.
Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
.W.o.W. #23
Claire Taylor
What is your writing Kryptonite?
The amount of patience it requires. There’s so much waiting in writing. Waiting for the piece to take shape, waiting to get it just right. Waiting to hear back about submissions. With social media it can often feel like everyone else around you is getting published and it can be hard to stick to your work and not rush your own process.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
To keep going.
What period of your life do you find you write about most often?
Lately, I write a lot about motherhood and that transition. My writing most frequently focuses on episodes of sorrow and depression, which is more of a throughline connecting all stages of my life rather than one specific period.
Claire’s poem “Again, Begin” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal’s Vol. V, No. 1 RESILIENCE. Last year, she participated in our 2020 Earth Day Reading. And this year, she will be one of our featured poets in our April Poetry Series. You can find her on Twitter or Instagram.
.Writers.on.Writing.
Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
.W.o.W. #22
Nichola Ruddell
Do you set writing goals for yourself? If yes, do you follow them?
I try and write every day. During this pandemic, I challenged myself to a poem a day, every day, for a least a few months.
Who is your greatest writing influence?
My father.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
My inner writing voice tells me to continue to write and explore my creativity.
Nichola Ruddell brought us on a beautifully descriptive journey with her submission “Movement in the Cinnabar Valley,” published in Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. V, No. 2 HOME. She joins the Yellow Arrow family from Nanaimo, British Columbia.
You can watch Nichola read “Movement in the Cinnabar Valley” by finding Yellow Arrow on Facebook or Instagram.