We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joi Miner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Joi , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
My hopes are to leave a legacy of acceptance, understanding, and the pursuit of happiness.
In my work, my primary goal is to create safe spaces, in both my writing and my workshop facilitation, that allow people to be themselves and understand that they are not alone in their trials, and in life in general. This is so important because working in the sharing of stories and art, which is such an intimate space, people have to fell comfortable with opening up and sharing (sometimes) the darkest parts of themselves. Fear of being judged is a very real thing, especially in this day and age, so it can be difficult for someone to want to reveal things that they may not think will be received well.
In my writing, especially, I often hear that my readers feel that someone understands them while reading my characters and that they’re relatable because they resemble themselves or someone that they know. I didn’t know how important that was to so many people until it became a repetitious point made by readers, and by those that attend my shows that and workshops as well.
Living my dream, and sharing the trials and triumphs of it, motivates others to do the same. But they aren’t sold only the glitter and glitz side of being a creative. They witness the hard work, determination, depressive moments, failures, and bounce backs that are necessary to make their dreams a reality. It’s not an overnight success thing. It takes time, patience, and looking your doubts and fears square in the face and still pushing through. This kind of real-life view shows them that yeah, it’s hard and might suck…a lot. But the wins are so rewarding that pursuing what makes you happy is so worth it.
I have been told that seeing me and hearing my story, whether through poetry, fiction, or workshops (which will include some form of poetry and/or fiction writing, sharing, and prompts), people know that they can overcome the things that are being or have been thrown at them. I hope to be remembered for my fervor for life, how I loved and was dedicated to my family, my friends, and my dreams. To be remembered as someone that others looked at and say, “Hey, I can live out my dreams, my passions and pursue life with unapologetic tenacity, too.”
Joi , 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?
“A magician doesn’t show all of their magic. They teach others to create magic of their own.” -Erykah Badu
My name is Joi Miner, I’m just a girl with a pen (my wand), and My Life Is A Joi Miner Novel (my magic). I began writing really young, but through my teen years, gained a love for poetry because it allowed me to express things that I may not have felt comfortable speaking aloud. I always loved writing and had a knack for storytelling, but never thought that it would be something that I could make a career of. When I entered college, I learned about a local poetry reading, and began performing there.
My freshman year, I found out I was pregnant with my first daughter, and decided that I wanted to be available to her and never miss a moment of her life. It was a high-risk pregnancy and I was placed on bedrest at the end of my first trimester. I compiled some of the hundreds of poems that I’d written over the years and released my first collection, Graffitied Gypsy in 2003. This was back in the “Love Jones” and Def Poetry Jam era, so that release as well as the CD release of pieces from that collection opened doors for me that I never would’ve imagined.
Being a sexual assault and domestic abuse survivor, single mama, lesbian, and aneurysm survivor, I knew the power of words and noticed that writing to heal was something that I did for myself. I remember, years ago, I read a poem that I’d written about being a sexual assault survivor at a Take Back The Night rally on the capitol steps in Montgomery, AL. A man came up to me afterwards and thanked me for giving him a voice. He planted my vision inside of me and it has grown into a life of service and activism.
When asked what I do, I simply describe it as “creating a safe space for people to be themselves”. This sounds simple enough, right? For me, it is, but after a recent conversation with a friend, I realized that it’s not something that everyone can do. Think about writing and public speaking. Think about expressing yourself when you think no one is listening. Now, if you’re a performance artist, this isn’t difficult for you, right. But how many of us are there compared to the number of people who are not? And, speaking for myself, even with 20 years in the game, I still become nervous when I step on a stage or in a room of people.
What I do, is take the fear out of the room. I speak in a way that makes those present feel like we’re just having a conversation in my living room. I tell stories about my own struggles and am willingly vulnerable, bearing myself to all present, so that they know they’re not the only ones who have been through something, who are scared, scarred, and struggle with lifing daily. And in the process, teach people who never thought they would be able to tell their stories how to, and make them comfortable doing it. Because I’m not a teacher, I’m just a friendly face who wants to know more about them. A sister-mama-friend teaching them the recipe of creative expression. A recipe that I’ve used a million times in my own writing and have the evidence to support my claims that such a simple thing, using ingredients that they have inside of themselves (words) can create something amazing. I work with everyone from displaced men and women to teens to housewives and mothers to prisoners and those transitioning from incarceration to those struggling with mental health issues to survivors of sexual assault, domestic abuse and just plain day-to-day life using this recipe. It translates across struggles, income brackets, and age differences successfully.
I’m southern, so I think of what we do when we share as breaking bread. I also know that my favorite times were sitting on a porch with friends and family, with a sweet piece of something or a glass of sun tea. So, my workshops are conversational, and free flowing, and a bond is created through shared experiences. It gives a kind of validation and comfort that can’t be fabricated.
I do this with my writing, as well. My books are full of relatable characters who are going through life’s struggles and trying to figure it out. They make mistakes. They’re not perfect. They’re human and funny and afraid and not always sure what’s coming next (which makes them entertaining even through the tough times). But the readers can understand that no matter what, their willingness to try is what helps them get through whatever it is that they’re going through. My readers and clients say that they feel like I’ve written them, see them, and give them space to be okay with not being okay because they can see that, at some point, things will work themselves out. And even when, sometimes it doesn’t, it’s all for the greater good of themselves and their lives.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Honesty and consistency. I think that knowing what they were going to get when working with me and hearing from me was what has allowed me the opportunities that I have. I bring my best self and efforts into anything and everything that I do, and that makes me someone that others can rely on. I’m a very candid person, but that candor is laced with a charm that comes from my southern upbringing that makes it go down a little bit easier. Whether it’s books, workshops, or performances, they’re all well-developed and relatable, and you leave feeling a little lighter and empowered after experiencing them. And I’ve been told that I’m funny, even when I’m not trying to be. So, I guess that helps, too.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Three years ago, I suffered a brain aneurysm with caused a stroke, and had emergency neurosurgery. It happened five days after COVID hit my city, Birmingham, AL. We were in quarantine, so things were so different from what would have normally happened. I spent 6 days in the hospital, but as soon as I could shuffle my feet, I was sent home (with staples in my face and head), because they didn’t want to place me at risk of contracting COVID in my compromised state. There was no rehab center open, no in-home or visiting nurse. I had to remember to take my own medication, teach myself to walk fully and function (talking, eating, etc.). I couldn’t stand loud noises or bright lights, so that meant no TV, music, or computer for me. I couldn’t drive because, well, I could barely walk. My children were with my mother in Montgomery, so for a week, all I had was friends bringing me food, sitting with me, helping me bathe, etc. and Instacart for groceries and essentials. A woman who had been self-sufficient for decades had to have help with the simple life tasks. Talk about humbling.
In that 7 days, I learned what rest was. Something that I was very unfamiliar with. But with rest, I slowly began to be able to endure noise and light, in moderation.
Feeling better as the days progressed, a friend showed me how to invert my computer screen, and two dear author friends, Ebony Bowser and LeeSha McCoy, talked to me about book concepts, trying to motivate me with something that I loved. It was much-needed because, at the time, the publisher that I was signed with had just gone out of business because of fraud issues, but was holding all their authors’ works hostage. They had 22 books of mine. Ebony and LeeSha encouraged me to write, so I decided to try. As soon as my fingers touched the keyboard, the story that we’d been discussing started to pour out of me. Even on the days that I could barely get out of the bed, couldn’t remember my name, cook my own food, or stand up to shower, as soon as my hands touched the keyboard, I could write. So, I wrote. I journaled. I wrote poetry. I wrote stories, concepts, ideas. Anything that came to my healing mind, I typed. I wrote until my cognition faltered and my eyes hurt.
It saved me from depression, pushed me through my self-doubt, and all of my trials. Writing, as it has done countless times in my life, saved me. In less than 6 weeks, LeeSha, Ebony, and I released an anthology of zombie stories (the concept that we’d been discussing) entitled “Infectious Affections” that I designed the cover for. Then we took it down and took our stories and made them series. Mine, “Turnt Owt: A Zombie Snatched My Soul”, an African American Lesbian Paranormal story, is now a series that I’m working to complete.
I make the joke that my brain exploded because I have so many ideas for stories yet to be written, 350 and counting. But as much as I’m kidding, I’m very serious. Writing is at the core of who I am. It’s my savior and my joy. It brings me sanity and peace when nothing else can. It helped me push through and heal from brain surgery, during COVID, and even helps me when I find myself discouraged because of the permanent damage that the surgery caused. I can no longer write in notebooks or with pen and paper for extended amounts of time because of the cognitive damage the stroke and brain bleed caused. But, fingers to keyboard, I’m still able to write. And my story, my survival, shows others that writing can get you through so much.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.joiminer.com
- Instagram: @joiminer
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joiminer
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joi-miner/
- Twitter: @joiminernovels
- TikTok: @joiminer