Nicole Sealey
Born in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. and raised in Apopka, Florida, Nicole Sealey is the author of Ordinary Beast, forthcoming from Ecco in fall 2017, and The Animal After Whom Other Animals Are Named, winner of the 2015 Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Prize. Her other honors include an Elizabeth George Foundation Grant, the Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize from The American Poetry Review, a Daniel Varoujan Award and the Poetry International Prize, as well as fellowships from CantoMundo, Cave Canem, MacDowell Colony and the Poetry Project. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere. Nicole holds an MLA in Africana Studies from the University of South Florida and an MFA in creative writing from New York University. She is the executive director at Cave Canem Foundation, Inc.
Published 06/04/17
Published 06/04/17
Howl: What is your writing process like?
Sealey: I’ve never had a writing regimen. I am a writer who spends most of my time not writing, which leaves lots of time to think. I write when moved and jot down lines as they come but, in terms of a formal process, I have none. I use to beat myself up about this. But not having a process, I’ve learned, is perhaps my process.
Howl: What is your editing process like?
Sealey: Since the ear is as sensitive to sound as it is sense, I read poems out loud and over and over again. I find that I come up with images, see opportunities for expansion and catch mistakes when I read out loud. Also, I have a couple readers, whom I trust, who read final drafts.
Howl: What advice do you have for budding writers?
Sealey: Read widely.
Howl: Where do you get your inspiration?
Sealey: Everywhere and everything. Nothing is too small or too big. For example, I once got inspiration for a line from an episode of Oxygen's reality television show Bad Girls Club.
Howl: How do you know when a poem you're writing is finished?
Sealey: I don't. And, I don't believe any artist ever really knows. As Leonardo da Vinci said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned."
Howl: How do you deal with rejection?
Sealey: Rejection says more about the aesthetics of those doing the rejecting than it does about the work under consideration. Rejection means nothing, it is par for the course.
Howl: What are your thoughts on contemporary American poetry and where it is heading?
Sealey: As a society, we're obsessed with celebrity culture. Poets aren't immune--many want the minor fame that comes with the major prizes. This, I trust, is just the current state and not the future standard.
Howl: As the executive director of Cave Canem, how do you feel underrepresented writers can best have their voices heard, especially in a digital age when there's so many global voices vying for attention?
Underrepresented writers can best have their voices heard by persisting. If there is a poem that needs writing, write it. If there is an institution that needs building, build it. Voices don't have to vie. Voices can co-exist, be in conversation, harmonize, etc.
Howl: What do you feel is the responsibility of the writer to the reader, and vice versa?
Sealey: I want to write the kind of poems that move me as a reader, so my responsibility as a poet is to myself. My readers' responsibility? To come with an open mind, ready to have difficult conversations.
Howl: Which writers are you particularly excited about now (who might be on your nightstand) and what's next for Nicole Sealey?
Sealey: I'm excited about Cameron Awkward-Rich and Matthew Olzmann! As for me, revisions to my debut full-length collection, Ordinary Beast, are up next.
Sealey: I’ve never had a writing regimen. I am a writer who spends most of my time not writing, which leaves lots of time to think. I write when moved and jot down lines as they come but, in terms of a formal process, I have none. I use to beat myself up about this. But not having a process, I’ve learned, is perhaps my process.
Howl: What is your editing process like?
Sealey: Since the ear is as sensitive to sound as it is sense, I read poems out loud and over and over again. I find that I come up with images, see opportunities for expansion and catch mistakes when I read out loud. Also, I have a couple readers, whom I trust, who read final drafts.
Howl: What advice do you have for budding writers?
Sealey: Read widely.
Howl: Where do you get your inspiration?
Sealey: Everywhere and everything. Nothing is too small or too big. For example, I once got inspiration for a line from an episode of Oxygen's reality television show Bad Girls Club.
Howl: How do you know when a poem you're writing is finished?
Sealey: I don't. And, I don't believe any artist ever really knows. As Leonardo da Vinci said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned."
Howl: How do you deal with rejection?
Sealey: Rejection says more about the aesthetics of those doing the rejecting than it does about the work under consideration. Rejection means nothing, it is par for the course.
Howl: What are your thoughts on contemporary American poetry and where it is heading?
Sealey: As a society, we're obsessed with celebrity culture. Poets aren't immune--many want the minor fame that comes with the major prizes. This, I trust, is just the current state and not the future standard.
Howl: As the executive director of Cave Canem, how do you feel underrepresented writers can best have their voices heard, especially in a digital age when there's so many global voices vying for attention?
Underrepresented writers can best have their voices heard by persisting. If there is a poem that needs writing, write it. If there is an institution that needs building, build it. Voices don't have to vie. Voices can co-exist, be in conversation, harmonize, etc.
Howl: What do you feel is the responsibility of the writer to the reader, and vice versa?
Sealey: I want to write the kind of poems that move me as a reader, so my responsibility as a poet is to myself. My readers' responsibility? To come with an open mind, ready to have difficult conversations.
Howl: Which writers are you particularly excited about now (who might be on your nightstand) and what's next for Nicole Sealey?
Sealey: I'm excited about Cameron Awkward-Rich and Matthew Olzmann! As for me, revisions to my debut full-length collection, Ordinary Beast, are up next.