Writer interview: Naami

Profile

Naami began writing poetry and short stories at the age of 15.

Some of these poems later became part of a self published work titled ‘’Dear Nay: a book of poems and excerpts of life’’ that she shared with the world through Amazon in 2019.

Naami first shared her poetry in spoken word form in 2013 at a local church in Los Angeles, and has gone on to work with FACT Liverpool, Rooted magazine and perform for Blackfest, Outspoken poetry, A lovely word and the poetry place in Manchester.

Naami’s poetry is multifaceted, covering Love and heartbreak, Faith and spirituality, trauma, mental health, self love and societal issues.

Naami’s purpose in sharing her poetry with the World is with the hopes that it will touch the hearts of those who can relate, shed light on the darkness that we sometimes face, and most importantly to glorify truth by allowing God to shine through.

Interview

Where did your love of creativity start, was it general or your art medium specifically?

•⁠ ⁠I remember being around 15yrs old when I began to feel a spark of creativity within me start to flourish. I was an illegal immigrant in the United States at the time, and being that I had just realised this about myself, it caused me some internal challenges as a teenager. As a good student in English/language arts and spelling, I felt drawn to writing as a way to express myself. I began writing short stories with a bit of a personal twist and later developed into more poetry based writing.

When did you have the “ i have a talent moment”?

•⁠ ⁠To be honest, I’m not sure if I ever really felt this way about myself. Writing was more of sort of an outlet for me. Then I worked in entertainment from the age of 18 to my late twenties (modeling and acting) and that’s where I generally drew confidence from regarding my creative side. It wasn’t really until around 2020 when I started really feeling comfortable sharing and performing my poetry as spoken word. Before then I was much more self conscious about it and felt it should be kept private, especially with a lot of my poetry being so personal in terms of what I was writing about. I suppose when I started sharing it a couple of years ago, and receiving feedback I felt as if it was more necessary to be more open to sharing. over the last couple of years my poetry has shifted a lot in alignment with my journey to a stronger religious faith and in that process, I’ve realised that the words that generally come to me are more than what I can personally comprehend. So although now I have come to realise that I have a gift, it’s not mine to claim if that makes sense. it comes from something higher and more powerful than myself.

“What does spiritually affect your writing?”

•⁠ ⁠My writing over the last 3 and a half years has had more of a spiritual/religious element to it as it has evolved with my own personal evolution. My connection to God I feel is where the initial inspiration of my writing stems from today, and although that is very much not the norm in modern secular society, I very much am glad for my writing to represent something that I feel is bigger and much more important than myself and my own selfish desires. I tend to be inspired to write about societal issues that I observe on a daily basis, and somewhat controversial topics that are often uncomfortable for me to even address. However, it’s often those things that are hard to say - that perhaps need to be said more.

“Did religion always follow your work?”

•⁠ ⁠No, not at all! My writing was initially more subject to societal norms. I wrote about highly emotive topics, even delved into mental health and other struggles throughout life, whether that be love, friendships, family problems and even trauma. It is only in the last couple of years, as I have grown and began to see a bit more of the bigger picture - I have put less focus on me and my feelings. I have realised there are bigger fish to fry.

“Is there any writers who you would say embody the introspective nature of poetry?”

•⁠ ⁠Oh wow, that’s a tough question I mean…there’s so many talented writers out there! I don’t personally have what you’d call favourites these days, though back in the day I’d say I was quite inspired by Tupac Shakur and Jhene Aiko. I do tend to veer more towards poetry that has a message, whether that be spiritual or societal or personal. I do enjoy watching performers who know how to captivate a crowd with their words, however I have yet to find many poets in a spiritual/religious genre that I can look up to. I’m sure there are some out there! I just have yet to find them.

“When did your hobby become a passion; then a job?”

•⁠ ⁠I don’t think my hobby ever became a job really. I’d say it became a passion around the age of 18 for me, as that’s when I started writing more and putting together bits that were later published as my first book. Around 5 years ago is when I first started receiving paid poetry gigs, and although it’s wonderful to be paid to do what you love - that’s something that happens on a very rare occasion for me. So it’s definitely not something I could survive on as a job. Though I’ve found my niche, I have yet to find the right scene or crowd for my kind of work.

What feedback will you give your younger self?

•⁠ ⁠My younger self was very emotion based and that caused a lot of grief and despair in my life. I would tell my younger self to hold tight to the faith that she doesn’t have to figure it all out on her own. she has a loving Father God who can and will hold her hand throughout every trial and burden that she may bare. and no matter how dark things may become, there is always light at the end of the tunnel as long as she places her anxieties in her creators hands and trusts that he knows what’s best, but at the same time recognising that everything in this material world is passing and temporary. so try not to be so attached!

To see her work

Instagram: Naamijsoye