Airea Johnson
Oyster River Pages: How does your own writing or art surprise you?
Airea Johnson: I'm shocked at how sincere my poems are. When I write, I have no reason not to lay everything out, but sometimes I'll write something and think "Oh shit, do I really think this?" When I write, I have an idea of what I want to express, and I let that one idea carry me from each line to the next. I rarely ever have a game plan.
ORP: Do you rely more on discipline, inspiration, or something else when writing or creating artwork?
AJ: I'd say I rely on inspiration. My writing is very situational, so I depend on moments to propel my writing. From those moments, I usually unlock a bigger picture. For instance, a few weeks ago I was at the bar and someone I briefly dated brought his new date, and I was so shocked I wrote a poem about it. Of course, I wrote about how mad I was, but I also observed inadequacy, guilt, pining, unrequited love, etc.
ORP: What is your favorite piece that you have written or created? If applicable, please link us to the site where it is published so we can share it along with your response!
AJ: I've always been enamoured with luck. My dad would always point out pennies on the ground and tell us that they were lucky so I developed a lot of "lucky" rituals (flipping a cigarette in my pack, no idea why). So, my favorite poem I've written is called "Winning Cosmic Yahtzee." Lately, I've felt unlucky so the poem explores luck and fatalism.
ORP: What do you see as the greatest obstacle or challenge to your personal creativity? How do you work to overcome it?
AJ: I enjoy almost every poem I write so it's difficult for me to self-edit. My choices make sense to me and every image/line is intentional; unfortunately, that means I insist everything I include in the poem is necessary. To fight this I usually look for words I could cut from the poem, usually articles and adverbs. Sometimes I'll read it aloud to myself.
