Today we’d like to introduce you to Theresa Davis.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My parents moved to Atlanta in the ’70s as it was “The Black Mecca of Art” and they wanted to be a part of that world. They played a significant part in the Black Arts scene in Atlanta and in my youth I spent a lot of time at The Neighborhood Arts Center. There I explored many genres and mediums of art but fell in love with words. I resisted poetry for a very long time, because my mother Alice Lovelace and my father Charles “Jikki” Riley were both well-known poets and I did not believe I could fill their shoes or walk in their footsteps.
In March of 2003, my father passed away unexpectedly of a massive stroke. The week before he passed he had intense conversations with me and each of my siblings. He expressed that he could tell I was trying to disappear and was not happy in my marriage. I was just going through the motions of being functionally unhappy. His last raised tone words to me was, “Stop trying to disappear, I can see you.” A week later he was gone. I decided I would be as visible and as present as possible in my life, stop working just to work and work on finding my happy.
I started performing at open mics around town soon after his death. Got another divorce. Realized, “Oh snap, I’m gay” To say that year seriously refocused my existence would be an understatement. Years later, working from a place of love and gratitude, I find myself a very not- invisible poet in the Atlanta, slam poetry and spoken word community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been many obstacles and struggles along the way. I quit a job I love because administrators, changed to a path did not fit my values or the premises in which I took the job. Stepping away from a 20 plus year, career in education shifted my life in other ways. I became a teaching artist, which allowed me to be in the classroom doing what I loved and not so much dealing with the bureaucracy.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a parent, a published poet, slam champion, literary director, community organizer, and teaching artist. I believe I specialize in all the hats I wear. I am proud of so many things. In 2011, after finally finding the words to memorialize my father, I competed in the Women of the World Poetry Slam and took first place. I did my first keynote address at the Atlanta Queer Literary Festival and met my publisher and great friend Bryan Borland of Sibling Rivalry Press. I have published two collections of poetry “After This We Go Dark” in 2013 and “Drowned: A Mermaid’s Manifesto” in 2016.
Both are in a special queer collection in the Library of Congress and Drowned, was awarded 10 Books All Georgians should read. I performed at Disney resorts for a company that made me into a cartoon and then I jumped through a glitter bomb (who doesn’t want to jump through a glitter bomb), I’ve done a TedX Talk or two. My children follow their dreams and I’d like to believe I am leading by example. I am still a teaching artist with 7 Stages Theater and The Alliance. I am also the literary director of the ArtsXchange and have managed to continue Java Speaks past the 20 year mark virtually. I have produced MadMen &Poets (poetry and improv mash up) with Dad’s Garage and “Poems & Pasties (burlesque/poetry/music mash up) with 7 Stages and Syrens of the South.
I am dedicated, I try to be supportive and I am always open to trying new things and collaborating with my fellow creatives.
How do you think about happiness?
I have learned that different things make me happy in different ways since the pandemic. Watching chefs with British accents yell at Americans, oddly makes me happy. I have refueled my love for making miniatures and my virtual open mic is the boost I need to start my week.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rockstarpoet.wixsite.com/theresadavis
- Instagram: @shepiratepoet
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rockstarpoet/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/piraterockstar
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sistaseuss
Image Credits
Cindy Taylor
K. Moments Photography
