Writing with Juliet Iwelunmor

Underneath skin, we pull each other in, and reveal things within. We explore edges, those without limits, those that discern boundaries within. Yet the boundaries, and the limits, the edges underneath skin, unfold moments where words are like the layers of cells beneath.

The word was writing. The goal was to write about how I felt about the word without writing about the word. I took a narrative poetry class in June that changed my perspective with writing. It was a free class held virtually every Wednesday for 2 hours and there were about 8 Black women like myself in attendance. I knew bits and pieces of what narrative poetry entails but I wanted to learn more and maybe even connect it with my own writing. The class was everything I had hoped for. It introduced me to new material and showed why narratives are like beads on a necklace. By themselves, beads are sufficient. But when strung together, they create a united whole that dwell on the richness of moments, memories, meaningful connections like a necklace on a neck. One of the books we were introduced to was the work of Rita Dove in Thomas and Beluah. In an interview about the book, Ms. Dove gave the analogy of writing poetry narratively as stringing beads on a necklace. She also noted that poetry is about discovery, a moment of bliss that occurs when you discover something about yourself, something that helps you learn more about all that’s within you. Writing to her is like an excursion into the interior of oneself. Two things often occur: One you gain moments of discovery. Second, you make those moments more visible with the things you write. We write to articulate all the moments we experience so they are not lost. So the reader gets what we mean, as we all get pulled into each other’s world. I get it deeply now. Keep these thoughts on writing as inspired by Rita Dove.