Aspiring poet Keciana Green reaches new milestone with developing book

After falling in love with writing her freshman year, senior aspiring poet Keciana Green is working on her first poetry book, expecting to finish it by May 2019.

Although Green used to hate reading and writing, the tables turned in her second semester of ninth grade when she began writing poetry as a way to deal with her struggles. “I was really depressed and… needed a way to get [it] out… [so] I just wrote about it,” she says.

Green expresses that since then, writing poetry has been her coping mechanism for external frustrations surrounding politics, personal life, and current events. The different subjects gave Green a chance to project an opinion through the voice of literature.

What served as therapeutic relief soon turned into passion as Green developed a real interest in the art. She took creative writing to learn how to improve her poetry and began sharing her poems with other people. Keciana has performed poetry at Busboys and Poets, for the NAACP, and around school for clubs like FAME and Sources of Strength.

After exploring her passion, Green decided to go a step further and create a book filled with more of her poetry pieces. Green’s book will include topics many can relate to such as peace, heartbreak and a divided household. “I really want people to know that they’re not alone in their personal… and…family struggles,” she says.

In light of the various topics, Green uses different styles for her pieces. “Sometimes, they’re really raw, sometimes they’re straight to the point, and sometimes they’re not,” she says.  She has been inspired by poets like Mahogany L. Browne, who’s known for her pieces that vocalize African American experiences and views. Green says, “She is absolutely amazing. I love her.”

With the path her passion has created, Green is hoping to continue perfecting her skill in college and to take on poetry writing  as a potential career. “I really want to go to college, major in English, and take creative writing so I can become a writer,” she says.

No matter where she takes her poetry, Green voices how it will always be an important part in her life. “For me, poetry is like my diary or like my inner part, and when I expose it, it’s just the softest part of me.”