We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dionne D. Hunter a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Dionne D., thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
To explain what my parents did right I have to start off with a sad story. My mother passed away when I was seven years old, but even in the short amount of time we had together she showed me so much love and affection and she always encouraged me to do my best.
My father who was 29 at the time of my mom’s death was devastated and also struggled with my maternal grandmother who requested custody of me, my younger brother and sister. My father refused stating that we were his children and his responsibility and that he would take care of us himself.
Being a single parent with three small kids aged seven, five and two was definitely hard but he did the best he could.
My dad was strict so we had plenty of rules and regulations to follow but he also shared his love of science with us and insisted that we read something intellectual every day and on the weekends we even had to write a book report. He also also had us study the dictionary. The aim was to learn the definition of at least one word everyday. All my Dad’s requirements helped birth my love of reading and that ultimately led to my career as an author and poet.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My love of poetry started around 6th grade. I would check poetry books out of the school’s library and read them over and over again.. Believe it or not that year I even started my own greeting card company. I would design and illustrate scenes onto manila folders. Then I would write a poem on the inside. I would take my creation door to door asking my neighbors if they would like me to design a personalized card for their loved ones and I actually received a lot of orders. That planted the seed that I could make money doing something that I loved. Although I wanted to go to college to major in some form of the arts because of family circumstances I instead enlisted in the United States Navy and after being honorably discharged I married and started a family.
Years later after divorcing I found myself searching for something to lift my spirits and the night that I heard spoken word for the first time blew me away. The way the poets were able to engage with the audience, expressing emotions and passions was amazing and I knew I had to try it. I went home and wrote my very first spoken word piece and it centered around the loss of my mother.
“Momma May I”
written by Dionne D Hunter
Momma May I look into your eyes once more
See your beautiful smile
Feel your warm embrace
Hear you calling out to me saying “Come here baby let Momma kiss it, and make it feel better.” And yes your kisses always took the pain away
Momma, help me erase from my mind the image of you laying there lifeless
You see being only a child I could not comprehend that you were never coming home to me again
I looked into your final resting place wondering why you would not wake from your deep slumber
Of course, the family tried to explain saying, “She’s gone to see God’s grace- She’s going to take her honored place-
God needed another angel by his side”
But after awhile I couldn’t take anymore and I screamed, “I need my Momma more than God!”
But in reality my lips never parted, and no one could hear my inner cries
So, I decided not to worry, I told myself it was all just a bad dream
“I’ma wake up, you just wait and see!
And Momma she’ll be standing right here by my side!”
But to my surprise days turned to weeks and weeks to years and from this nightmare I never could escape
The ability to share graduation, promotions, marriage, the birth of my children, even the simple act of saying happy Mother’s Day all stolen away on that fateful day
Flash back to a silly child’s pitiful cries-
Momma, please open your eyes
Momma, please don’t leave me
Momma, if you love me, don’t let this be goodbye……
After completing the piece I went back and performed it for the group. Needless to say I was pretty emotional during and after the performance and the love, compassion and positive feedback that I received let me know that I had found my people, and my place in the world. After that life was sort of a whirl wind. I wrote and then performed all of the time and as audiences were exposed to my work I began to get booked as a paid artist for shows around Cleveland even being hired to host shows and because of that success I’ve been able to combine my love of the arts with my heart for service producing artistic events in both Ohio and North Carolina.
However since moving to North Carolina I have been able to expand my writing career by publishing a short story titled “I am a Dahomey Warrior!” which holds a 4.9 rating with its readers.
I’ve also partnered with a platform called gigsalad and it’s patrons contract me to write and perform personalized poetry for special occasions and events.
Lastly, I’ve also applied for and received grants from the Arts and Science Council here in Charlotte which has allowed me to provide free cultural events for the community with the latest being “A Night of Artist Renewal vol III, History in Living Color.” This newest production is being held at Charlotte’s Blumenthal Performing Arts Center’s Booth Playhouse on July 9, 2023 from 3-5:30pm. I’ve been able to gather extraordinary artists including Emmy award winning poet Boris “Bluz” Rogers, Charlotte’s inaugural poet laureate Junious “Jay” Ward, award winning poet Keith Allison as well as the extraordinary Linda Orji. The stage will also be blessed with award winning choreography from Jane Johnson’s Vision Elite Royalty Dance Studio and Jerry “Ungraceful Jay” Dean, a world renowned violinist, Candice “Pretty Stringz” Smith, along with the stunning vocals of Spencer “Suspence” Sims, and the night wouldn’t be complete without DJ Maine Maine, as well as the beautiful visual artistry of Tajmah Allison, Laurisha Fant, and Mike Bennet.
Curating and hosting this series of events feeds my soul and allows me to feel as though I am birthing beauty into the atmosphere.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
One of my goals is to make the fine arts accessible to the general public but especially youth coming from marginalized communities because students involved in the arts are: “4x more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and to join a math or science fair 3x more likely to win attendance awards and be elected to class office,” as stated by the Americans for the Arts. Another of their postings reveals. “Black and Hispanic students lack access to quality arts education compared to their white peers.” and that “91 percent of Americans believe that the arts are vital to providing a well-rounded education.”
Statics like those are some of the reasons I am so passionate about bringing the joys of the fine arts to as many people as possible.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Yes, after my children were born I prided myself on being an engaged, supportive and loving mother and that even ramped up even more after my divorce. If I wasn’t working the kids and I could be found at the natural history museum, art museum, festivals, sports activities, school functions and of course we spent time together reading. My whole life revolved around my kids and of course my 9 to 5 where I had climbed the corporate ladder for 13 years straight. Then the economic downturn began in 2007 and life was never the same, although ultimately that turned out to be a blessing in disguise because after an exhaustive search I ended up finding a much less stressful job and had more free time to spend with my kids.. Kids who were fast approaching adulthood.
After the youngest of my two children graduated high school and started college in 2013 I was left to wonder what was next..
My identity was shattered. There was no one to come home to, no checking homework, no college visits, no mom needing to come save the day. My kids were off charting their own paths leaving me to ponder who I was outside of being their mother.
After a while of not being sure what to do with myself I decided to try and remember all the things that brought me joy before I became a mother and even the things I wanted to do for myself as my children grew up but neither had the time or energy. Thats when I actually picked up my pen and began to write again and shortly there after, as you’ve read, was introduced to spoken word and my life was forever changed.
Ultimately though I thank my mother and father who have now both passed away. I believe I was showered with just the right amount of love and discipline and because of that I had the tools available to pivot into this new chapter of my life where I’m able to share my unique perspective on life, history and my love of writing with the world, and for that I will always be thankful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dionnehunter.org
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/dionnedhunter?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDionneDHunter?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dionne-hunter-96076552
- Youtube: PoetessRedd_DionneDHunter
- Other: https://www.blumenthalarts.org/events/detail/a-night-of-artistic-renewal-history-in-color