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Celebrating Our Culture |
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An Interview with Author Crystal E. Wilkinson by Joyce Dixon |
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Crystal E. Wilkinson is in many ways the spark that flames creativity in beginning and seasoned writers. As assistant director of the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in Lexington, Kentucky, Wilkinson teaches creative writing and works with literary programs at the Center. She is a charter member of the Affrilachian Poets, an organization that celebrates the black voices of Appalachia. Wilkinson serves as chair of the creative writing department for the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts and takes an active role in the Roots and Heritage Festival. Crystal E. Wilkinson grew up in rural Kentucky and uses that rich heritage in her book Blackberries, Blackberries. Her work has appeared in numerous literary magazines and journals.
What
is the most gratifying experience of being assistant director of the
Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning? Definitely
working with someone who is leery of writing and then seeing them
blossom...That is such a rewarding experience as a teacher to see someone
who goes from not thinking they can write as well as their peers to
embracing their own uniqueness self and to stand tall at a reading and
speak their written words aloud. You
teach several creative writing workshops at the Carnegie Center. What do
you hope for your students to take away from the experience? Again,
I think the most important thing any writer can reach for is to go within
themselves and discover their voice...their own unique place in the world
of words...I tell students that when they write they bring everything that
has every happened to them to the page...parents or lack of parents,
grandparents, siblings, their only-child self, likes/dislikes, heritage,
upbringing, region, language, favorite foods, passions, loves, anger,
ancestors, music, and VOICE...and when they sit with pen or pencil in hand
the beauty of it all is that no other person in the entire world has
experienced the things they bring to the table in the exact manner that
they have...So nobody else can write what they write, the way they write
it. The greatest compliment
that a writer can have is that if they dropped a piece of their writing
and it doesn't have their name on it...if someone can pick it up and read
it and know who it belongs to then they are on their way to establishing
themselves as a writer. Getting comfortable, nestled in your own style,
your own voice that other people can see is one of the most important
things a writer can do. What is the mission of the Affrilachian
Poets
and how can other poets become involved? The mission of the group as Frank X Walker our founder put it is to present "edu-taining" readings, workshops and classes to promote literacy and to preserve and celebrate the unique culture of Affrilachia. Frank coined that phrase so that black writers from the area would cease to be invisible so that we could be recognized contributors to the rich culture of this area. And it goes deeper than that we are more than just a writing group we are family. We have witnessed each others lives over the years and celebrated together--births of both babies and books, weddings, and grieved loss of loved ones, relationships, job changes--everything--we are indeed a family. We are a core group of about 12 members and three of us (Nikky Finney, Frank Walker and myself) have books that have been published and there are so many more of our members who are sure to have books out soon. We will be featured in a PBS documentary called Affrilachian Poets: Coal Black Voices. We have started something that is bigger than any of us individually and it keeps growing and growing with or without our individual help. Right now official members are accepted by invitation only and must have demonstrated a commitment to writing; in reading and performance; a high level of quality and talent in writing; and improvement of their writing through workshopping. Workshops are currently held in Louisville with workshops starting back up in Lexington in the spring. Coming
from a rural Appalachia background, what influences your poetry and prose
that may be different from those in urban settings? Well
entire upbringing effects my poetry and prose.
I have a tendency to always keep at least a kernel of what I know
in my work and what I know is green grass, hickory nut trees, fried apple
pies, milking the cows, wading in the creek, being grandparent raised on a
farm--all those types of things that connect with my countryness.
I spent so many years trying to suppress my rural roots and the
country twang in my voice that I talk about it and write about it so much
now that folks probably get tired of me talking about it but the fact is
that when I was growing up in an Appalachian community as only one of
three blacks in the entire school system, I had some really tough times.
So once I got away from that and went to college I really wanted to forget
about the beginning of my life. What
I didn't know then that I know now is that you can never get away from the
beginning of your life that the first twelve years of your life molds you
and you will always be influenced and effected by what happened in those
years and yes they were some painful years in some ways.
But in many, many more ways they were WONDERFUL carefree years.
Because I was there everyday and wanted to just get off that hill,
I didn't appreciate the beauty of the countryside, the warmth and love
from my grandparents, home-cooked meals, carefree days, the sun, the
values of a small town--none of that.
Now my writing takes me back there and I physically return home as
much as I can. The country is
such a magical place for me. Blackberries,
Blackberries
is an emotional gathering of character sketches. You show a variety of life experiences for black women.
How did your background in poetry aid the power of your words about
these women? I
don't think I could ever get away from the fact that I am a poet no matter
what I'm writing. I have been
writing some essays lately and folks are telling me that some of them
sound like poetry too. But
the reality of it all is that I was a fiction writer first.
When I was a little girl up on the creek, I was an only child and
reading and writing became my playmates. I would take a pen or pencil and
go down by the creek or at the edge of the yard for hours making up
stories. It was later that I got into poetry and returning to fiction
just completes the circle. The
female images are so strong in Blackberries, Blackberries.
What do you wish the reader to take away from these women? Collectively
these stories are a praise song to the varied experiences of the country,
black woman. It is my hope that they paint a clear picture of the black
woman as varied in her circumstances as any other woman. I want it to be
clear that all black women in the United States aren't urban women living
in cities and large towns. There
are black women all over the South up gravel roads, along creek banks and
in small towns and in nice homes at the end of unnamed streets who are
just living every day lives or living extraordinary lives. Also the women are black women but I hope their southern and
Appalachian culture shines through. It has been amazing to me that an
equal number of white women and men have said that they could relate to
various stories in the book. I
got a letter from an 84 year old white woman in Ohio who said she could
relate to the stories. So
that makes me believe that the humanity that I hope I have portrayed in
them is universal. Do
you believe in “writer’s block” or “waiting for the muse to
strike”? |
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NO..absolutely
not!!!! (smile) I get on my students all the time about that. There is no such thing as writer's block. I think that writing is 64 percent a talent that you are born with, 11 percent learned from outside influences and that the most important part is that other 25 percent, which is hard work and practice.
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I try to write everyday and expect my students to do the same.
If you are working on a piece and you get stuck on it that just
means that you need to be working on something else.
I tell them to set an egg timer on 15 minutes as a start and just
write about anything and everything.
Just like you have to practice to be a good musician, dancer, ball
player or whatever...you must write to be a writer and writer's block is
just a cop out. Why
is creative writing important for young people? I
think the majority of your childhood is spent being told what to do.
Do this! Do that! Even in school you HAVE to write about this or you have to
write about that. I think that it is important for young people to learn
that writing can be a tool for self-expression that is something just for
them or something to share with a larger audience.
A whole world is opened up if you can learn to process your
thoughts --your angry thoughts, your happy thoughts, your sad thoughts.
Then you can move on to other things.
As a child there is always something that you are feeling that you
don't know how to express verbally. Writing
opens up all those channels and gives young people an outlet that they can
be in control of. Could
you tell our readers about the Roots & Heritage Festival held in
Kentucky each September. The
Roots and Heritage Festival, which I have been involved in since 1990, is
a very popular cultural event which draws thousands of people to Lexington
every year. It is an
award-winning festival for its cultural and educational programs such as
art exhibits, literary readings, golf tournament, film presentations,
health fair, a ball, comedy night, a parade, and the two-day outdoor
festival. The two-day festival culminates the event with the African
Marketplace, children's programming, and two stages of entertainment.
The festival will celebrate 13 years in September of 2001. For more
information about the festival call Catherine Warner at 859-533-7688 or
859-254-9339 or any engine search for "roots and heritage
festival" will lead you to the websites that have all the
information. What
is your next release (poetry and prose)? Well
I am always working and I am currently working on several
projects--another short story collection, a novel, and I have a completed
body of poetry tentatively titled Ain't Nothin Homemade No More
that is awaiting a publisher. |
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Upcoming Events
Sponsored by the Kentucky Women Writers Conference. Free and open to the public. For more information about the Book Discussion groups, please phone the Carnegie Center at 859-254-41750.
We have three-and-a-half hours to get started on the greatest poem or short story you have ever written. The pressure to write is often intimidating, but sitting for hours with your fist under your chin in thinker mode or talking about the fabulous piece that is floating through your head is not writing. Instead, of waiting for the muse to come, we will jump right in and write. Spend three-and-a-half hours translating memories into fiction and poetry, experimenting with image, and writing 'til you sweat. Together we will read and discuss the results of these exercises: what is the piece becoming? which directions might s/he go? what is most intriguing about the piece? what are the potential strengths and weaknesses? Perhaps you will come up with a completely new work a character or image that completes a poem or story in progress. Come away with enough seedlings for stories and poems to keep you busy until the fall. © 2001 Joyce Dixon, All Rights Reserved |
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