LOVE
By Zakiyyah Singletary
My poem reflects the confidence I was able to gain in my time spent at Girls Write Now. Without gaining my new confidence, I wouldn’t have been able to write and speak my truth. That truth is: I deserve to be heard, and so do the stories and unjust lives of those who have passed away.
Process
My idea for this project came from the admiration I feel for my younger brother. He has always been the love of my life since he was born. To honor him, I made a short video of his life moments.
Meet the Pair
MENTEE ZAKIYYAH SINGLETARY & MENTOR ELIZABETH KOSTER
Zakiyyah’s Anecdote: When I first meet people, I am never quite able to give myself away to them. This was never much of a problem with Elizabeth. From the moment we met, I felt we were a good pair to work together. Elizabeth is incredibly supportive and a genuine person overall. She is a great person naturally and an even better mentor, I am blessed to have met her and worked alongside her. I know her guidance will help me get very far in life.
Elizabeth’s Anecdote: Zakiyyah is passionate about writing, open and easy to talk to, and wonderful to work with. “I have a surprise,” she wrote me one morning, and sent a poem that she’d started in the middle of the night and that she wanted to read for the first Girls Write Now Live reading. The poem—moving and powerful and filled with insight about racial injustice—made me weep for days. Her other work that I’ve read is similarly insightful and focused on charged, high-stakes issues. I’m looking forward to seeing what Zakiyyah has in store for Girls Write Now and beyond!
Zakiyyah Singletary
Zakiyyah Singletary is a class of 2020 Girls Write Now mentee based in Brooklyn, NY.
