We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bruce Poinsette. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bruce below.
Bruce, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
The Blacktastic Adventure interview series is the most meaningful project I’ve worked on because Oregon is full of systemic forces that leave Black Oregonians’ sense of identity and peace of mind constantly under attack. Oregon is the only state to pass Black exclusion laws (three in fact, in the mid 1800s). These laws turned out to be very effective in discouraging Black migration to the state and subsequent redlining policies, over policing and mass displacement that continues to this day, to name a few things, make it very difficult for Black Oregonians, especially outside of the Portland Metro area, to find community, see themselves in a variety of roles in media and professional spaces, and resist the casual anti-Blackness that persists throughout the state. The Blacktastic Adventure highlights different Black voices and experiences throughout the state in the form of long form interviews. My favorite episode, The Black Oregonian Natives and Transplants Dinner, even brings many different perspectives to the table at one time with a predominantly Black film crew. For me, the series is both a growing historical document and tool for proliferating Black Oregonian placemaking stories in the present.
Bruce, 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?
I am a writer by craft. Growing up isolated, writing was one of my primary tools for coping and processing the world around me. I graduated from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and went to work as a reporter for the Skanner, one of Portland’s historically Black newspapers, in late 2011. Taking all the lessons I learned as a reporter, I became a full-time freelance writer in 2014. In addition to providing article and editorial writing, I expanded my services to copy and content editing, speech writing, administrative writing consulting, journalism and creative nonfiction teaching, workshop facilitation, panel and event moderation and multimedia production. While I’m constantly building on and developing new skillsets, the heart of my work is helping clients clearly and dynamically communicate their big ideas, no matter what medium they choose. I pride myself on being a great listener and storyteller who can both help clients maximize their voices and ideas in their communications, as well as ask the right questions to supplement those things wherever needed.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, multimedia was at best, an incidental part of my work. When opportunities for in-person interviews and writing assignments dried up, I had to make a real investment in audio and video content. I made a pivot to doing Zoom interviews and projects to explore the conversations I was having in my communities that I wasn’t seeing in larger media. In addition to putting these ideas into the world and intentionally showcasing largely Black and Brown Oregonian faces, the multimedia content has also served as valuable marketing for my various freelance services. I’ve also since developed partnerships for this content that includes high quality studio space and equipment, as well as special events. Three years later, I can’t imagine a world where I didn’t make this pivot.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative for me is genuinely pushing people to think about new ideas. I am constantly inspired by the people, ideas and projects that keep my synapses firing. Whenever I can inspire that effect in someone else, I know I’ve really done something.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brucepoinsette.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poinsettebruce/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bruce.poinsette/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-poinsette-9b91b813/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/brucepoinsette
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/BrucePoinsette
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/brucepoinsette
Image Credits
Nate Ilebode Mya Gordon