Meet Phaye Poliakoff-Chen

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Phaye Poliakoff-Chen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Phaye below.

Phaye, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

My creative practice is based on both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary concepts. While interdisciplinarity allows disciplines to inform each other, transdisciplinary thinking allows for change and expansion. Transdisciplinarity pushes boundaries, defies genre, and most importantly to me, defies rigidity.

My primary creative work is in fiction writing. I also direct a community arts program at Earl’s Place, a transitional living facility for homeless men in downtown Baltimore. Two years ago, I started taking drum lessons because I wanted to try songwriting. I had always approached songs through their lyrics, but now I’ve become attuned to the elements of the groove.

I often tell my students to ignore the notion of “writer’s block,” which surprises them. I’m sympathetic to their struggles, but I encourage them to just put words on paper – a phrase I repeat like a mantra – and allow the stories to develop without force. That doesn’t mean you imprison yourself in your study. Take breaks. Here’s where interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity come in handy. I might start the day with writing, but I’ll punctuate my work with art projects and drum fills. Each foray into another discipline brings new insights to the one I just left.

I am greedy for knowledge, for new ways of understanding the world. I thrive on making connections between people and between ideas. I love learning and discovering and understanding the work, the connections that came before me. The delight of discovery is the foundation of my creative practice.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I recently took the major step of leaving my full-time teaching career to concentrate on my writing. I loved helping others find their voice and tell their stories, but I knew I needed to devote my time to telling my own stories. I have benefited from my twenty-plus years in higher education. The skills I taught my professional and creative writing students – editing, self-editing, collaboration – are embedded in my work.

In 2013, my collection of short fiction, The Art of Work, was published by Booktrope, a Seattle press. The publication was life changing, not just for the professional doors it opened, but for my development as an author. Charles Johnson, National Book Award winner and MacArthur Fellow wrote, “In these gentle and emotionally honest stories of ordinary people trying to negotiate their way through a world of ambiguity, Phaye Poliakoff-Chen reveals a talent for quietly depicting the centrifugal forces at work in the everyday lives of so many Americans. All by itself, ‘The Possum Ride,’ which strikes me as being a story that captures the zeitgeist of this hour in our social history like a spirit in a bottle, is worth the price of admission.” I’m now working on a new book, a collection of short stories and one novelette.

Collaboration is a cornerstone of my work. Tupelo Quarterly just published a poem I wrote together with a former student, Rory Strong. “Sorry I’m Late” appeared in the May 14, 2024 issue. Our process notes reflect my writing philosophy: “It is unusual for two writers to converge on one creative text, but that’s what happened here – and continues to happen.”

I am also collaborating with William Freeman, a formerly incarcerated student I met when I was teaching in the prisons. William spent almost 20 years in prison for murder. When he was released in 2018, he completed his BA at Goucher College, then went on to get a full scholarship to the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health for his MPH. William and I are telling his story together – and making the connections between his life and mine, between his life and others.

My work with Earl’s Place began 12 years ago as a one-semester radio documentary class at Goucher College. This arts and writing program has evolved into a weekly workshop, where volunteers and residents, formerly homeless men, create art and tell stories together. Every year we celebrate with a gallery opening and reception. We are currently designing and installing a mosaic mural for the outside of their building – a public display that will provide awareness and understanding to the community about the unhoused population in Baltimore.

All of this leads to me to my most recent transdisciplinary project: Tiny Broadsides. I am creating a line of illustrated poems that are housed as scrolls inside boxes, painted to pose as books. I love being able to combine art forms – writing, painting, collage – with collaborations: the poems are a mix of my own work and that of contemporary poets.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. Research
2. Curiosity
3. Collaboration

Be open to new ideas. Look for answers in odd places. Respect other perspectives. Stage dive.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

Time.

I am in a vibrant, engaged writing group with two women I’ve known since college. Of course, discipline comes from within, but being part of a strong writing community provides necessary support. Patience and love also play big roles.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.poliakoff-chen.com
• Instagram: @poliakoffchen
• Facebook: Phaye Poliakoff-Chen
• Linkedin: Phaye Poliakoff-Chen

Image Credits

Steve Parke (2 solo portraits)

Alisha Niswinder (Phaye with dog in the snow)

Jake Humphrey (stage diving @ The Drug Church show in LA)