Where
are you from?
Courtland, Virginia (a small town in Southampton County, VA, which
used to be named Jerusalem. It's most famous for the Nat Turner slave
revolt that took place back in 1831.
When and why did you begin writing?
I began writing as a child, probably since I could write my first love
letter. I can't say too much about love back then because I was a
tomboy, but I found myself surpassing "Roses are red/Violets are
blue." I scribbled poems like young artists scribble prints . . . on
napkins, notebooks, anywhere . . . and anytime I had free time. When
you're young, you have a lot of free time. There weren't a lot of
people to talk to because I came up on the back end of that era where
children were seen and seldom heard. I was the product of a teen-aged
pregnancy and raised by my grandparents, so I had quite an interesting
upbringing. There were plenty of misunderstandings to think as well as
write about. Writing became my friend. It was therapeutic for me. The
next thing I knew, I was writing poems for school programs, entering
writing contests and taking a Composition/Creative Writing course in
high school. That's how it all began. But needless to say, I never
thought of being a writer. I was an honor student in high school, and
when I left for the University of Virginia in 1991, I had my heart set
on becoming a doctor. Writing was just a hobby for me then. Many
things happened to alter that plan: 1.) having to remembering too many
molecular structures for my "bad memory" in BIO 201 2.) my roommate,
who was taking English courses, encouraged me to take the History of
English Lit. with her. I did, and the rest is history. Before I left
UVA, I had taken and done well in all kinds of Literature and writing
courses: African American Lit., Renaissance Lit., Medieval Lit., and
News and Poetry Writing. I even took Religion courses that explored
the Bible as Literature. So, that's how it all started.
Who or what has influenced your writing, and in what way?
I've always liked writing. I have major influences in life such as my
grandparents, teachers and great role models in my community. But in
the area of writing, I have been most inspired by so many black
writers. I am completely in awe of the work of Langston Hughes, Zora
Neale Hurston, Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez and
Maya Angelou. I love Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. I love them
because they write out of experience with which I can identify. They
write of the struggles of Black people, Black women and Black
children. They write from the inside out, and my own spirit is moved
when I read these writers. They reveal so much of themselves to the
world, and there's no game that they play. You either like them or you
don't. That's what writing is all about. If you can't write your own
truths, your own realities, why write at all? I'd like to follow in
the footsteps of these great writers documenting life and history of
our people for future generations. I'd like to effect change with my
words.
I also love the poetry of Shakespeare, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and
John Donne. These are white poets whose forms I have studied. I love
the nature of sonnets and all types of traditional poetry, but I have
written quite a bit of free verse in the last couple of years.
How has your environment/upbringing colored your writing?
My mother was seventeen years old when she became pregnant with me.
She married a man who was not my biological father, but his parents
raised me as their own. For the last 30 years, I've been torn between
two environments, my mother's family and the grandparents’ house I
grew up in. So I had a mixture of everything great and interesting
about black live. I've seen my share of "drama." I was surrounded by
churchgoers on one hand, and a family who loved "a good time" on the
other. To be honest, both environments were very necessary for me. One
made me a more spiritually grounded individual in my faith, and the
other boosted a street-smart, if not hard-core attitude in me that
I've found meaningful and helpful in life. I've lived in the midst of
two extremes, and every single experience from a combination of these
two has been the backdrop of my writing. I write what I have lived.
Therefore, in many of my poems you'll find pictures of what I have
experienced with family, friends or people I've met in passing. In
life, all that we really have are the people who know us well. No
matter where I go or how much I grow, my family and my upbringing will
always be a part of me. I write my reality. So, they are, in essence,
what I write.
Is there a message in your books that you want readers to grasp?
I'd like readers to read my books and find that there is someone who
understands their pain. There is someone who understands the chaos in
the world. There is someone who has felt abandoned. There is someone
else who has had to persevere and overcome obstacles. There is someone
who has relied on a God she does not see, but only feels. There is
someone who strives to be all that she can be in spite of what the
world tells her that she is. There is someone who has beat the odds
socially, educationally and religiously. That someone is me. I like
showing readers resilience. I like exposing truth. I like taking
people to another level of thinking through my poetry. Whether it's
love, war, politics or race and gender, there is a place we need to
get to, and I like to provoke my readers and take them there.
What books have most influenced your life?
The Bible, without a doubt. I rely heavily on the Word of God in a
personal way. I'm not perfect, but I know what it says, and I try to
live in fear and admonition of God and His Word. I have so many
favorite books that I just can't even name them all. Their Eyes Were
Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by
Maya Angelou, The Bluest Eye, Sula, Jazz and all of Toni Morrison's
books. Your Blues Ain't Like Mine by Bebe Moore Campbell. I could go
on. I have shelves of books by Black authors and a lot of new writers
like Linda Dominique Grosvenor, JJ Murray and Nathan Lewis. I also
love the book Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I'm a romantic, so I
like a lot of relationship books. I come from a big, complex family,
so I love to read books that deal with the dynamics of the Black
family, Black marriage and Black life. I like Terry McMillain too.
I've read everything by her. All of these writers are simply "real" to
me, and I find them captivating as well as enlightening...
What are you reading now?
Chasing Excellence in the Black Community by a friends of mine,
Lamonte and Carol Faison (no relation that we know of). This book is
phenomenal, so inspiring and motivating.
What are your current projects?
Right now, I'm working on a third book collection due out this year,
and I'm also working on some children's books. I'd like to do a Black
History collection as well as a collection of love poems.
Do you feel that the boom in African American writers is a fad
or another renaissance?
We definitely have another renaissance going on, and I'm glad about
it. Where there is writing, there is change. Thank God for a new
renaissance Look at what the Harlem Renaissance did for us. Perhaps we
can do that or more for future generations.
Do you feel more African Americans are reading?
Yes, I think more of us are reading, but I wish that more of us would
read more of other things. We shouldn't limit ourselves to poetry and
fiction. We must also bridge gaps and lead the way for those coming
behind us to be well exposed when it comes to everything in life, not
just literature. A lack of exposure can close a lot of doors for us,
so exposing ourselves to more types of literature, art, people, etc.
is always a plus for us. Life is so much bigger than the houses we
grow up in, the churches and schools we attend, or the cities and
towns we settle down in, or the jobs we work daily. We are reading,
and I hope it will continue and expand.
Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family
members.
The teachers and role models who were all around me (in school, at
church and in my community back home). Thank God for them.
How does your family and/or friends feel about your book or
writing venture in general?
I know that my family is proud of me. I think that they have enjoyed
the books, but I also think that they are sometimes afraid of what I
might reveal through poetry (smile). My husband is my #1 supporter.
None of this would have been possible without his love and support.
Do you see writing as a long- or short-term career?
I see me writing until I die. I don't know how many books I'll publish
or where it might lead. But I plan to continue teaching on the college
level or even become a college administrator. I've always been a
jack-of-all-trades so to speak, so I definitely see me continuing on
as a writer no matter where life takes me.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything?
Yes, I'd get an M.F.A. instead of an M.A.
Is there anything additional you would like to share with your
readers?
Please check out my books, and I welcome any feedback or comments that
you might have. Also, if you get your hands on either Secrets of My
Soul or Immaculate Perceptions, please drop by Amazon.com to submit a
review. Thank you.
Self-Publishing Questions:
How do you feel overall about self-publishing?
I wish that people didn't have to self-publish, but there aren't
enough publishers in the world that will publish what needs to be
heard rather than what sells. I think that writers should enter into
self-publishing cautiously, with a plan, lots of time on hand, and
after being a seasoned writer with lots of support from family and
friends. I think it can be a good thing for many people. But I've seen
it also be a bad avenue for writers who are not ready. Get more than a
second opinion. Get several opinions. Get your manuscripts edited and
edited and edited again. Your book is a reflection of who you are. It
must be professional in every way.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of promotion for
self-published authors?
I would call these the "ups" and "downs" of promoting your
self-published work.
Promotion requires a lot of time and effort. If you have to rely on
others to do things for you, then you're either going to spend a lot
of money, or not have things done to your liking more often than not.
When you can handle all of your own printing, desktop publishing,
website design and hosting set-up and all other communications aspects
and administrative tasks, then you are strong as a self-publisher.
Books don't sell themselves, so if you're not in it for the long haul,
if you're not up to putting in the long hours of perfecting printed
material or website material and sending out letters and emails, then
that's probably a weakness. You have to be creative. You have to
network. You have to be able to take no for an answer. You have to
never give up . You have to know what you're in the self-publishing
business for. Some people want to get their work out there. Some just
want to make money. If you work hard at the first one, the success
will come. It's not about the money. Sex sells, but it should be about
what you have to offer readers and how you can change their lives, one
word, one book at a time.
What do you feel is one major benefit to self-publishing your
book?
You're in "total" control of every decision to be made about your book
from the layout to the price to where you will market it.
Would you encourage or mentor someone to become self-publish?
I have, and I will continue to help others who are interested in
self-publishing. Someone helped me, and I believe that we can all be
successful.
Latorial Faison
Poet & Author of
Secrets of My Soul and Immaculate Perceptions.
Where
are you from?