February 2010
Nicole Sealey, born in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. and raised in Central Florida, is a Cave Canem fellow whose poems have appeared in or is forthcoming to a number of journals including Callaloo, The Drunken Boat, Sou’wester and Torch. She holds a Master of Liberal Arts from the University of South Florida. Additionally, she is the Readings/Workshops (East) and Writers Exchange Program Manager at Poets & Writers, Inc. as well as a future writer-in-residence at Hedgebrook.

How do you start a new piece?
Slowly.

What is more frightening: a blank page or a manuscript in need of a complete rewrite?
Each is equally frightening—a blank page first lacks locality, while a manuscript in disrepair may seem to lack mobility. Fear, however, does not change the fact that the page is bare or that the manuscript is unfinished.

In Richard Hugo’s essay “Writing Off the Subject,” he states, “When you start to write, you carry to the page one of two attitudes, though you may not be aware of it. One is that all music must conform to truth. The other, that all truth must conform to music.” In your writing practice, have you taken a position on this?
Both positions are important to my practice. Like the woman in the Forster novel who Hugo later quotes, I too question, How do I know what I think until I see what I’ve said? In writing, music can inspire truth and vice versa. For this reason, I rely on instinct—not censor nor censure. Inspiration is inspiration, and I’ll take it in all of its manifestations: music and truth. Then, I sift.

Who have you studied with that had a great influence on your work?
As a Cave Canem fellow, I have studied with a number of writers who have all influenced my aesthetic in their own right. Writers such as Anne Carson, Terrance Hayes, Etheridge Knight and others, whom I have not studied with, but often study, have also informed my work.

What’s the best in-class writing prompt or assignment that you’ve been given?
One of the best exercises I received came from Willie Perdomo, which was to write a first time poem using Major Jackson’s “Blunts” as a model.

Are there any aspects of writing that you feel can’t be taught?
Anything can be taught, but not all things can be learned; however, the aspects of writing that cannot be learned may be offset by the aspects that can be and by natural ability. The act of writing is as much an attempt at exploiting lessons learned as it is following instincts.

What have you read recently that you couldn’t put down?
Thomas Sayers Ellis’ The Maverick Room.

What are your writing pet peeves?
Ending on images.