.WRITERS.ON.WRITING..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. #40
Rebecca Pelky
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?
My grandmother, Mable Moon, who died before I was born, and who everyone says I most resemble, or maybe my great-grandfather, William Moon, who survived the Carlisle Indian Boarding School. Or maybe a grandmother from even further back, before boarding schools and missionaries stripped away so much of our traditional culture.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
Lately it reminds me that I’m not only writing for myself, but also for my ancestors, who maybe didn’t have the chance to speak out like I do.
Describe an early experience where you learned that language has power.
When I was in Junior High (middle school in today’s lexicon), a (white, male) history teacher told my mom that I would never amount to anything because I came from a “broken home.” Those words did have power, but not in the way he might have expected. They only made me push harder to prove him wrong.
Rebecca Pelky holds a PhD from the University of Missouri, an MFA from Northern Michigan University, and is an assistant professor of Film Studies at Clarkson University. She is a member of the Brothertown Indian Nation of Wisconsin and a native of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Through a Red Place, her second poetry collection and winner of the 2021 Perugia Press Prize, was released in September 2021. Her first book, Horizon of the Dog Woman, was published by Saint Julian Press in 2020. Rebecca was one of Yellow Arrow’s ANFRACTUOUS poets with her incredible piece “Nuhpuhk’hqash Qushki Qipit (Braids)” and guest editor of Yellow Arrow Journal’s Vol. VII, No. 1 UpSpring.
Rebecca participated in “An Exploration of Belonging: The Anfractuous Reading” last year. You can hear her read her poem below and find the reading in its entirety on the Yellow Arrow YouTube channel.
You can also see Rebecca host the “Moments in Time: An UpSpring Reading” on YouTube. To learn more about Rebecca, you can find her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, or visit rebeccapelky.com.
.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. #39
Mala Naidoo
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
Never fear being authentic.
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?
Maya Angelou, to say thank you for the inspiration and courage to tell my story.
What is a book you wish someone would write?
The conversations Maya Angelou, Winnie Mandela, and Toni Morrison would have at a Women’s Conference on Diversity and Belonging.
Mala Naidoo is an Australian writer, teacher, and university advisor. She was born in South Africa during the apartheid era which is the impetus for her fictional works which empower the voiceless in a range of societies. Her poignant piece about her journey, “Fear and Hope,” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. VI, No. 2, ANFRACTUOUS. Mala participated in “An Exploration of Belonging: The Anfractuous Reading” last year. You can hear her read part of “Fear and Hope” below and find the reading in its entirety on the Yellow Arrow YouTube channel.
Her fourth poetry book, Random Heart Poetry: Rainbows and Shards, is in the final stages and is set to be published soon. Find Mala on Instagram @mala_naidoo, Facebook @authormalanaidoo, and Twitter @engsaoz or at her website malanaidoo.com.
.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. #38
Zorina Exie Frey
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
Stop overthinking!
How did you first publish your writing and what was it?
I self-published my first book of poetry titled, I Won’t Apologize for Being a Woman (2006).
Describe your ‘normal’ writing environment.
I like writing in busy environments where there’s energy. A coffee house and my living room are where I crank out the good stuff.
Zorina Exie Frey is an essayist, screenwriter, and spoken-word poet working as a publishing content writer and digital designer. Her poem “Vitamin Seed” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. VII, No. 1, UpSpring.
Find Zorina on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @zorinaexie or at her website zorinafrey.com.
.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. #37
Kamella Bird-Romero
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
To never sell myself short. My writing muse is much more confident than regular me, and she carries far more potential than I am aware of. Writing is an out-of-body, almost spiritual practice. The places I visit, the worlds I create, are like dreams and reality meeting for tea.
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
An otter! I adore how carefully otter mothers care for their young. They groom them and float with them as their protectors. I consider each poem, each story, like a child. I cannot choose a favorite, and I am fiercely protective. I am hesitant to ever say something is complete, because words are fluid and forever evolving.
Describe an early experience where you learned that language has power.
My father’s first language is Tewa, followed by Spanish, then thirdly English. He is called upon to speak for our family in times of prayer and gratitude. His words carry heavy sounds and meaning and there is nothing more comforting than listening to my father speak our Indigenous tongue.
My village greatly needs a collection of Indigenous language books for our youth. Tewa is slowly dying out and our children need resources to rekindle it. This is a project I plan to undertake.
Kamella is the first .W.o.W. featured author from Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. VII, No. 1, UpSpring with her poem “short leather.” She was born in northern New Mexico in 1991 and resides on her Tewa ancestral lands in Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo with her three children.
She graduated in May 2022 from the Institute of American Indian Arts with her BFA in creative writing as a first-generation college graduate for her family.
She writes for her Tewa people and for the grandmothers before her.
Find her on Instagram @kamella_renee19.
.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. #36
Christine C. Hsu
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
Keep going.
What is a book you wish someone would write?
Just more Taiwanese American stories. I [was] reading Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu and Bestiary by K-Ming Chang.
Describe an early experience where you learned that language has power.
I was waiting for the BART [Bay Area Rapid Transit] to go home. An elderly man asked me for directions in Chinese and luckily I could speak a little Chinese to help him out. Because I was nice to this guy, another man came up to me asking for help in Spanish, and I was able to help him, too. I remember that when I went to Taiwan, I felt bad because I couldn’t speak Chinese well and needed my parents to help me get around and was happy to help these folks.
Christine C. Hsu is a writer, playwright, and poet based in Oakland, California. Her creative nonfiction piece “Mother Tongues of Confusion, Shame, and Love” was included in RENASCENCE, Vol. VI, No. 1; Christine read an excerpt from it for Renascence: A Reading in 2021. And like Kim Berrios Lin, Christine sat with Taína for a chat before the release of RENASCENCE.
She recently had a poem, “Korean Pirate,” published in the Nonbinary Review, Issue #26: Person of Interest. And very exciting, her first commissioned play, Baijui, for the Fresh Baked Pears Festival began streaming on April 23 and will be available through May 8. It is an all Asian American female cast, director, and playwright so show your support and love before it stops streaming!
Learn more about Christine at medium.com/@hsu.christine and follow her on Twitter @HsuChristineC.