Art + Poetry
When did you start drawing?
When I was around 13, I had a cousin who came out of prison. I would see all of these drawings he did while he was locked up. He gave me a bunch of his unfinished pieces that he did while he was in prison and I would just try to finish them by mimicking his work and shading them in. When I actually started drawing my own stuff, I think it was around 2007- while I was in the SHU at Pelican Bay State Prison.
What led you to pick up that hobby?
I seen all the other guys here drawing around me and I thought it was pretty cool. They told me it was their way of saying thank you to their loved ones on the outside who helped them. So, I thought it would be a great way to show my appreciation to my friends and family. A small gesture I could do because I wasn’t able to afford to buy gifts during important holidays.
What have been some of your greatest challenges with drawing?
I'm kind of tone deaf when it comes to shading. I need to literally see things in black and white in order to see light and shadows and where shading goes. Recently, I've started trying to be a little more loose and work with what I’m creating and transforming it into something else if it doesn’t turn out exactly how I want it to.
How about poetry, can you talk a little bit about that?
Back in the day, I used to try and write punk rock and rap songs and I started noticing that it was pretty similar to poetry. When I wound up in the SHU I started writing more. I wrote this pretty poem about a girl and showed it to a friend, and they thought it was dope. He asked me to write one for his girl, so it kinda became a thing. People would describe their loved ones and I would just write all these love poems for the guys here. But it was actually when I met you, Magida, you showed so much interest in my poetry and that kind of pushed me to keep writing.
What has it done for you - mentally, spiritually?
Poetry is just a way to express myself. Discussing mental health stuff is frowned upon here, so a lot of the time I keep things to myself. With poetry, especially during my darkest days, the seven years being stuck in the SHU, poetry was just a way to channel my thoughts and emotions through words. I started to feel proud to share my work the more you (Magida) praised it. I submitted some of my pieces to a competition we had here in prison and won. People seem to like my thoughts and the way I express them. I suppose it could be relatable to the guys here. And the more I started writing, the more I started getting inspired by the things around me, which in the SHU, wasn’t a lot. I’d watch TV and I would pick pretty things to talk about, like the galaxy, the stars, inspired by historical events or people. It’s just a good feeling to get those thoughts out. When I look back and reflect on them, it helps me learn new things about myself.