Josslyn Turner

Oyster River Pages: How has your writing or art changed over time?

Josslyn Turner: When I had a poetry blog three years ago, I was going through deep depression. I used poetry to release my dark thoughts. My influences were doom metal bands like Paradise Lost and Swallow the Sun. After taking a poetry writing course in college, I realized that my poetry sounded more like song lyrics. I learned to use poetic devices such as imagery, metaphors, and similes.

ORP: How does writing or making art change you?

JT: Writing has always made it easier for me to express myself. If I write something stupid I can delete and revise. I can’t do that if I say something stupid. Making abstract art pushes me to let go of my inhibitions.

ORP: Do you consider your writing/artistic time to be work or play?

JT: Writing can be both. It feels like work when I can’t come up with anything that makes sense. But it’s also fun to play with language. Art is always playtime.

ORP: What’s next for you artistically?

JT: I want to write a novel in verse. But wanting and doing are two different things.

ORP: How does this work connect to your personal experiences/identity?

JT: In poetry I often write about my experiences as a trans woman. In fiction I will continue to do that through my characters.

Josslyn Turner is a transgender poet, writer, and abstract artist. She is currently an English Major at Modesto Junior College with a goal to earn a BA in English and an MFA in poetry. Her poems have won 3rd and 2nd places respectively in MJC’s Celebration of the Humanities. Other works appeared in South 85, Across & Through, Penumbra, and Voice of Eve. She lives in Waterford, California where she crashes on her mother’s couch and co-parents two boys. Listen to Josslyn read her poetry here.