poet and memoir writer Remica Bingham-Risher on putting writing on the calendar, learning from Lucille Clifton, and the necessity of reading to fill her creative well
Man, Jesse Lee Kercheval is a huge inspiration. I mean, she never stops talking, so having her as a teacher and a mentor in my MFA (and beyond) meant I learned a lot about her and her creative process just by listening to her (always interesting) digressions. She always had a project that required practice-- yes, writing, but also learning to play the accordion, or learning Spanish....until she was fluent, moved to Uruguay for a semester and came back *with a book of translation*. During the pandemic, she bought a bunch of art supplies, signed up for an online art class at the Royal School and now...has a *graphic memoir*. She will admit she had no plans to publish this stuff when she set out, she was just running down her interests and gaining skills-- and that kind of curiosity and joy in learning and making and sharing is, I think, the platonic ideal of being a creative person.
Man, Jesse Lee Kercheval is a huge inspiration. I mean, she never stops talking, so having her as a teacher and a mentor in my MFA (and beyond) meant I learned a lot about her and her creative process just by listening to her (always interesting) digressions. She always had a project that required practice-- yes, writing, but also learning to play the accordion, or learning Spanish....until she was fluent, moved to Uruguay for a semester and came back *with a book of translation*. During the pandemic, she bought a bunch of art supplies, signed up for an online art class at the Royal School and now...has a *graphic memoir*. She will admit she had no plans to publish this stuff when she set out, she was just running down her interests and gaining skills-- and that kind of curiosity and joy in learning and making and sharing is, I think, the platonic ideal of being a creative person.
Yes! Her commitment to learning and growing and just trying new things is such an inspiration 🌟
I remember her poem from The Long Devotion--it was a real standout among so much strong work!
it really is a special one! brief, but with such big impact!
Remica stays teaching us all ❤️❤️
Inspiring❤️
thanks for reading ❤️️
I love the energy in this. Thank you for the inspiration!! I’ve added “Soul Culture” to my ‘to-read’ list.
Love her sentiments on both reading and writing.