July 19, 2022

REWIND: The Power of Voice & Validation with Khalisa Rae

1 hour 5 minutes

On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha is speaking with multi-genre literary artist Khalisa Rae. An essayist, journalist, budding novelist, and poet, Khalisa is the author of the chapbook Real Girls Have Real Problems. Her debut full-length poetry collection, Ghost in a Black Girl's Throat is out now from Red Hen Press. Khalisa, who is based in Durham, NC is the founder of Think In Inkand the Women Speak Reading series and Writing Center Director at Shaw University.

Episode Notes

On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha is speaking with multi-genre literary artist Khalisa Rae. An essayist, journalist, budding novelist, and poet, Khalisa is the author of the chapbook Real Girls Have Real Problems. Her debut full-length poetry collection, Ghost in a Black Girl's Throat is out now from Red Hen Press. Khalisa, who is based in Durham, NC is the founder of Think In Inkand the Women Speak Reading series and Writing Center Director at Shaw University.

Khalisa, who speaks with fierce rebellion, says being a writer in the South and the only Black woman in many spaces has taught her many lessons along her publishing journey that she learned through trial and error. In this conversation, she opens up about childhood sexual trauma, the intense racism and oppression she experienced upon migrating from the Midwest to the South and how acknowledging her trauma informs her work and helps heal her pen to page. Khalisa also offers this pro-tip for other creatives, "Do 5 creative things that have nothing to do with making a coin," to keep your creative cup full.

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