Tell us about yourself and what inspired you to start writing.
My name is Alyssa Greene. I am a 20 year old Californian who will be moving to New York in the autumn for school. I am currently in the Leon S. Peters Honors Program at Clovis Community College where I study English and will be transferring to Syracuse in the fall to further my education. I have been writing since middle school and I never stopped. Having been doing this for such a long time it is rewarding to witness how my poetry has evolved over the years. However, being openly passionate about writing does make you susceptible to disapproval. I’ve had teachers ask me to explain what the hell I was saying because it seemed as if I was only stringing together large words to sound sophisticated. I’ve had teachers tell me that they were surprised to find out that certain essays were written by me, considering my mediocre linguistic and analytical skills. I’ve had peers look me dead in the eyes to remark, “I didn’t know you were smart.” Astonishingly, no, I did not kick that student in the nuts, but I wanted to. Given this, I am no stranger to rejection; I embrace it with as much compassion as I would acceptance.
Describe your writing process? Is there anything unique about it?
101 Ways to Fall Asleep has been a long time coming. The process went a little something like this: Write, read, write, read, sleep, crumble up papers, go through TONS of pens, stay up past sunrise, write some more, read, cry, write, repeat. This is the journey of the one who is infatuated. Writing rarely comes out the way it ends up. It is a build, destroy most, if not all of it, and rebuild process. This is by far my favorite part of the whole writing adventure. The part where I get to be messy because it is necessary for the outcome. The part where I take words like “granola bar” or “swans” and use them to develop poems that speak on issues far beyond their existence. Imagination is what makes art so magical. Every poem in my composition has some story behind it, every line has meaning, and each poem brings the book value. 101 Ways to Fall Asleep is a collection of poetry that embodies the idea that success in making poetry evermore relevant to the struggles and dynamics of modern times does not have to mean eradicating the more classical apparatus that poetry was born from. It serves as a footstool for young adults, specifically women or those who can identify with struggles associated with mental health problems.
Have you published any books or do you have a desire to do so?
This composition prompts readers to question social norms and develops a greater understanding of issues regarding depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. It is a disruptive piece and not by any accident. Displaying sympathies towards madness, it is composed with a striking passion that could knock its audience out. My writing touches on the misogyny embedded in the fabric of our patriarchal society and the fallacious notions that women are inherently, naturally, and biologically inferior to men. The poems that do adopt a more progressive stance cultivate a sense of female empowerment and a refusal to accept any form of inequality that has become so normalized in society. On a larger scale, my collection celebrates something that universally connects all of us: Life and death and the submersive relationship between the two. My work defends the irrational, the lunatic, and the outcast, creating a haven for the darker parts of our humanity, which is as necessary, or even more necessary than creating space for the lighter parts. Even God himself decided that if there was going to be a heaven there would also be a hell. This arrangement is a small slice of hell that I had to walk through. I think many people could relate to the obstacles I had to hurdle to get here. A creative matrix for the demons of the mind and the beauty so intimately involved with the difficult to fathom realities of overcoming psychological monsters. In the immortal words of Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, “Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty.”
Do you have any favorite poets or authors?
Oh yes! In terms of poetry I have a deep admiration for Poe and Plath. Classical poetry never ceases to amaze me and leave me yearning to write at the same level they do. On a contemporary level, I appreciate Fitzgerald, Wilde, Shelly, either of the Brontë sisters, etc. There are so many I could go on. The oeuvre of each of these artist is astonishing and it is why their work lives on even after they are gone. Their legacy is inspiring.
Do you have a favorite book of poetry or poems?
I love to read. I think I kind of have to. Not that it feels like a chore on any level, like I said I love to read, perhaps more than I love to wrote. I’ll never truly be able to tell. I think something important about being a writer is that no great writer has never not been a reader. Art inspires art. Sometimes I read pages of a book or even a single quote and I immediately rush to my desk to put down some thought I had when reading it because it cultivated such deep emotion within me that I am bursting with it.
Some of my favorite books include “The Great Gatsby”, “A Man’s Search for Meaning”, and “The Life of Pi”. I specifically remember reading “The Life of Pi”, because my sister had brought it home from the school library. It is such a profound piece of literature that I feel as if any attempt to applaud it would be insulting to the work because no praise could live up to the artistry and deliverance.
What are you reading now?
Currently I am reading “Idol, Burning” written by Rin Usmai. Her ability to capture both mundane and complex emotions is powerful. Her imagery is as if there are illustrations on the pages. I’m 40 pages and the only reason I stopped was because it was 11:20pm and I had a discussion board for one of my English courses due at 11:59pm. The grip this book has on me is not one I have experienced in a very long time.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing? Full-time job, pets, hobbies?
When I’m not writing I’m usually thinking about things to write about. Probably not the anticipated to that question, but the honest one, it is. I am a in my sophomore year of college so homework and lectures demand most of my time outside of my two jobs. I work part-time as a barista at Starbucks and part-time as a crew member at Jersey Mikes Subs. I enjoy, on an obvious note, reading and writing. Additionally, I do everything listening to music, I enjoy drinking more coffee than what should be tolerable for a 20 year old woman, nature in all of its abundance and harmony, Pops & Benny, and anything that entails a new experience. I would add travel to that list, but I live in the Central Valley and I’ve never been anywhere further than L.A. I dislike the scene in tangled where Mother Gotham reverts to her true self. That scene has always audibly and visually spooked me for some reason and I still can’t seem to watch it even now.
Are you working on a current project?
Definitely. “101 Ways to Fall Asleep”, was just the beginning of my career. My next poetry collection, which I am currently working on, is set to be released at the end of 2023.
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