Writer finds her voice through program
It took Chelene Knight a while to be comfortable calling herself a writer. You could say she鈥檚 now making up for lost time. While she always knew she wanted to write, the hardworking single mom didn鈥檛 give herself the chance to pursue her passion until she joined The Writer鈥檚 Studio (TWS) at 大象传媒. With one book published (Braided Skin, Mother Tongue Publishing, 2015) and another on the way (Dear Current Occupant, to be published by BookThug) today Chelene wholeheartedly embraces the career she always wanted. Fully immersed in the literary world, she also serves as managing editor for Room magazine and poetry editor for emerge, the TWS student anthology. Having focused on poetry in her first TWS experience, Chelene is now rejoining the program to try her hand at fiction.
We sat down with Chelene to chat about her experience in The Writer鈥檚 Studio, what inspires her, and some of her goals for the future:
Chelene, have you always wanted to be a writer?
Always did. It鈥檚 so cool, you want to be something when you鈥檙e a kid and then, look, you鈥檙e doing it. It feels amazing. And when I was younger I was told I couldn鈥檛 do it, which makes it even sweeter. Some of my family said, 鈥淲hat are you ever going to write? You can鈥檛 write a book.鈥� And now I have a book, and when I held it, it was pretty amazing.
You got published quite quickly. How did that happen?
I think I had the book contract before I finished the program. Within two weeks of me sending it to Mother Tongue, the publisher sent me an email saying she loves the manuscript and wants to take more time with it over the holidays. So after Christmas she let me know that, yes, she wants to publish it. It was the best day.
How did you feel writing the first book compared to the second book?
Writing the first book was easier, because I had the support of The Writer鈥檚 Studio. I had that structure in place. I had someone pretty much always asking, 鈥淲hat did you write today?鈥� And we had to share a lot of our pieces. Dear Current Occupant was written 100% on my own, so I felt like it was a lot harder. I did workshop a lot of the pieces, but it was just a big struggle for me to get it out. And because it was so personal, sometimes I鈥檇 have to stop for months and put it away and then go back to it again. It was a different process but it was also amazing.
Was The Writer鈥檚 Studio program what you expected?
I didn鈥檛 know what to expect going in, and orientation day was pretty eye-opening. Everyone was sharing their experience, their educational backgrounds, and you would hear some people were already lawyers, they were doctors, they had their MFAs already. I didn鈥檛 have any of that. So right away I was intimidated, like, is this the right spot? Am I supposed to be here? But I think because of that I was a little bit hungrier. I wanted to absorb everything I could.
How was it for you going back to school?
The program gave me structure in a super supportive environment. It was also nice that it was part-time, because I鈥檓 a single parent. That was a big pressure, but I found out there were other single parents in the program, so I could relate to people immediately. I was worried it was going to be a bunch of young folks who are just doing this to kill time, and I鈥檓 taking it so seriously. It actually worked out really well. It was a good mix of people in their sixties, their twenties, thirties, mid-career. A really diverse group of people.
What did you gain throughout the program? How did it help prepare you?
The Reading Series was my first real introduction to sharing my work with an audience, which was terrifying. But had I not done that, I don鈥檛 think I would be where I am right now. You have to do interviews if your book comes out. You have to do a whole bunch of press stuff. So they include that focus in the program, but they don鈥檛 pressure you, and I think that鈥檚 nice.
What was your biggest challenge and how did you navigate it?
I had two major issues and one of them was I felt I didn鈥檛 have enough experience to contribute to conversations. A lot of the discussion would often be on writers I hadn鈥檛 read or heard of. So that was a big struggle. I also felt like a few people were too advanced for the program. But then I thought, I can just learn something from them. So I kind of latched onto those people. I overcame that fear of not feeling good enough by just absorbing more. I felt like if I didn鈥檛 know something I just asked more questions, and people were so willing to give me answers. They didn鈥檛 feel like I wasn鈥檛 good enough to be there, and that was really key for me.
Do you still keep in touch with your classmates?
We鈥檙e all still really close, and I think that鈥檚 the best thing鈥攈aving that sense of community that doesn鈥檛 end when TWS is over. You take that with you if you choose to. So when you have success you can share it. It鈥檚 really nice.
Who have been some of your writing influences?
I have a few writers I always go back to. Toni Morrison is one. I think she鈥檚 in her 80s now and her writing just keeps getting better. You know you can鈥檛 really run out of steam unless you choose to. And Jamaica Kincaid is pretty amazing. Music also inspires me a lot.
What鈥檚 the most rewarding thing about your writing?
Being able to share my experience and then have someone come up to me and say I鈥檝e helped them in some way. The last time that happened I was doing a reading and I was talking about my book Braided Skin. I got really deep into the poems about hair and ethnicity, and afterwards one girl came up to me and said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 like you told my story.鈥� And I thought, yes, that鈥檚 what I want to do鈥攕hare something and have somebody say it helped them in a positive way. That鈥檚 amazing. You can鈥檛 put a price tag on that.
What projects are you working on now?
I am in The Writer's Studio again working on a novel. It's set in the 1940s鈥�1960s in the Strathcona neighbourhood, back when there was a large Black community in Vancouver. It's about an artist and how she navigates her life while trying to find her footing in her own family, community, and within herself.
How would you describe your goals for the future?
One of my biggest goals is to teach writing at some point. I want to work with youth. I feel like if I had had some mentorship as a teenager, I would have been writing earlier, instead of waiting until my 30s. Just looking back three years ago, if I had set these goals for myself that I鈥檝e already achieved, I would鈥檝e said there鈥檚 no way in hell I鈥檓 going do any of this. When I start feeling like I can鈥檛 do any more, I look back and think, 鈥楲ook what you鈥檝e done in a few years, of course you can do more!鈥� So I have to keep reminding myself that it鈥檚 all possible, and it鈥檚 good to have these goals. No matter how big they are, you can get there.
By Coriana Constanda