It’s been two years since the release of my memoir, When They Tell You To Be Good, and the journey has been transformative. In this video, I reflect on what writing this book has taught me about masculinity, Black mortality, and personal growth as a queer Black man. Through confronting grief, toxic masculinity, and abandonment, I’ve come to realize that the answers we seek often lie within us, and writing has been my way of reclaiming that power.
Join me as I share the key lessons from my memoir and how they continue to shape my understanding of survival and resilience. Whether you’ve read When They Tell You To Be Good or are discovering it for the first time, this video offers a deep dive into how writing can be a tool for self-discovery and healing.
Imagine a novel that combines the magical realism of a children’s literary classic like Bridge to Terabithia with the emotional complexity of coming of age through grief, similar to The Fault in Our Stars. This is the tonality found throughout Cassandra J. Kelly’s debut novel, The Clearing, released in the spring of 2024.
In this episode of THE CREATIVE HOUR, host Prince Shakur sits down with Cassandra J. Kelly to delve into her captivating narrative. Cassandra, who holds degrees in journalism and environmental science from Ohio University, continues to call Ohio home and enjoys spending time in nature with her Australian Shepherds, Bonnie and Eva.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Clearing opens with Sadie and her mother struggling to get by in a beat-up car in Juniper, Ohio. From there, the story transforms into a young woman’s adventurous escapades in the woods, the reconnection of a family torn by loss, and the harsh realities of a failing healthcare system. Sadie’s journey of caring for her ailing mother, exploring the woods, and coming of age resonates deeply with readers.
To buy... "THE CLEARING" by Cassandra J. Kelly: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781633377776 [affiliate link]
Join us as we explore:
EPISODE CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
02:55 - How did you grow up? And get into writing?
05:35 - How "THE CLEARING" started as an idea
10:32 - On discovering Sadie as a main character
13:25 - Coming of age through grief and writing
19:35 - Family dynamics and psychology in "THE CLEARING"
24:21 - How to write illness consciously and avoid tropes
28:30 - Surrealism in nature and as a means to navigate trauma
32:56 - On Sadie's character arc
40:43 - Your favorite character in the book?
44:35 - A sequel to THE CLEARING and What's Next
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR | CASSANDRA J. KELLY holds journalism and environmental science degrees from Ohio University. She continues to call Ohio home and loves spending time in nature with her Australian Shepherds, Bonnie, and Eva.
It's finally season three of The Creative Hour and I'm so happy to bring this podcast back in a new form. In season three I'll be breaking down the many different aspects of my life as an author and writer, whether it be getting published, navigating book tour, working on fiction after publishing, a memoir and much more.
If there any particular writing questions, you want to see explored in this season let me know.
We chat with WILLIAM O'NEAL II, a playwright, and artist born and raised in South Georgia. O'Neal II is currently based in NYC and writes stories centered around coming-of-age narratives, queerness, and social transgressions through desire, cannibalism, surrealism, and beyond.
To find WILLIAM O'NEAL II, find them on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/willthesecond_/)
ABOUT THE GUEST: RASHEED NEWSON is an author, a television drama writer, an executive producer, and a showrunner. My Government Means to Kill Me (in stores August 23, 2022) is his debut novel. Rasheed – along with his television writing partner, T.J. Brady – is also the showrunner of the drama series Bel-Air (premieres Feb. 2022 on Peacock).
ABOUT "MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME": A fierce and riveting queer coming-of-age story, following the personal and political awakening of a young gay Black man in 1980s NYC, from the television drama writer and producer of The Chi, Narcos, and Bel-Air.
PHOTO IN ALBUM ARTWORK BY CHRISTOPHER MARR
Mentioned Media
I talk to Aaron H. Aceves about the process of writing his debut YA book, THIS IS WHY THEY HATE US. We tackle drafting, revision, exploring biphobia through your work, and what this book means to him.
SHOW NOTES:
ABOUT THE SHOW
In this episode, I talk to Ashunda Norris, a visionary filmmaker from Georgia. Her work spans numerous short films that delve in black gender and relationships, as well as an impressive poetry and open mic career.
WORKS MENTIONED
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born and raised in rural Georgia, Ashunda is a Black feminist multidisciplinary artist with creative work that encompasses film, poetry, archiving and critical scholarship. Her art centers the complexities of Black {southern} womxnhood/girlhood, magical spiritual traditions of Southern Black folk, Black futures and fugitivity. Her most recent film, MINO: A Diasporic Myth is an award winning afro-surreal futuristic short currently streaming on kweliTV. Ashunda is a 2022 and 2021 Furious Flower Poetry Prize finalist, a Pushcart Prize nominee and an inaugural Starshine & Clay fellow. She has received fellowships from Cave Canem, the California Arts Council, Haile Gerima’s Liberated Territory, Community of Writers and the New York State Summer Writers Institute. Her writing has been featured or is forthcoming in Obsidian, Taint Taint Taint, Root Work Journal, Fence, EcoTheo Review, PANK, Trampoline and elsewhere. A country blk girl at heart, Ashunda loves hot water cornbread, stargazing, obscure cinema and the ocean.
Learn more at ashunda.com
I spent a whole month in St Paul de Vence, France in June and had to sit down to talk about major emotions as an artist and soon-to-be debut author! #ArtistResidency #France #TheCreativeHour
Music by Sam Holman Smith and Sonic Music Loops | Broadcast by Verge.FM. Hosted by Prince Shakur. The Creative Hour Podcast Website. | To support The Creative Hour and Prince Shakur, support on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/prshakur)
ABOUT MY BOOK
My debut memoir, WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD, comes out October 4, 2022. To preorder: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534422
"Prince Shakurk’s debut memoir brilliantly mines his many eras of radicalization and self-realization through examinations of place, childhood, queer identity, and a history of uprisings."
ABOUT THE GUEST | Mercedes Wallace is from Ohio in a town affectionately named “grit city”. She studied communications at the University of Toledo and currently resides in Columbus, Ohio with her dog. Mercedes has done work in the spaces of advocacy, social justice issues, and currently works as an Assistant Director for a leadership program called Buckeye Leadership Fellows for The Ohio State University. When she is not lost in writing she is inexplicably lost in the music, with her loved ones, contemplating the loss of her 20’s, and all around trying to become a better human.
@saydewallace on Instagram and Twitter
To buy her book "One Without The Other": https://www.amazon.com/One-Without-Other-Mercedes-Wallace/dp/B09F1CJQ4S
SHOW NOTES
In this episode, we chat to EDGAR GOMEZ, the author of High-Risk Homosexual, about the process of writing a memoir through many periods of queer joy and trauma. I had so much fun chatting with Gomez, a fellow memoir writer, and hope you all enjoy this episode.
To buy HIGH-RISK HOMOSEXUAL: https://softskull.com/dd-product/high-risk-homosexual/
SHOW NOTES
ABOUT THE GUEST | Edgar Gomez (he/she/they) is a Florida-born writer with roots in Nicaragua and Puerto Rico. A graduate of University of California, Riverside’s MFA program, he is a recipient of the 2019 Marcia McQuern Award for nonfiction. His words have appeared in Poets & Writers, Narratively, Catapult, Lithub, The Rumpus, Electric Lit, Plus Magazine, and elsewhere online and in print. His memoir, High-Risk Homosexual, was called a “breath of fresh air” by The New York Times. He lives in New York and Puerto Rico. Find him or her or them across social media @OtroEdgarGomez.
To buy HIGH-RISK HOMOSEXUAL: https://softskull.com/dd-product/high-risk-homosexual/
EDGAR GOMEZ WEBSITE: https://edgargomez.net/
TOPICS MENTIONED:
GOOSEBUMP BOOKS: https://kids.scholastic.com/kid/books/goosebumps/series/
Choose Your Own Adventure: https://www.cyoa.com/
Dear Mr Henshaw: https://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/teacher/books/dear-mr-henshaw-9780590687270.html A
ABOUT THE GUEST | Dr. Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman (http://khadijahali-coleman.com/), is a cultural curator, community organizer, nationally recognized speaker, and writer. Her work centers the social and political life experiences, history, and culture of the people of the African diaspora. A playwright, she has had more than a dozen of her plays presented publicly in venues throughout the country.
She is the author of the children’s book Mariah’s Maracas and co-editor of the book Homeschooling Black Children in the US: Theory, Practice and Popular Culture. Her work is featured in the anthology The Fire Inside: Collected Stories and Poems from Zora’s Den (ZD, 2020) and the book Afro-Futurism in Black Panther: Gender, Identity and the Remaking of Blackness (Rowan & Littlefield, 2021).
She is the founder of the multidisciplinary arts group Liberated Muse, co-founder of the education research group Black Family Homeschool Educators and Scholars (BFHES) and currently serving as the executive director of the nonprofit Hurston/Wright Foundation.
HER BOOK, Homeschooling Black Children in the US: Theory, Practice and Popular Culture: https://www.amazon.com/Homeschooling-Black-Children-U-S-Contemporary/dp/1648027822
ABOUT MY BOOK
My debut memoir, WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD, comes out October 4, 2022. To preorder: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534422
"Prince Shakurk’s debut memoir brilliantly mines his many eras of radicalization and self-realization through examinations of place, childhood, queer identity, and a history of uprisings."
ABOUT THE GUEST | Madeline Ffitch writes and organizes in Appalachian Ohio. She was a founding member of the punk theater company, The Missoula Oblongata, and is the author of the story collection, Valparaiso, Round the Horn. Madeline has been awarded residencies at Yaddo and at the MacDowell Colony. She is the author of Stay and Fight from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
SHOW NOTES
ABOUT THE SHOW
THE CREATIVE HOUR is a podcast hosted by Prince Shakur of artist conversations about the creative projects/moments that changed, broke down, or liberated them. By delving into an artists’ most cherished projects or moments of realization, The Creative Hour shows that radical vulnerability is a vital part of any creative community or conversations. Broadcast through VergeFM
ABOUT THE HOST | Prince Shakur is a queer, Jamaican-American freelance journalist, cultural writer, organizer, and traveler. He helped bring the Black Lives Matter movement to Ohio University’s campus in 2014-2015, and organized a rally that pressured the university to oust the president. By 25, Shakur would live in Seattle, participate in the Nuit Debout riots in France, live-stream in Standing Rock, disrupt a Bill Clinton speech, document his travels, and begin his career as a freelance writer with a viral essay unpacking racism while doing seasonal work in Outside Magazine. He is a local Columbus organizer and abolitionist involved with BQIC. In 2017, he was awarded the Rising Star Grant from GLAAD for his YouTube series, Two Woke Minds. His debut memoir about his coming out and of age in Obama and Trump’s America earned him writing residencies with Sangam House, La Maison Baldwin, Studios of Key West. He is represented by Elle McKenzie of Ladderbird Literary Agency.
ABOUT MY BOOK
My debut memoir, WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD, comes out October 4, 2022. To preorder: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534422
"Prince Shakurk’s debut memoir brilliantly mines his many eras of radicalization and self-realization through examinations of place, childhood, queer identity, and a history of uprisings."
ABOUT THE GUEST | Madeline Ffitch writes and organizes in Appalachian Ohio. She was a founding member of the punk theater company, The Missoula Oblongata, and is the author of the story collection, Valparaiso, Round the Horn. Madeline has been awarded residencies at Yaddo and at the MacDowell Colony. She is the author of Stay and Fight from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. | HER WEBSITE: https://www.madelineffitch.com/
Her book, STAY AND FIGHT: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374268121/stayandfight
SHOW NOTES
ABOUT THE SHOW
THE CREATIVE HOUR is a podcast hosted by Prince Shakur of artist conversations about the creative projects/moments that changed, broke down, or liberated them. By delving into an artists’ most cherished projects or moments of realization, The Creative Hour shows that radical vulnerability is a vital part of any creative community or conversations. Broadcast through VergeFM
ABOUT THE HOST | Prince Shakur is a queer, Jamaican-American freelance journalist, cultural writer, organizer, and traveler. He helped bring the Black Lives Matter movement to Ohio University’s campus in 2014-2015, and organized a rally that pressured the university to oust the president. His debut memoir about his coming out and of age in Obama and Trump’s America earned him writing residencies with Sangam House, La Maison Baldwin, Studios of Key West. He is represented by Elle McKenzie of Ladderbird Literary Agency.
ABOUT MY BOOK
My debut memoir, WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD, comes out October 4, 2022. To preorder: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534422
"Prince Shakurk’s debut memoir brilliantly mines his many eras of radicalization and self-realization through examinations of place, childhood, queer identity, and a history of uprisings."
About The Guest | Imani Mixon was born and raised at the magnetic center of the world’s cultural compass — Detroit, Michigan. She is a long-form storyteller who is inspired by everyday griots who bear witness to their surroundings and report it back out. Equal parts urgent and essential, her multimedia work centers the experiences of Black women and independent artists.
HER WORK
Music by Sam Holman Smith and Artlist.IO | Broadcast by Verge.FM. Hosted by Prince Shakur. The Creative Hour Podcast Website. | To support The Creative Hour and Prince Shakur, support on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/prshakur)
ABOUT MY BOOK
Prince Shakur's debut memoir, WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD, comes out October 4, 2022. To preorder: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534422
"Prince Shakurk’s debut memoir brilliantly mines his many eras of radicalization and self-realization through examinations of place, childhood, queer identity, and a history of uprisings."
Season 2 of The Creative Hour is coming in late February. Hello, everyone. I am the host of The Creative Hour, a podcast of meaningful conversations between artists. In S1, I interviewed artists across mediums and in S2, I’m excited to only be interviewing writers.
As a writer, I have a special love for other writers, and I definitely ready to dive in. Just to name a few guests. We will have:
Imani Mixon, a Detroit native and long-form storyteller that centers on black women in her work.| HER WORK | IMANI MIXON: https://www.imanimixon.com/ | PROPER NOUNS: https://www.thecityproper.com/ | SUBJECT MATTERS PODCAST: https://kresgeartsindetroitpresents.art/subject-matters | SHOWING UP, SHOWING OUT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITLpvGWD3Do
Aaron Aceves, a Columbia MFA graduate and debut author of the YA novel, THIS IS WHY THEY HATE US, which comes out May 24, 2022. | THIS IS WHY THEY HATE US: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/This-Is-Why-They-Hate-Us/Aaron-H-Aceves/9781534485655 | AARON'S WEBSITE: https://aaronhaceves.com/
Madeline Ffitch, the author of the novel, STAY AND FIGHT, which is one of my favorite reads by a writer friend. | HER WEBSITE: https://www.madelineffitch.com/ | STAY AND FIGHT: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374268121/stayandfight
To listen to S1 or S2, find The Creative Hour on any podcasting platform and be sure to like and follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and beyond.
TO PREORDER "When They Tell You To Be Good": https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534422
So wild to think it's the end of S1 of The Creative Hour, but I'm glad to have learned so much and to share the amazing news that I have a book coming out! My debut memoir, WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD, will be out in October 2022 with Tin House Books. I
TO PREORDER NOW: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534422
On this episode, we talk to Davi Sol, an upcoming songwriter, vocalist, and producer based in Miami, and Jayare, a contemporary rap artist. Davi and Jayare are friends, part of the same creative crew, and generally good people. We talk about growing up with artist parents, getting more serious about making music, Davi’s recent album “Alone In A Crowd”, and their plans for the future.
ABOUT MY BOOK
My debut memoir, WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD, comes out October 4, 2022. To preorder: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534422
"Prince Shakurk’s debut memoir brilliantly mines his many eras of radicalization and self-realization through examinations of place, childhood, queer identity, and a history of uprisings."
We talk to Natalie Dupille. Natalie Dupille is a cartoonist, writer, and illustrator based in Seattle, WA. Her cartoons and narrative comics have appeared in The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, WIRED, and Playboy, among others, and generally reflect on social issues, sexuality, and current events. Logo artwork by Natalie Dupille.
SHOW NOTES:
ABOUT MY BOOK
My debut memoir, WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD, comes out October 4, 2022. To preorder: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534422
"Prince Shakurk’s debut memoir brilliantly mines his many eras of radicalization and self-realization through examinations of place, childhood, queer identity, and a history of uprisings."
On this episode of the podcast, I talk with Manan Kapoor, a writer that I met while attending Sangam House in Bengaluru, India. Manan's work ranges from journalism, creative non-fiction, and fiction, including his first published novel, The Lamentations of A Sombre Sky. To check out his most recent biography, A Map of Longings.
SHOW NOTES
ABOUT MY BOOK
ABOUT MY BOOK
My debut memoir, WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD, comes out October 4, 2022. To preorder: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534422
"Prince Shakurk’s debut memoir brilliantly mines his many eras of radicalization and self-realization through examinations of place, childhood, queer identity, and a history of uprisings."
In episode four, our guest is Cierra Boyd, a Cleveland-born and raised, black fashion designer. Cierra has made a huge name for herself by starting FRISKMEGOOD, a sustainable and futuristic fashion brand, in 2017. Clip of praise for Cierra features Jazzmine Hardges (aka Razzi J), model and artist. | Broadcast by Verge.FM. Hosted by Prince Shakur. The Creative Hour Podcast Website.
ABOUT THE GUEST | Cierra Boyd is a fashion engineer, stylist, artist, and entrepreneur born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Cierra has been styling and designing clothing for 5 years from Ohio to California. Attending Ohio university perusing a bachelors degree in retail merchandising and fashion product development with a minor in marketing her course work and involvement with the Ohio University community as the founder and president of the first mass printed fashion magazine called The Scene Magazine has made her a well known face on her campus. Cierra has styled for editorial, personal shopping, events, music videos, and image consulting as well. She has experience working with and styling for men and women alike. Her style and styling approach could be described as colorful, funky, sexy, and chic. Cierra also runs her own online store called Friskmegood which features many of her illustration recreated into wearable products. She also creates art using mediums such as painting, drawing, adobe illustrator, and photo shop.
SHOW NOTES
ABOUT MY BOOK
My debut memoir, WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD, comes out October 4, 2022. To preorder: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534422
"Prince Shakurk’s debut memoir brilliantly mines his many eras of radicalization and self-realization through examinations of place, childhood, queer identity, and a history of uprisings."