A Q&A with Sarah Kay
Question: How old were you when you started writing poetry?
Sarah Kay: I’ve been making poems since I could string words
together. Before I knew how to write, I used to follow my mother
around the house and yell, "Poem!" until she found a pen and
paper to write down my dictation. I think that’s why she taught
me how to write early on, so I would stop making her do it for
me.
Question: Are your parents poets? Did they influence your
interest in poetry?
Sarah Kay: From kindergarten through fourth grade I brought my
lunch to school with me every day. And every day for those five
years, one of my parents wrote me a poem and tucked it in my
lunchbox. It was usually on a colored piece of paper, folded in
half. They were short poems that were sort of Dr. Seuss-y or Shel
Silverstein-esque. They made poetry something to look forward to.
Each note was a story, a message, a secret, a rhyme; each note
made me stop whatever I was doing and surrender to the surprise
inside. I don’t think either one of them considers themselves
poets, but they definitely gave me a hunger (wink!) for poetry.
Question: Did you always perform your poetry?
Sarah Kay: Absolutely not. All of my early poetry was strictly
journal poetry. I had terrible stage fright and never wanted to
be in the spotlight. It wasn’t until I was 14 that I discovered
Spoken Word Poetry at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City. I
was adopted by a wonderful community of poets and even though my
stage fright didn’t disappear, the reward of being part of such
an amazing group of people was enough to drown out the fear.
Question: What did your mother say when she first heard your
poem, "B"?
Sarah Kay: I had a really hard time writing that poem. When I
finally finished it, I called my mother on the phone from my
freshman dorm at college and read the entire thing to her. I was
really emotional by the end of it. When I finished the last line,
I waited to hear what she would say. After a long pause she said,
"That’s nice, Missy. Can you read me the beginning again? I think
I heard a grammatical error." That’s why I love her. She’s very
practical.
Question: What’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to you
on stage?
Sarah Kay: I travel around the country performing and teaching
Spoken Word Poetry in schools with Phil Kaye and Project
V.O.I.C.E. It’s exhausting and exhilarating, and I count my
blessings every day that I get to do what I do. A lot of really
cool things happen on stage. The coolest? A couple of years ago
we performed at a middle school in Southern California. It was
the first time we had ever performed there and it was the first
time anyone in the school had ever seen Spoken Word. We were
nervous about it, because it was a pretty conservative school,
but everyone really enjoyed themselves. The next year, we were
invited back to the same school. Halfway through our performance,
we asked if anybody in the audience had a poem they wanted to
share and a little boy came bolting up onto the stage. He didn’t
even raise his hand. When he got up there he said, "I wrote this
poem the day after you left last year. I’ve been waiting all year
for a chance to perform it for you." That was the coolest thing
that’s ever happened to me on stage. Second place would probably
be getting a standing ovation at the TED conference. Although at
the time I didn’t think it was cool. I was just freaking out. I
was worried that the audience was clapping for too long and was
terrified that they were taking up too much time. TED is very
strict about time limits. I was convinced I would be pulled off
stage.
Question: Who is Sophia Janowitz? And why illustrations?
Sarah Kay: Sophia Janowitz is my oldest friend. When we were
three months old, we had our first playdate in the park in our
neighborhood. We’ve been friends ever since. When we were little,
we used to make art projects together. I would tell Sophia
stories and Sophia would make amazing art out of whatever random
material was around. When we graduated college, we moved into an
apartment together in Brooklyn and returned to our childhood
practice of project-making. When I decided to make "B" into a
book, I wanted it to be more than just a transcript of the poem.
I really wanted it to be its own object, with its own
personality. I knew Sophia was the woman for the job. Thank
goodness she said yes.
Question: Last question. What color rain boots do you have?
Sarah Kay: My last pair was black with white polka dots. My
mother found them for me at one of the stores at Union Square in
New York City. But they have sprung a few leaks. Maybe I need a
new pair.
