Speaking on Ancestral Storytelling Pt. 2
Featured Guests: Carissa Ceasor and Sally Familia
Our celebration of Pride and Caribbean American Heritage continues in part 2 of the conversation between Girls Write Now Fellow Sally Familia and Mentee Carissa Ceasor. Last episode, our guests dove deep into how they use poetry to process and release their emotions, in addition to the impact their ancestry has on them. This week, Sally and Carissa talk more about poetry and give tons of great advice for all of you fellow writers listening in.
Sally Familia
Carissa Ceasor
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Sally Familia
Sally Familia (they/them) is a queer poet and freelance editor. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Washington Heights, Familia has a rooted passion for their community. They spent a year serving as senior editor for La Galería Magazine, a Dominican-based magazine for the Dominican diaspora in Washington Heights. They hold a B.A. in creative writing with a focus on poetry from SUNY Oswego. Most recently, Sally’s passions have shifted; now incorporating a strong desire to work with and for the youth. Sally hopes to merge their love for literature, Queer and BIPOC communities, and the youth as they continue to navigate the artist/ professional dichotomy. Sally has been awarded the Academy of American Poets Prize for the poem, “The Trouble with Reminiscing” (2019). They were also nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Brooklyn Poets for the poem, “Esperanza, Republica Dominicana”. Sally is currently working on their first poetry collection.
Carissa Ceasor
Carissa Ceasor is a young black author, poet and actor from the south. Their writing focuses on the conflicting expectations placed on black, queer, neurodivergent and ill individuals, and the trauma that creates. When it's not directing its gaggle of rouge actors, or leading its school's creative writing club, Carissa can be found knee-deep in old web forums running calculations on the ins and outs of realistic fictional societies, from planetary surface temperature to language specific puns. One day, Carissa hopes to befriend a sentient AI.
