We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Talena Queen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Talena, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Recently, I worked on a museum exhibit. “Paterson’s Poets.” The exhibit seems like a culminating event of many of the other projects that I’ve worked on over the years.

Heather Garside, the Paterson Museum curator, invited me to co-curate a Paterson’s Poets exhibit. Of course, I said, “Yes!”

I approached the project with all of my each of my roles: Poet Laureate, founder of the Paterson Poetry Festival, founder of Word Seed Inc, a literary arts nonprofit organization, and Patersonian. The exhibit opened on April 1st, and will close on June 24th. Seeing the exhibit on the walls and in the cases was breath-taking.

Talena, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My love of words started very young. My first poems were written at age five, before most children can read. Growing up, I read lots of stories, I wrote for joy and I watched lots of plays on the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS). I attended Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts in Paterson, NJ where I majored in Creative Writing.
I am proud to be one of the first graduating classes from the school. I remember auditioning for the spot as a creative writer and feeling nervous for weeks while I awaited the decision.

I felt the same way as most teenagers do, nervous while awaiting the college admission decisions. Ultimately, I chose to complete my Bachelor of Arts degree from Montclair State University where I majored in Broadcasting, While there, I wrote for the Montclair Times, a local paper for the city. I was sure back then that I would be a journalist who focused on feature writing. I really do enjoy that kind of writing because it is most like poetry.

Eventually I became a middle school teacher. I completed my teaching certification at the University of Washington, Bothell. I taught middle school in Washington State while I completed my Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing & Poetics at the same University. I was later indicted into the University’s Hall of Excellence.

I continue my studies today as a scholar in pursuit of a PhD in Education with a specialization in Organizational leadership. My first inclination to be doctor was based on my mother’s life. I was born when she was fourteen years old. One day, she told me that she wanted to be a medical doctor and that her teacher told her that she would never be a doctor. She believed that teacher. As a teacher, I offer encouragement and for my mother I plan to be called a doctor even though I don’t have an interest in medicine.

I am Poet Laureate for Paterson, NJ. I am a Language Arts teacher at Eastside High School (Lean on Me). I am Chair of Paterson Art Exchange (official art commission of Paterson, N). I am president/ founder of Word Seed Inc. VP of CavanKerry Press. I am a mother of four and grandmother of one.

Projects include: Little Free Libraries in the Parks, Paterson Poetry Festival (annual), Word Seed Inc (www.wordseedinc.org), Paterson’s Poets Exhibit (April 1- June 24, 2023 @ Paterson Museum 2 Market Street), Power of Words (monthly), Paterson Art Week (August 1-7, annually).

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Whatever your job or position in life, chances are that when you want to enjoy yourself, wind down, relax, celebrate it will be done through the arts.

Music, movies, visual arts, poetry, even the packaging that our toothpaste comes in is art. Even though this is an indisputable fact, schools still cut art programming. People still choose not to pay artists. Society can best support artists by paying artists in addition to offering them applause. I have been blessed to get paid well for my poetry and other types of writing, but many times when someone contacts me with a request for poetry at their event it is not coupled with an offer of compensation. The same event will have a paid DJ, paid caterer, paid decorator, maybe even a paid vocalist and keynote speaker. Sometimes society believes that it is helpful to give exposure to artists when what we really need is income.

It would be helpful if society recognizes the value that artists bring to life. We make the world better. If there is anyone unsure of this fact, think about how you enjoy your down time and pay tribute to artists with compensation so that they may thrive and have more than enough to contribute to the world in terms of artistic expression.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the positive experiences that I am able to foster for others. For my own art, I love when people walk up to me and give a testimony of how my art has impacted them. I love seeing how spaces that I have created for other creatives make a positive impact on them. The smiles. I love the smiles. I love when someone asks me to help them find other poets for them. I love making those connections.   

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wordseedinc.org
• Instagram: @wordseedinc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talena.queen
• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/WordSeedInc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talena-lachelle-queen-mfa/

Image Credits
Pictured: with Talena Lachelle Queen and cake: Heather Garside museum curator/ historian Pictured at podium: Amethyst Kettrell singer/ poet photos are from Paterson’s Poets: Voices From the Silk City exhibit on display at Paterson Museum (April 1- June 24) Photo credits Word Seed Inc