.Writers.on.Writing.
Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
W.o.W. #45
Keshnie July
What is a book you wish someone would write?
The Autobiography of a Brown Girl, which I plan to write
What is your writing Kryptonite? Your most interesting writing quirk?
I write like I speak and can sometimes use unnecessary words. My quirk is that I tend to overstate a point.
Describe an early experience where you learned that language has power.
I was always interested in learning new words. I would practice the words learnt in school in every day conversation. When I heard that one of the adults had said, “Who does she think she is using big, big words,” I realised that a child could not even practice a new word without being judged for it. More importantly it made adults uncomfortable.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
“You have to write a book.”
Keshnie July is a happily married mother to two gorgeous children and lives in beautiful South Africa. She has written for herself, albeit off and on through the years. Her favorite is poetry, however she has always hoped to write a book one day. This opportunity has been a call to fulfill a longheld dream to write and share her work with the world. Her piece “What is in a Name?” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. VI, No. 2, ANFRACTUOUS. Keshnie participated in “An Exploration of Belonging: The Anfractuous Reading” last year. You can hear her read part of “What is in a Name?” below and find the reading in its entirety on the Yellow Arrow YouTube channel.
Find Keshnie on Instagram @keshjuly or Facebook @keshnie.july.