With the success of her highly appraised saga Stripping Asjiah, writer and poet Sa’Rese has established one of the most talented wordsmiths in the game.
You are an amazing poet, when did you first recognize your talent?
Thank you. When people use adjectives like that I always feel weird because I don’t feel like I’m doing anything “amazing”. But I started writing when I was eight. Nothing serious just journals. I entered a contest for the International Society of Poets when I was 14 and won. Even then it didn’t hit me because I did it out of boredom but I guess there was a part of me that was like “huh, I’m kinda good”. My dad gets mad at me for downplaying my talent or being too modest but I think he hypes me up enough for the both of us lol.
How did you evolve into writing novels?
I love to read. Always have since I first learned how and as I got older I began reading “street lit”. It got boring. It was the same storyline over and over again; my boyfriend is a dope boy, I have to strip because he went to jail or my mother is strung out so I turned to the street to get away from her boyfriend. (Insert yawn) so I decided at that moment I was going to write a book and I did.
As the author of a critically acclaimed novel, what advice would you offer other writers?
Advice? Sheesh, I don’t know. My best advice would probably be not to lose your voice. Don’t let a publishing house or anyone for that matter water you down.
You wrote a book based on real life, describe the reaction from the people close to you.
Ha. A lot of people were shocked. Some were offended or felt as though certain characters hit too close to home. My response was “Oh well. If the shoe fits, buy an outfit to match”. But I got a lot of positive responses from people in all walks of life. People who were thankful I talked about things like physical abuse and incest. Those close to me harass me every day for part three lol.
What can people expect from you in the immediate future?
There’s so much I want to do I have to reel myself in and try to plan otherwise I’m all over the place. But there’s definitely a poetry book in the future as well as my website, and more novels.
Do you think you will ever sign to another publishing house?
As of right now, no. The offer would have to be one I couldn’t turn down. And they’d have to grant me creative freedom.
What are the benefits of being independent?
I don’t have to answer to anyone but myself. I control my content and what I put out there. I’m not in a box which is great because I think I’m too many things to try to fit in one lane. I’m free to take chances and I love that.
– BE’N ORIGINAL
