We were lucky to catch up with Carla Cherry recently and have shared our conversation below.

Carla, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I was 35 when I began submitting my poems for publication. I used to wish I could say that I had published several books by the age of 30, but I have grown to understand that our lives are meaningful no matter what age we are, and am happy with the way my journey is unfolding. We live in a youth-obsessed culture filled with expectations about milestones we are supposed to achieve by a certain age. If you do, that is great! If not, so what? Each day is a new opportunity to work on a dream or goal.

Carla, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Nikki Giovanni’s poem “Ego Tripping”, my father, and my second grade teacher Mrs. Harriet Pine, all inspired me to write. I am a published poet with almost one hundred poems published in lit journals, six books of poetry: Gnat Feathers and Butterfly Wings, Thirty Dollars and a Bowl of Soup, Honeysuckle Me, These Pearls Are Real, Stardust and Skin, and May He Bless My Name (iiPublishing), and two chapbooks: Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet (Grandma Moses Press) and Sundays and Hot Buttered Rolls: A Granddaughter of Harlem Speaks (Finishing Line Press). My goal as a poet is to celebrate beauty, joy, and love, speak out against injustice, and help other people do the same. As an English teacher, I teach Poetry & Publishing, where I encourage my students to study poetic craft, find their own voices, and speak their own truths in their own poetry, even when they doubt their capabilities. I am happy to have taken an entrepreneurial risk in creating Sweet As A Simile LLC, where I sell t-shirts and hoodies with positive poetic messages, particularly for African Americans, to help undo the negative programming we have historically received. I am most proud that my publisher, iiPublishing, social media coach, photographers, and graphic designers are also brilliant, talented women and people of color. My dream is to teach poetry workshops for children and adults across New York City, especially with the elderly. We all have valuable stories to share from our lives.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Creatives are usually incredibly generous people, and we often are asked to contribute our poems, paintings, music, dance, and other artistic expressions to events and causes for little to no money. Many of us do it gladly, but we creatives have bills (and regular jobs or careers) too, and should be compensated for our art. I am fortunate that I was led to Dr. Gloria Pope, creator and CEO of Black Girl Everything LLC. Dr. Pope has pushed me to adopt a business mindset, and seek a better balance between my philanthropic endeavors and earning money for my work.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carlacherrybxpoet1.com/
• Instagram: @carlabxpoet1
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/carla-cherry-6426ab26

Image Credits
Daniela Melody Perez and Amparo Peterkin-White