This week's guest is Kellie Richardson, who is a writer, poet and author. Kellie also spent 2 years as the poet laureate of Tacoma Washington. In 2017 - 2019.

She has written 2 collections of poetry and we had a great conversation about her writing as well as her visual art. And you can take a look at our conversation on YouTube if you want to see some of her art!   We talked about:   Being the first Black female poet laureate in Tacoma   How she created an intergenerational space for creatives to show her city that poetry is for everyone.   Why she didn't begin to share her work or embrace being a poet until she was in her late thirties   The narrowness of "categories" that legitimize air quotes proper writing and what is considered canon.    How she has fused her poetry and her visual art   How she assembled her poetry collections,   Walking the line of joy and grief, and holding opposing emotions    The questions to ask yourself if you are afraid to claim an identity as a writer and so much more.    You can check out season 1 and other season 2 guests of Writing Black Joy over on https://www.writingblackjoy.com/ If you want to support us you can join our Patreon community over at https://www.patreon.com/safiyarobinson You can learn more about Kellie on her website https://www.brownbetty.org/ You can follow Kellie on Instagram over on https://www.instagram.com/brownbetty253/ You can follow me on Instagram on https://www.instagram.com/safiyarobinson77/ If you want to know about working with me, go over to https://www.safiyarobinson.com/