Sitting in Silence Interview

with Poet Maya Williams

Greetings to new subscribers and welcome to Sitting in Silence, a newsletter for writers, readers, and thinkers. The interview is a popular ongoing feature of the newsletter. I love talking to writers about inspiration, craft, and life. They never disappoint. So, from time to time, you’ll find these intimate and enlightening conversations in this space. Today’s conversation is with Poet Maya Williams.

Maya Williams (ey/em, they/them, and she/her) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who is currently an Ashley Bryan Fellow and was selected as the seventh Poet Laureate of Portland, Maine  for a July 2021 to July 2024 term. Maya was a student at Randolph College MFA when I was new faculty. They’re also a friend.

Thanks to all who purchased a copy of my latest novel, The American Daughters. You made it a national bestseller! You can get a copy for the holiday season through your local independent bookseller or through bookshop.org below.

https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-american-daughters-maurice-carlos-ruffin/20147950?ean=9780593729397

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Now, for our interview. Photo by Kari Mosel.

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Maurice: What are your earliest memories of reading or writing poems or stories?

Maya: My earliest memories of reading involve being read The Cat in the Hat by my mother or my grandmother. We read it so much, I had it memorized! Hahaha. My earliest memory of writing a story is when I was five stapling computer paper together to create a book. My earliest memory of writing a poem is when I was eight years old in school having fun with rhyming. 

Maurice: You started so young! Beyond the rhyming aspect, what is it that has kept you engaged with poetry since you were eight?

Maya: Aww thank you! I believe what kept me engaged with poetry since I was eight was how it allowed me to express myself at my own cadence. I allowed me to be creative and outside of myself. Especially as a mentally ill young person, that point was really important to me. It still is. So it moves me as an adult seeing young people engage with poetry to express themselves too. 

Maurice: Speaking of finding your own cadence, we initially met through the low-res MFA where I teach, Randolph. You were (and are) beloved among your peers in that program. What led you to wanting a formalized education? Was that always a plan for you, or more a recent choice?

Maya: Yes, we did! Awww thank you so much! YOU'RE so beloved along with the rest of the faculty!

That's a really good question!

So, in my undergrad, I was a dual degree student in Social Work (which before that was Sociology, and before that Psychology) and English (which was the only constant, haha). I primarily did not want to get an MFA because of the traditional structures of the workshop often being discouraging from what I've heard from people in my life. I also wanted to get my MSW at the time to get my clinical license. But then I changed my mind to focus on a community practice track in my MSW program so I could pursue community art practices without art therapy as the main route. I also changed my mind about getting licensed at all, haha. I was following Kaveh Akbar (before he was solely on Instagram) and Eloisa Amezcua on Twitter and saw the application for Randolph's low-residency program and applied. I honestly thought the phrase "low-residency" meant that it was just that, a week-long residency for writers. I did not read the instructions close enough to recognize it as a two-year long residency. I was so excited to apply, I guess. I got into formalized education in regards to my MFA by accident. When I realized that, I told myself, "You know what? This is fine! If I don't like it, I can leave!" It turned out to be a happy accident! I started the program in June 2020 and graduated in June 2022. 

Maurice: I've had the pleasure of reading your poetry and hearing you perform. One thing that I find striking is that you seem unafraid to deal with heavy topics. You have this one poem "Drafts of Every Obituary for a Death by Suicide" that is just devastating. Even the title makes me wonder if I need to give a content warning before sharing. How do you see yourself dealing with such traumatic spaces or materials? And is that part of your mission as a poet, to go into those places?

Maya: I see myself dealing with those spaces by making sure I'm in therapy regularly. Poetry can be therapeutic, sure, but it is not the same as therapy. Everyone's writing process is different, but I know that for me, I need time to process trauma (especially related to someone's suicide as someone who attempted suicide at a young age) before writing something about it down on the page and before I decide whether or not it's a piece I want to share with others. As a poet, it has taken so much practice to become vulnerable on the page. It's still a practice. I still remember during my thesis semester at Randolph, Kaveh told me "Listen, the poems are telling on you" and that has rocked with my practice ever since. I go into those places because I choose to. I go into those places as a reminder of where I've been, where I am, and where I'm going. 

Maurice:  That's so brave. I don't know where you're specifically going next, but you're possibly the most prolific writer I know working today. So, I will bet there's another book in your future. I know that you've published three excellent collections of poetry (Judas & Suicide, Refused a Second Date, and What's So Wrong with a Pity Party Anyway?). But am I right that these all came out in the past two years? What is your practice for writing with such proficiency? 

Maya: You're so so kind! YOU'RE such a prolific writer, it means so much! YES! Judas & Suicide and Refused a Second Date both came out last year in 2023. What's So Wrong with a Pity Party Anyway? came out last month of this year in 2024. My writing practice has definitely varied over the years. I'll try my best to stay talking about my writing practice for these three collections and current projects. I had been working on Judas & Suicide for three years, before starting my time at Randolph, was submitting it to different publishers, then Game Over Books accepted it in 2021 for release in 2023. I had started working on Refused a Second Date during my time at Randolph initially as a chapbook, then Small Harbor Publishing reached out to me asking if I had any manuscripts, they accepted Refused a Second Date, and then through a year of more work it became a full length. What's So Wrong with a Pity Party Anyway? is from my ninety page thesis at Randolph that became a thirty-seven page chapbook over the span of two years, haha! 

I'm really grateful for the writing communities I got to be a part of and build in Portland, Maine. I run a Sunday writing workshop weekly in a hybrid format that's online and in person at a cute spot in downtown Portland called Novel. I also run an open mic series every Tuesday night where we have a different poet feature every week. I love having calls with friends like you and many more writers in my life. I write prayers when I can, though it's not a daily practice. I have been working on another full-length manuscript that keeps getting rejected (haha, we know how it is). And in order to remain upbeat amidst the rejections I work on poetry commissions (if folks would love to hire me to write a poem, email me at mayawilliams16@gmail.com!), I submit essays to online sites, I read a lot, I facilitate writing workshops at schools (always open for bookings for that), I perform in featured readings (see prior parenthetical), and I have been working on a prose project that will take a while to complete. The prose project will be about pilgrimages to death sites, religion, and grief. 

I write so much because I want to stay so involved! 

Maurice: Staying involved is a perfect segue to my next question. What is "The Purpose" of poetry as you see it, if there is one?

Maya: The purpose of poetry as I see it is to provide the pulse to inspire advocacy, movement, being alive, and healing. Certainly doesn’t have to be limited to those things, but that’s definitely what I think of first when I think of the purpose of poetry. 

Maurice: We just had an election, and a lot of people I love are hurt by the outcome. Others wonder what writing can do in times like these. I think it's important to stay healthy, bear witness, and create. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Maya: I have a lot of people I love hurt by the outcome too. You and I are very much hurt by the outcome. It's not a surprise, but it doesn't make it any less disappointing or hurtful the second time around. Writing can help during times like this only if you want it to. If you force it or ignore the urge, you're not helping anyone, let alone yourself. I agree with you, it's super important to stay healthy, bear witness, and create. It's super important to make time for rest and it's super important to stay aware. Cynicism is tempting, but it will not sustain us. Wanting to bow out of everything is tempting, but it will not support us. Writing will not save us, but it gives us the pulse we need to do tangible work. Natural joy is an act of resistance in times like these. Staying alive out of a righteous spite, pissing off the people who voted for our death, pissing off the people in power who want us dead, is an act of resistance. 

Maurice: It's always a pleasure to back and forth with you, Maya! What brings you joy and are there any things you're particularly thankful for in this season?

Maya: What brings me joy is my mother, my fiancé, my siblings, my niblings, youth and their poetry, elders and their poetry, theater, children’s books, children’s reactions to plays and movies, sunsets, the full moon at the time of writing this, therapy, fresh new books delivered to my home, getting paid on time, poetry commissions, hydration, the video game Life is Strange: Double Exposure, any podcast Jamie Loftus has created and co-created, Gatorade, healing journeys of loved ones, and hugs. (Oh, how I’d make this list longer)

I’m particularly thankful for my fiancé, my mom visiting me in Maine at the time of this writing, Excedrin, and loving affectionate text messages from the friends who love me and see me. I’m particularly thankful for YOU for encouraging me to be a part of your written series! Thank you, Maurice!