-Christena WilliamsWhat was your family background like growing up?
I grew up in Portmore otherwise known as “sunshine city” in a small community with my mother and three brothers as my dad left us when I was about one or two years old. He moved out to live with another woman leaving us practically in an unpaid house, bills unpaid, no furniture and such so you know we were what you would call poor. I however didn’t know that we were poor because my mom a disciplinarian was very strict with us. We were not allowed to visit neghbours house as I think she wanted to protect us. She didn’t want us to feel ashamed of ourselves and our circumstances. I was however young but able to understand that there was something different about us but as a child you would not be so caught up about stuff like that. I do however, remember when I used to play cricket with limes with my brothers, you could say I am a tomboy even up to now;those limes were so small but we used what we had to play and I would not trade that for the new technologies in the world because those memories are priceless. I grew up in a time when being a child was fun. I am glad I was able to experience the old Jamaican luxury which was I had kites, making it from scratch. In addition, we had what we called box trucks as we used box drinks and its corks as the wheels to make trucks, which was so great. What I can say is that I had so much fun learning how to be creative and independent and having that family moment. I would not trade my poverty-stricken life for riches because it made me the person I am today. I cannot pen everything about my background in this interview but I can say that my life is truly a journey with all the restrictions we survived those times without light, water or food or having clothes. Many times when we got water from neghbours when I wanted to bathe and my mother reused that same water to bather herself. We shared food and there were times when there was none and I would drink water and go to my bed. We did not have cable or computers so I read a lot. As I write all this I am in tears reflecting how far we came from and this is story like many but this is my story and so when I can achieve certain things it means a lot because of the journey. I could not have survived without family and friends and most importantly God. There is something I remember as if it was yesterday. I was at home and we were all hungry and my mom cried to God for help and in like a hour or two I saw a vehicle drove up and it was Pastor Wright with boxes of food for us. My background may be considered poverty but I saw it as life teachings that today I may appreciate life and people. There is more to my story, however I think have given enough food for thought and I hope that when others read this that they will appreciate what little they have, as you might never know who has less so I am grateful that I can share this.
What are your plans for the future? Honestly, I make preparations but God is the true decider of the future. Whatever God has planned for me I would want that to accomplish by the end of my life I want to fulfill my destiny. I am currently reading the BA History at University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. My plans initially was to do law as I love law but things changed. I do not know I might still become a criminal lawyer or I do not know. One thing for sure is that I will still be writing and I hope I can own a publishing company to assist young unrecognized writers, as I know too well the difficulty.
What motivated you to get into poetry? I now understand that I have a gift of writing however, I actual began with drawing. I was actually pretty good as my dad is a signed artist but eventually hated it. I am not sure why if it has something to do with my dad or whatever. I was always writing however, from a young age.when I would leave my pen uncovered by mistake. I swear by mistake it would mark my mother’s curtains and the walls and she would make a fuss and be so upset with me and now I laugh about it with her because now we know I am a writer. I also remember I attempted writing music because my brother Richard is so talented. I do wish he would have self-confidence. I remember he would indulge in deejaying with our neghbours, keygan and I was inspired but I was not good with listening rhythms and make a song or much of a singer. I think what motivated me was when my mom bought world of poetry and when I read it, it opened a world of imagination and what gave me the added push was when I read “ I rise” and “phenomenal woman” By Maya Angelou. I cannot explain fully the emotion that came over me other than I was inspired. I could feel through her words not knowing of her life’s journey but only someone who has experienced life in those ways could write so powerful that I could vision her life and I was empowered. Her words were so profound that I felt like she was speaking to me face to face and I said to myself that I wish I could write poetry like that. Apart from her, God, family, friends my country does motivate me to write. My mom has been through so much so I think women just like Dr. Angelou write about her and others experience of being a strong black woman. I am not a feminist but I love writing about women and topics pertaining to women not to disregard how versatile I am as I write on various themes.
What are your achievements to date? Laughter’s, um, my achievement is that I survived poverty and while I may not be rich yet, I have wealth in knowledge, love, family, writing and confidence in my ability to do well. I have overcome many struggles and there are more hurdles to go over but I am honoured to be a poet/ Author who won the most prestigious award ever given to youths in my country Jamaica. “The Prime Ministers National youth awards for excellence in arts and culture”. Canadian, Brian Wrixon, 2013, published my book pearls among stones and I republished it this year, which is available on Amazon so I am also a publisher. I have been in so much interviews whether it be T.V, online, or radio of which I am so gratefuI. I done well in poetry competitions internationally and I am a contributor to countless anthologies in various countries also anthologies for charities and so I must admit I have done pretty well and I hope there will be more. I would say that your circumstance does not determine your abilities and that success is not an inevitable dream as the likes of Usain and Shelly has proven that with hard work and determination you can do well.
link to her book- http://amzn.com/1507600453
What are you most proud of? I am most proud of the fact that I make my mother smile each day and everyday of her life. I am also proud that I am able to make something of my life even though I was born into poverty, so I can be an inspiration to others. Of course, I am proud of all the achievements but apart from vanity, what are important are your values and principles intact.
What advice do you have for Jamaican young people? This advice is not only for Jamaicans its for worldwide youths that old values will forever be important as mom used to tell me that manners will carry through the world its true I admit that sometimes I falter but most times I do the right thing. I also say do not allow your circumstances to determine your destiny, work hard and do what needs to be done honestly, that you may reap a just reward. I say also that we may blame everyone and everything but when comes down to it you can only blame yourself because you have the power to be what you want as others have proven that it can be done. You may fail but the disgrace is when you stay down so brush yourself off and try again because failure is a trial for success.
What do you want to accomplish in terms of poetry? I definitely want to publish more books, own a publishing company to publish others and I want to be a best seller in the world. I want every boy and girl to read my book so reading can be important again not only my book but also others. I hope one day I can be poet laureate of Jamaica and I hope to work on my weak areas in English and poetry as well as performance so I can travel the world performing and meeting other poets. Apart from poetry I want to write other genres such as novels and I could see my work on films whether it be a play or movies.I am optimistic about poetry and its potential and I am open to it regaining its status.
Who inspires you? I am inspired by anyone or anything but my greatest inspiration is my mother as she has raised four children without assistance from my father and she did not abandon us . God constantly inspires me for his mercy on me, as I am not a Christian yet, I consider myself a conscious individual. In regards to my writings others such as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickson, Louise Bennett, Tupac, Bob Marley and Tracy Chapman and other young writers such as Kolade freedom- Nigeria, Kerione Bryan, Tol and Ipl poetry group online, Daron chosen Smith, Melisha Wright and so much more.
What do you do for fun? Well what I consider fun is that I love to make a lot of noise in my house, on the roof with my family having some reasoning, hanging with friends,laughing and having a great time. I love listening to music, texting, surfing the net, talking to people face-to-face and social networking. I love playing solitaire on my pc, I record myself in attempt of singing, I love to watch Bein sport as I am a football enthusiast and I will watch law and order svu, castle, Rizzoli and isles, bones, csi, criminal minds, history channel all day because I love mystery and crime shows. I also love reading and writing which is fun to me, as I will surf the net reading quotations, poetry, and I get great pleasure basking in knowledge.
What challenges do you face as a poet In Jamaica? Poetry is not something many people appreciate.They see it as something boring because they are accustomed to certain type of poets and style. However, when they read current poets, people like it. The other issue is,not many individuals can read or some refuse to read so that is an issue. While there are few poetry competitions the impacts is not that great like other countries. It is also hard to publish a book especially when you are young and unknown and there little poetry shows so overall it is very difficult as there as many challenges but there are well -known poets, which give you, confidence to continue in what you are doing.
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