Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to DJ Lincks. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

DJ, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I have a few in mind. During my final year of college for my Capstone course, I created a poetry manuscript, consisting of 15 poems. It was in dedication to one of my greatest friend’s, whom I loved dearly, that had passed unexpectedly in 2019. The manuscript was incredibly difficult to finish, as each time I had approached it felt as though I were reliving some of the worst moments, but I knew I had to in order to honor him in the best way I knew how. Without him, I likely would have never continued my journey of becoming a writer, and he was one of the first people that actually made me feel like I could do it. Through countless workshops over the course of a year, I was finally able to produce poems that I felt captured the way that I knew him.

Another project that is incredibly meaningful to me is one that is still ongoing. I always joke that it takes me years to finish a 10-page story because I don’t know when to stop knit-picking. In my sophomore year of college, I wrote a creative nonfiction piece on the long car rides I would spend with my father, going to soccer practice every day. This was a very formative time for me as it is the time that he and I found something to bond over, that being music. He jokes a lot that he was able to brainwash my sister and I in that time, and now we’re stuck in the 60’s and 70’s. The piece originally was three pages, and I refused to write any more to it as I felt that I had said all that I needed. Every piece of feedback I received, however, was that it was not finished. It took me a long time to realize that for myself, and thankfully with the diligent and thoughtful feedback I received from a professor whom I grew very close with. He made me ask myself questions that I had been avoiding about the nature of my relationship with my father, and the parts that I often overlooked.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I had never considered writing to be a particularly strong skill of mine until I got to college. My secondary education was detrimental to my intellectual self-esteem as I was consistently bombing tests, no matter how hard I would study. In my first college composition course, I wrote a rhetorical analysis essay on Carol Dweck’s “Growth Mindset” theory. The feedback I received from my professor encouraged me to consider writing more seriously, thus leading me to take my first creative writing courses, which were extremely influential in my decision to “become a writer.” I often mention my inspirations as being those of the Beat generation, and I think a part of what draws me to them is their breaking of tradition and structure. In the high school English classes that I teach, I often do a unit on the Lost Generation and the surrounding historical circumstances on them, and how that leads into authors like Kerouac, Ginsberg, or Bukowski. Teaching has really illuminated the reasons as to why I write and those who have inspired me along the way. My writing aims to blend the rawness of each of those generations while also emphasizing the complexities that human relationships entail, placing it in a somewhat modern context.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I believe myself to be someone who has always felt things very deeply. I had a somewhat tumultuous and unstable childho0d,, and was sometimes uncertain of where my next meal came from. College was only a dream to me, as it was never really encouraged, and I knew if I went, I would have to find a way to fund myself through it. While taking classes full-time, I often worked 2-3 jobs in order to support myself and my education. I am incredibly proud to say that I graduated with minimal debt, and as the English Department’s 2021 Graduating Honoree, Magna Cum Laude.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I suppose I just want my students or those who read my writing to have an experience that they feel they can relate to in some form or another. Being a human is an incredibly arduous, yet beautiful thing, and I hope to convey that paradox in writing. It’s okay to feel, and to do so deeply.

Contact information:

Instagram: @djlincks
Email: @[email protected]

Contact Info:

• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
Kari Geha