For this month's Writing Communities newsletter, we chatted with the 2024 Writing in Color Emerging Writers Fellow, Akusua Akoto, to find out what creative resilience means to her. Check out her answers below and swing by her Mother's Day reading event at Petals & Pages of Denver on May 11.
How did you first get involved with Lighthouse?
I started taking Lighthouse classes as a student under the guidance of my friend Hilary Leftwich. Lighthouse offers me a sense of community not just as a writer, but in other areas of my life.
How has the Writing in Color Emerging Writers Fellowship supported your writing practice?
Thanks to this fellowship, I have felt seen in ways that are different from my past experiences in academia. I feel inspired being in community with other writers at Lighthouse.
What does the phrase “Creative Resilience” mean to you?
It means courage to me. When I think of creative resilience as a writer, especially during these times of fear and silence, there's always that question: as a writer, how can I be courageous today? How can my work show up with courage? I think about the questions I have for myself and the world not just as a writer, but as a human terrified of what is and what will happen.
What are you passionate about writing?
For this manuscript about myself, my mother, and my grandmother, I'm interested in exploring how we have existed as Black women; the ways in which we didn't understand each other or ourselves, the ways in which we were not understood or cared for in our family, our community, and in the world. I suppose I'm also passionate about difficult stories about mother-daughter relationships. There are years, if not decades, of stories that existed in my home, watching my mother in psychiatric facilities, in my community, and in other places.
What advice would you give to emerging writers who might feel defeated or frustrated in their writing practice?
I would definitely say you have to be the biggest fan of your own work. You have to be your biggest supporter and your harshest critic. At the same time, you have to find community. After surviving college, I often felt defeated and frustrated, but Lighthouse is very different because you get a community of writers who care about your work. You don’t have to bring a polished version of yourself. You're not competing. Your voice is needed a lot more than you realize.
Read more about Akusua and past Writing in Color Fellows here.
