British-Somali poet, Warsan Shire, became a global name overnight after Beyoncé’s 2016 visual album “Lemonade,” was released.
Shire is credited with “film adaptation and poetry” on the album and she has also collaborated with the megastar on Beyoncé’s 2020 film “Black is King.” On a more personal note, Shire was the hired pen behind Bey’s “I Have Three Hearts,” 2017 pregnancy announcement.
She is the author of two books, “Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth” and “Her Blue Body,” and was the recipient of the inaugural Brunel International African Poetry Prize. Shire also served as the first Young Poet Laureate of London and is the youngest member of the Royal Society of Literature.
The success, of course, is great. But Shire is always mindful of the reasons the pen has become her weapon of choice.
“I remember the advice you gave me, to take my time and not rush it. I think, starting off young, I wanted to make sure I didn’t burn out quickly and just release something that I wasn’t really proud of,” she told British author Bernadine Evaristo in an interview with The Guardian. “Also, poetry was always linked to my mental health, as an outlet, so it feels very cathartic to finally let go of this collection. I was writing this book on the precipice of starting my own family. It feels really massive, like I went from a girl to a woman in the middle of writing it.”
While Shire may have already soared to epic career heights, the journey—being a Black woman in the industry—has not been an easy one.
“I thought that becoming a writer was as likely as becoming a Hollywood star. That’s why it’s such an [honor- to be speaking with you today, because people like you were the reason why any of us have any opportunity at all. I’m just so, so grateful! I hope that I can do something like that for younger writers as well,” she shared.
Read the full interview over at The Guardian.
