By Phyllis R. Dixon, Special to TSDMemphis.com
Patricia Spears Jones’ impressive body of work boasts four poetry collections and reflects her inclusion in numerous anthologies. April being National Poetry Month, I deemed it an appropriate time to catch up with the Mid-South native.
Named one of Essence Magazine’s “40 Poets We Love,” Jones writes about race, class, sex, love and history. And she muses about Mary J. Blige just as easily as she contemplates the Femme du monde.
Firmly planted in Brooklyn and now teaching at City University of New York, Jones remains a Southern girl at her core, with siblings and other relatives in Memphis and Arkansas. After making time for this interview, she noted that her late mother would have been thrilled to see her daughter profiled in The New Tri-State Defender.
Phyllis R. Dixon: So how does a little girl from Forrest City become a renowned poet/writer/playwright in New York City?
Patricia Spears Jones: As a child, I loved to read. I had wonderful teachers, who reinforced my love of reading and learning. Rhodes College was called Southwestern back then, and they offered me a scholarship. Memphis was close enough that I could go home if needed, but fulfilled my desire to go away to school. I enjoyed the arts and became active with the theater group. When I graduated, I went to New York and never left.
PRD: Tell me about your latest book – “A Lucent Fire: New and Selected Poems.”
PSJ: This book includes four decades of work, some previously published and some new. Topics include love and lost, the struggle for justice and power, travel and beauty. The title is a phrase from another poem, which captured the elements of light and heat that I was looking for. I would also mention the book, “Of Poetry and Protest: From Emmitt Till to Trayvon Martin.” My work was included in this collection of essays and poems that speaks to race and social justice.
PRD: After decades of work, you are receiving well-deserved accolades, such as Rhodes College Distinguished Alumnus in 2013 and the 2017 Pushcart Prize. How does that feel?
PSJ: I am very pleased to know that my work is being recognized and published. The award from Rhodes College was very special. My mother had just passed away and I know she would have been so happy to share that moment.
I had been nominated for the Pushcart Prize for several years – and did not win. This time, I didn’t even know the publisher had nominated my poem. To win is a big deal in the world of poetry. The poem, titled “Etta James At the Audubon Ballroom,” tells of an imagined Etta James performance, with Malcolm X in the audience. I saw Etta James in concert and am a huge fan. I have no idea if Malcolm X ever attended her performance, but the poem is my way to animate these two incredible, dynamic and fierce voices.
PRD: You mentioned Etta James. Your work has elements of the blues and reviewers have described you as a “blues goddess,” and writing with the “intensity of a blues singer.” Was this by design?
PSJ: I grew up in Arkansas in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70’s. Blues was all around. We listened to WDIA every morning. But there was also gospel, and the local station played everything from pop to country. So I heard it all. Music influenced me, but I think it was just the culture of the Delta. The only thing that cannot be controlled is how the heart and soul responds to your world. That’s the source of all art.
PRD: How have your Mid-south origins influenced your work?
PSJ: Arkansas is beautiful with strong people, but there is also violence and brutality in our history. We are a people who make a way where there is no way and my mother was determined to provide opportunities for us. There is racism now, but it was worse then. When I was young, the public schools recessed in the spring and fall so people could plant and pick cotton. The white schools did not take this “break.” Things were even harder for my grandparents. But that also fostered a sense of independence for which I am grateful. It gives me a core and I know who I am.
