interviews — Eliamani Ismail

Interviews of Eliamani Ismail

"Poetry was deeply personal—every poem I wrote was for myself and to myself. Once I no longer had much interest in myself as a character, fiction became appealing because I wanted to start writing about other people and for other people. My friends, family, neighbors, and the voices in my head."

— An Interview with Eliamani Ismail, Southern Humanities Review
"I don’t think it’s possible for me, as someone of African blood, to really find a home outside of Africa, yet I currently have no physical or linguistic home there. I have that in other places, sure, but I don’t think it’s healthy to name places constantly trying to kill you “home.”... I’ve come to accept that anywhere my mother is may well be the most “home” I’ll have in this life."

— Brooklyn Poets 'Poet of the Week'

"Poetry was deeply personal—every poem I wrote was for myself and to myself. Once I no longer had much interest in myself as a character, fiction became appealing because I wanted to start writing about other people and for other people. My friends, family, neighbors, and the voices in my head."