Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Robin Gow. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Robin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?
I pitched and wrote a comic strip in a teen section of the local newspaper called Voices. It was called “[Deadname’s] Mad World” and it featured a cartoonish version of myself doing outlandish things. I always felt really proud of people getting copies of my comic strip and enjoying it. I used to want to be a graphic novelist but eventually ended up more on the just writing side of story-telling. I still love to draw.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’ve been telling stories since I can remember. I feel like I come from a family of story-tellers. My dad and uncle often told me stories before bed (some of them real and some of them strange science fiction). So, I’ve always wanted to tell stories. I began pursuing creative writing more seriously in college and I ended up majoring in English because of my love of writing. Going to graduate school opened a lot of doors for me to get into publishing, specifically for my poetry, YA, and Middle-Grade books.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Definitely adrienne marie brown and Dean Spade. I believe most problems in our society are caused by capitalism and white supremacy and so I try to inform my decisions on that understanding. I sell my work because I have to in order to survive under capitalism but I have no ambitions focused on wealth other than making enough to survive. I try to follow my creativity and push back against impulses to try to make myself or my art “marketable.” At the same time of course I market myself.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
If you work hard enough you can achieve anything. I love working hard and I think it’s great and all but the reality is that a lot of the world is stacked against marginalized people. This mentality can sometimes lead us to blame ourselves for our own oppression and sometimes lack of success we crave. For a long time I felt heartbroken about my first widely published book not receiving attention I hoped it would. In the end though the book is a love story between trans boys that takes a nuanced approach to queer history and exposes abuse that’s happened in the Catholic church. I think it’s a hard sell for some people and I am allowed to love a work I created even if it didn’t hit it as big as I wish it did.
Contact Info:
- Website: robingow.com
- Instagram: @robin_gow_poet
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-gow-1b2373143/
- Twitter: @robin_gow_poet
- Other: TikTok @Robin_Gow_Poet
Image Credits
Rain Black