We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erica Reid a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Erica, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome wears a thousand faces, and you never know which you’ll meet on any given day. There is no such thing as overcoming it; instead you learn to live alongside it. I tend to tell myself something like this: “Okay, sure, I’m an imposter… but I’m going to try this anyway.” Then when successes do come my way — and they do, with time and effort — the next attempt becomes the slightest bit easier. It’s a challenge I expect to face all my life, because I don’t plan to ever stop trying.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Every day I get closer to my dreams. In the past two years I have completed my MFA in Poetry, published my first collection of poems, and begun teaching the craft of writing. I also continue to work in arts marketing, a day job that complements my passions and puts my writing skills to work in new ways.
I was not always drawn to teaching, but my MFA program at Western Colorado University changed that. I want to create the same warm, encouraging spaces that I was offered there — spaces that allow writers to connect to the creativity that is innate within them. Currently I teach at Western as well as through Hudson Valley Writers Center and other avenues.
My debut poetry collection, Ghost Man on Second, won the 2023 Donald Justice Poetry Prize and was published in early 2024 by Autumn House Press. Ghost Man has been receiving wonderful feedback and has opened doors to new poetry communities. I hope to keep walking through those doors.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1) Publishing is a completely separate skill/goal/focus from writing. Writing needs to be the main passion, where the bulk of your time and energy and love go.
2) Writing is a solitary act, but having a writing community (or communities!) is key. Most writers face some variation on the same doubts, frustrations, and setbacks, and having a group of people who understand this specific and challenging path is endlessly helpful.
3) When choosing writing workshops, MFA programs, and other educational opportunities, focus on spaces that encourage you to listen to your own voice over emulating others’.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
During my final semester in my MFA program, instructor Julie Kane assigned us the book The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop by Felicia Rose Chavez. It provided me with such a fantastic framework for how contemporary writing classrooms might be structured — how they might welcome and encourage students instead of make them fit into too-small boxes. Though there are countless books of poetry that have shaped my writing, Chavez’s book overhauled my thoughts about *teaching* writing (and participating in writing classrooms myself).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ericareidpoet.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erica.n.reid/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erica.minton.reid/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ericareidpoet
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