Ask the Author: Cedric Tillman
Answered Questions (1)
Cedric Tillman
Hi Abigail-thanks for your question. Responding at long last!
Thanks for your kind words. I think a look through my books show me to be inspired by God, love (familial and romantic), politics, the ongoing problem of race in America-heck, even just working retail in malls for many years served as the genesis for several of my poem. When I was a teenager, I had a diary-once I started writing poetry, I put away the diary because the poetry had taken its place.
The title of my first book comes from a song we used to sing in church when I was little, down in my hometown of Lilesville, NC (pop. 600 or so). It's an old spiritual and I will always think of home when I hear it. (Please check out John P. Kee's version on YouTube to get a feeling for it!) The first section of LILIES IN THE VALLEY is mostly about those first 7 years of my life down "in the country," and I think anyone who wants to understand "where I'm coming from" in all my work has an advantage if they know small town life and religion. The title was also, to an extent, an ode to a certain type of black person-the title poem uses hyperbole to acknowledge those of us who are a little "'hood" and a little "academic" but mostly an amalgamation of both extremes-and thus are "lilies in the valley" between those constructs.
Those few years were extensively formative, though I came of age in the much larger city of Charlotte, NC. My forthcoming collection is called IN MY FEELINGS and it is essentially a chronicle of the Obama years-my life, ongoing controversies from guns and race to changing norms around sexuality-it's quite wide-ranging, as was Lilies. If you don't know the idiom (I think that's the term for what this saying is), to be "in your feelings" about something is to be uncomfortable or alarmed or mad at something- the book covers some of the same topics from Lilies while including work about things me and others were "in their feelings" about during the Obama years.
As for my writing routine-I admit that I don't have one in this season of my life. My current job (which I like, boss that could be reading this!) is very time-consuming. At my previous job, I pretty religiously split my hour lunch between reading and writing. Right now, I rarely take lunch, so I am not doing much reading or writing other than for work-and when I get home, I feel like it's family time. I also think that until recently I have been so distracted with the turmoil that characterizes our leadership in this country that it's been hard to concentrate. I try to take this in stride though-this is a season, and that season will change, gradually or suddenly. When (or as) it does, I've got a notepad full of things I hope I can mold into new work.
Thanks again for your question and all the best to you in your work!
Thanks for your kind words. I think a look through my books show me to be inspired by God, love (familial and romantic), politics, the ongoing problem of race in America-heck, even just working retail in malls for many years served as the genesis for several of my poem. When I was a teenager, I had a diary-once I started writing poetry, I put away the diary because the poetry had taken its place.
The title of my first book comes from a song we used to sing in church when I was little, down in my hometown of Lilesville, NC (pop. 600 or so). It's an old spiritual and I will always think of home when I hear it. (Please check out John P. Kee's version on YouTube to get a feeling for it!) The first section of LILIES IN THE VALLEY is mostly about those first 7 years of my life down "in the country," and I think anyone who wants to understand "where I'm coming from" in all my work has an advantage if they know small town life and religion. The title was also, to an extent, an ode to a certain type of black person-the title poem uses hyperbole to acknowledge those of us who are a little "'hood" and a little "academic" but mostly an amalgamation of both extremes-and thus are "lilies in the valley" between those constructs.
Those few years were extensively formative, though I came of age in the much larger city of Charlotte, NC. My forthcoming collection is called IN MY FEELINGS and it is essentially a chronicle of the Obama years-my life, ongoing controversies from guns and race to changing norms around sexuality-it's quite wide-ranging, as was Lilies. If you don't know the idiom (I think that's the term for what this saying is), to be "in your feelings" about something is to be uncomfortable or alarmed or mad at something- the book covers some of the same topics from Lilies while including work about things me and others were "in their feelings" about during the Obama years.
As for my writing routine-I admit that I don't have one in this season of my life. My current job (which I like, boss that could be reading this!) is very time-consuming. At my previous job, I pretty religiously split my hour lunch between reading and writing. Right now, I rarely take lunch, so I am not doing much reading or writing other than for work-and when I get home, I feel like it's family time. I also think that until recently I have been so distracted with the turmoil that characterizes our leadership in this country that it's been hard to concentrate. I try to take this in stride though-this is a season, and that season will change, gradually or suddenly. When (or as) it does, I've got a notepad full of things I hope I can mold into new work.
Thanks again for your question and all the best to you in your work!
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more