Jubi Arriola-Headley is a self-described Black, queer, poet, storyteller, first-generation and United Statesian (his word).
He’s the author of two poetry collections, 2024’s “Bound” (Persea Books), and 2020’s “original kink.” I’ve had the pleasure of reading with Jubi at a few different literary events, and he was also a featured reader in my Wednesday Night Poetry Club series. Presently, he’s working on a collection of essays, an excerpt of which received the 2023 First Pages Prize for Creative Nonfiction. As Arriola-Headley puts it, he and his husband live “in South Florida, on ancestral Tequesta, Miccosukee, and Seminole lands.”
Jubi Arriola-Headley will be at the Miami Book Fair on Nov. 24 at noon. Visit miamibookfair.com.
In your bio, you describe yourself as a poet and storyteller. What is it about the poetry medium that gives you the most satisfaction?
I don't know that I can separate one specific thing out of the poetry writing experience that brings me the most of anything. It’s all a joy to me. But I will say I feel great freedom when I write poetry. I don't know if I feel that same freedom when I write prose, for example. I feel like poetry is my way of bearing witness, if that makes sense.
Your second poetry collection, “Bound,” was published earlier this year. How would you say you and your writing evolved in the four years between “Bound,” and your first book, 2020’s “original kink?”
When I wrote “original kink,” I was very focused on writing a book about my father initially, and over time it evolved into a broader reflection on masculinity. I think “Bound,” on the other hand, was very informed by my writing it during the pandemic. For probably the first year of the pandemic I, like many people, was barely coping. I was essentially in survival mode. And then at a certain point when I realized I couldn't see where the end was, I realized I needed to find a way, if this was the new reality and not going away, not only to survive but to thrive, and I began to think a lot about how to live my life more fully and more richly. And so “Bound” is really informed by my seeking out moments of pleasure in the world and my need to take a stand on what's meaningful to me living my authentic life.
Do I remember correctly that you studied with the late lesbian poet Maureen Seaton?
Oh yes, dear wonderful Maureen. I was in poet-love with her for sure, and I loved her as a person in the world.
What can you tell the readers about her influence on your work?
I think my acknowledgment in “original kink” sums it up: I thanked Maureen for “bringing out the witch in me.” And I think I mean that very literally, Maureen encouraged me to take risks in my work, to see that there was a place in poetry for me to express my inner kink and my inner freak. I think I owe a great deal to her in terms of the freedom I feel when I write poetry. As a poet I am a product of her nurturing as much as any other single person, place, or thing.
This interview takes place shortly before the very important 2024 election. How do you use your voice as a Black queer poet at a time such as this?
It's funny – dystopian funny, not ha-ha funny – to me that I'm answering this question moments after the world has learned that the “Washington Post” and the “Los Angeles Times” are refusing to make presidential endorsements this year. I can’t explain it, but the cowardice is both entirely unsurprising and utterly astonishing. I think I must use my voice the way we all ought to use our voice, regardless of how we identify, whether that's through our wedding or through our economic purchases (like cancelling my subscription to the Washington Post) or through speeches or through our social media posts. Or our poems. We must let the powers-that-be know that we can't and won’t remain silent on the issues that are important to us. Whether that issue is genocide or autocracy. Though I'm not sure there’s much of a difference between the two
Your next writing project is a collection of essays. What can you tell us about the book, and when will it be out?
The collection of essays doesn't yet have a publisher so I don't know when it will be out. I can only tell you I'm hard at work on it and that there's been interest from more than one publisher, but I don't want to jinx it so I can't say more on that. The theme of the collection seems to be shaping up to be me investigating the ways in which my body has been a side of surveillance in so many ways in society, and me trying to break free from those restrictions. Every essay seems to situate sex somewhere in the conversation, so far. I think it's probably an extension of “Bound” in some ways in the sense that I'm trying to explore more and more of the ways I can live freely or express myself fully. Be the self I want to be in other words.
You are going to be taking part in the 2024 Miami Book Fair. What does that mean to you, not only as a queer writer but also as someone who is based here in South Florida?
It's been a dream of mine to be a featured author and reader at the Miami Book Fair ever since I knew the Miami Book Fair existed. It feels like a great honor and I'm very excited for the opportunity not only to read with other poets but to meet and engage with other amazing writers across genres. The Miami Book Fair is one of the defining events of our literary year here in South Florida and one of the biggest literary fairs in the country. It's always a great joy for me to be able to participate in the Miami Book Fair in any way. So, getting to read this year is like the icing on the cake. Come out and see me at noon on Sunday, Nov. 24!
