Hello again, Readers! As promised, we are continuing the Meet the Authors series with our profile on Dr. Rita Mookerjee. Dr. Mookerjee followed Dr. Carrie McGath’s presentation which you can read about in our previous blog post here. Dr. Mookerjee spoke about a variety of topics and gave important pieces of advice to the students in the class. She also spoke about her experience living in Jamaica on a Fulbright and read a poem she wrote while staying there.
Bio: Rita Mookerjee is the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Postdoctoral Fellow at DePaul University. She holds a PhD in Literature from Florida State University. In 2020, she was a Fulbright fellow in Jamaica. She is the co-founder of Honey Literary, Inc. and a Poetry Editor at Split Lip Magazine.
False Offering, her debut full-length collection, is forthcoming in 2023 from Jackleg Press. Her poetry is featured in Juked, Hobart Pulp, New Orleans Review, the Offing, and the Baltimore Review.
Rita Mookerjee holds a Ph.D. in Literature from Florida State University. In 2019-2020, she was a Fulbright Fellow to Jamaica. She is also the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Postdoctoral Fellow at DePaul University.
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In a small first-floor classroom in Lewis’s De La Salle building, Dr. Rita Mookerjee spoke to our Creative Writing class with a powerful, impactful discussion of poetry, its ethics, and the way it is taught in the classroom. On a caring note, Dr. Mookerjee took a quiet moment to acknowledge the students in the room and the ongoing stressors of COVID that continue to persist in the academic world. Dr. Mookerjee created a connection with each student in the room that allowed us to understand the difficult contexts in which we continue to learn and write about poetry in.
With a satirical tone, she continued with a fact that comforted each student: “We don’t go to STEM to find happiness.” Dr. Mookerjee spoke about what makes writing special, pointing out that while STEM is great, it isn’t necessarily important to those who find their passion in writing. She asked us what our favorite hobbies and interests were, encouraging us to find happiness in these passions.
Many of the students in our Creative Writing class have been or are a part of Lewis’s student-run literary journal Jet Fuel Review in which we often discuss the ethical boundaries of the publishing industry. As a published author and editor herself, Dr. Mookerjee took a captivating moment to move into a discussion of ethics in poetry. “I am an agitator first,” she opened with. She moved out of her chair to read aloud a sonnet/elegy by John Okrent, the subject of the piece being a maintenance man, Juan, who worked at his building and “caught the virus, and died on his couch.”
After a moment of silence, the words of the sonnet set in, and each student could feel the ignorance that radiated throughout the lines of the poem. “I believe in dragging as an educational process,” Dr. Mookerjee said, breaking the point of focus in the room. Some students found this humorous, but there was a singular understanding in the room about what went wrong in this sonnet. Dr. Mookerjee criticized Okrent for using the death of a man which he “barely knew” as a way of appropriation. “He’s not a poet for a living, so he’s never heard the conversation we’re having,” she pointed out, which emphasized the importance of our conversation as students who actively participate in the publishing process.
“It’s important to see the humanity of your subject,” she reminded us, encouraging us to think first before writing or creating a piece of writing to ensure we are not harming someone. Dr. Mookerjee cleverly reminded us that if we wanted to write a poem in honor of a living person, to “hit them up.” She said that a majority of the time, those people will be thrilled and honored to have a poem written after them. “Do good things with your art,” said Dr. Mookerjee powerfully.
In our discussion of good and ethical writing, a student asked about what to do about sensitive topics in a piece of writing, and whether trigger warnings were necessary. Before talking about how to handle them, Dr. Mookerjee told us: “I don’t think we should self-censor when we’re working through difficult times,” as a way to encourage students to write through difficult emotions we may be feeling. She assured us that even privately writing through a traumatic time can be comforting for yourself, and if you feel this will be a piece that resonates with others, then don’t “shy away from sending something out when you have context.”
A simple sentence in your submission that mentions this piece will discuss a sensitive topic is enough. She then moved on toward how to decide whether or not to accept a piece about a potentially triggering topic, saying that if you are ever unsure of what to do, ask someone else to take a look at it. A person who has context to a particular topic can be the voice of reason when deciding how to handle these sensitive situations within publishing.
Reading Event
At our Creative Writing Showcase, Dr. Mookerjee continued her poetry reading with a public reading from her poetry collection False Offerings which is forthcoming from Jackleg press.
In a humorous transition from Dr. McGath to Dr. Mookerjee, the two authors found several niche interests in each others poetry. In “Evangeline Oyster Girl,” she writes about an infamous burlesque performer during the 1940’s who would perform her shows in a Venus-esque performance. This is mirrored by Dr. McGath’s focus on Faith Bacon, a burlesque performer who lost her fame and leaped to her death in 1956, in her own poetry. The two authors also had a shared interest in clowns, dolls, and their shared writing in dream journals, which they often use as inspiration for their poetry.
Dr. Mookerjee further described her writing process, which does often begin with a dream journal and her favorite felt tip pen. She frequently draws inspiration from her dreams, as she is a self-described “lucid, vivid dreamer.” Her writing process begins with a timer and “word vomit,” where she freewrites anything she can think of, and moves on with what she connects most to.
Some poems that stuck out to us were “Swan’s Wing,” which Dr. Mookerjee connected to her past as a ballet dancer and how others saw her as less because it wasn’t a “traditional dance.” A striking line from that poem is “my price is the blessing of repose.” “Hard Water” is another poem that resonated with us, it is about Dr. Mookerjee’s sister who has bipolar disorder. She prefaced this piece by saying that it is dedicated to anyone struggling with mental illness, which was an important part of her reading that demonstrated Dr.Mookerjee’s caring nature. A notable line was, “squeeze the warm orb of her shoulder.”
Dr. Mookerjee interjected her reading by describing many of her avenues of inspiration, as well as her writing process. She is inspired by hate mail and the specificity of the insults she receives through emails and Twitter DMs. Dr. Mookerjee also finds that “bad dates are great fuel for poetry,” which made the audience laugh. Despite these seemingly negative experiences of being both a literary critic and editor by trade, Dr. Mookerjee uses these experiences as fuel to write poetry that she feels a calling to write. She describes to the audience that she feels a “sense of urgency” to write about many of these topics for someone like her, who often felt a “profound fury from being voiceless.” She showcases many of the elements of identity in her poem, “Diaspora,” with the striking line, “Who am I to the ocean that drowns me…” In writing poetry that speaks to others who identify in the same way as Dr. Mookerjee, she describes them as “hugs I would like to give to my old self.” In a powerful statement, she says, “No one will champion me except me.”
Below is our interview with Dr. Mookerjee:
1. At the poetry reading you spoke about how you hope that your poetry resonates with and helps those who grew up like you. What words of wisdom would you like to share with those individuals who are living in a small town who are underrepresented and marginalized?
Yeah, small town life can be brutal. It’s good to take advantage of public libraries. I encourage marginalized young people to seek out like minds on internet platforms. The beauty of the internet is that now you can essentially find community and make connections no matter where you live.
2. During your class visit you spoke a lot about authorial intent, the appropriation of voice, and who has the right to write/speak about particular topics. Could you break down your opinion on this subject? What do you think needs to change in the landscape of poetry and literature?
There are a lot of creatives who were taught to believe that anyone can write about anything. That is true, but there is value in writing privately. If we publish work on subjects that are not part of our lived experience, we are inevitably taking the mic away from someone who knows those subjects intimately. That is harmful. If you have been personally asked to share your work on a sensitive topic, that is one thing. But if you take it upon yourself to invent narratives of oppression, that is appropriation. The landscape of literature and creative writing is still overwhelmingly white. We need to see more representation from disabled, queer, and BIPOC communities.
3. How did it feel to get your poetry collection False Offering accepted by Jackleg Press? Do you have any words of advice for younger writers who aspire to get published?
I was so joyous when I got the email from LewisU’s own Simone Muench! I finished the book at the tail end of 2020 and spent a year sending it out and pitching it to publishers. Be willing and able to put in the time it takes to submit your work. As writers, we are always talking about “the process” and the actual act of writing, but we don’t always demystify the submission process. The simplest way to do it is to write a cover letter and have a 10 page sample to send out. Do your homework and be specific when you submit to a press, magazine, or journal. Who is on the masthead? Who are their current authors? Why do you want to publish with that press specifically? If you can answer those questions clearly and succinctly, you will greatly increase your chances of success.
4. How important do you think research is when it comes to writing poetry? Do you find yourself going into rabbit holes as you write?
Research is integral to any form of writing, especially poetry. I will have the weirdest tabs open on my browser, because I am always studying to prepare to write my poems.
5. How has your experience being an Assistant Poetry Editor of Split Lip Magazine shaped you as a poet? Do you have any specific experiences as a poetry editor that helped you further understand and develop your craft?
I got promoted! I’m the Poetry Editor now along with William Fargason. My work as an editor has made me a smarter reader and professor. One thing I pride myself on is supporting young writers. I get poems from people in high school and even younger, and they really impress me. It’s easy to get jaded and bitter about writing, but when I see the hundreds of people sending work to us, I am reminded that I am not alone. There are so many talented people out there. And of course, I am so proud of all the BIWOC I have published. My favorite poems, like “Backstage at the Cairo Opera House” by Sara Elkamel, makes me say, “I wish I wrote this piece!”
6. How have your research interests (Caribbean women’s literature, food studies, and queer theory) shaped your poetry? Would you say that you gain inspiration from these areas of interest?
It is such a blast to do food studies. Just gonna throw that out there. I love to read, cook, and eat, so doing “research” for my critical and creative work is always fun for me. Right now, I am writing a piece about bananas. I’ve been reading tons of books about them and their history as a crop. It’s impossible for me to not be inspired when I surround myself with books and resources.
8. Could you speak a little more about your experiences as a fulbright fellow in Jamaica? What do you think this experience has brought to both you and your writing?
It was strange to be abroad for the pandemic and also for the election. I was born and raised here in the States, so it was important for me to live abroad and get some distance from our current events. Jamaica is a lot like the U.S., so I didn’t have much culture shock. I took my time learning about customs and cultural nuances before I left and learned a lot on my feet while I was there. My second book has a lot of Jamaica poems, especially ones about fruits and plants.
9. How do you find inspiration to write something new and how do you deal with writer’s block?
Wikipedia is an excellent place to find source material and inspiration. I also like to go on Atlas Obscura for ideas. I don’t get writer’s block because I write daily. Like anything else, practice is key.
10. Is there anything you’re currently working on?
I am currently working on my second poetry collection, Bouquet of Skewers.
11. To conclude: Please list five pieces of writing you would recommend (anything included, be it movies, books, etc.).
- If This Is the Age We End Discovery by Rosebud Ben-Oni
2. BABE by Dorothy Chan
3. Year of the Unicorn Kidz by Jason B. Crawford
4. Oceanic by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
5. Blue-Skinned Gods by SJ Sindu
A special thank you to Dr. Mookerjee for taking the time to visit and respond to our interview.
To learn more about Dr. Mookerjee visit https://www.ritamookerjee.com.