In a world that has consistently tried to dim the light of Black children, author, poet and educator, Tony Keith, found solace in poetry. Keith takes us on his journey trying to outrun the shadow of his deepest fears as a young Black gay boy in his YA memoir-in-verse, “How the Boogeyman Became a Poet.” This book is one about the self-discovery that happens on the pages of a notebook and beneath the bright lights of a stage. It is a lyrical love letter to Black Queer kids everywhere and a reminder that fear is only as powerful as you make it.
Keith spoke with Black Joy to share the story behind bringing his memoir to life, the role of hip-hop in his work and words of encouragement for young people.
Why did you choose this particular form for your memoir?
Because writing a YA memoir-in-verse was never the original intention of this book. So here’s the story of how that happened. Well, February 2020 I’m at the University of South Carolina with my dear friend and brother Jason Reynolds. And we’re doing some workshops and school visits and things together through a partnership we have there with the Museum of Education. After every event we do, of course, there’s this massive book signing and I’m used to sitting next to Jason for the book signing things. Well, this kid gets out of line. Little Black boy, I swear, looks just like me—him, and I believe his mom, came to me and he goes, “Tony, where’s your book?” And so I remember I was like, “I don’t have a book. I publish on the stage,” something really silly. And I go back to my hotel room that night and I’m like, “What could I write that would be for a young reader?” I had just defended my dissertation a few months before in October 2019.
I didn’t know that the moment we flew back [home], COVID-19 would hit. And so then it’s like, “Well, I’m an artist, I’m an educator. This is the worst time to be an artist and an educator. I’ve got nothing to do but maybe to work on this…
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