Artist Profile: R.B. Simon
R.B. Simon is a queer artist and writer of African-, Native- and European-American descent. She has been writing poetry since teenage angst first hit at age eleven, but sincerely hopes it has improved with age. She loves the capacity of words to evoke visceral responses in an audience, as well as clothing with stripes, giraffes, and coffee-flavored caffeine. She has been published in the Terra Preta Review, The Green Light Literary Journal, Anti-Heroin Chic, Blue Literary Journal, Bramble Literary Magazine, Cutleaf Journal, Floresta Magazine’s Journey Project, Electric Moon, and Literary Mama. Her new work is upcoming in Strange Horizons, The Hyacinth Review, Minnow Literary Magazine, Sky Island Journal, and the Burrow Press Review. Her chapbook, The Good Truth, was released by Finishing Line Press in July 2021. She is currently living in Madison, WI with her partner, young adult daughter and four unruly little dogs.
1) What is your secret creative passion...or muse?
I don’t think that my creative passions are particularly secret. I’m a writer and a visual artist, so I view everything through the lens of art. I am fascinated by words in particular and will hunt for precise wording in everything from resumes to emails to poems. My muses include my family, identity and intersectionality, current events and nature.
2) How do keep you sustain your enthusiasm for writing while also not knowing when work you’ve submitted will be rejected or accepted?
I never expect to be accepted to any particular publication. It’s not why I write. I love when acceptances happen, and feel blessed to have been published. But I write because I feel driven to express images, phrases or thoughts in my mind that beg to be made manifest. I go through long dry spells of no writing. That’s when I do flurries of submissions; then I’ll be bitten by the writing bug again and there’s simply no time to submit. If an acceptance or rejection comes in during that time, while of course I have an initial reaction (Who likes to be rejected?!), it doesn’t really alter my drive to write—except perhaps my determination to write better.
3) Explain one or two of your current creative goals.
I am in the process of finding a home for my second book, a full-length manuscript of poetry. Last year I published a chapbook, The Good Truth, through Finishing Line Press. And am now excited to share a more in-depth, memoir-like collection. I am also writing (perpetually) a full-length non-fiction memoir. Lastly, I am a full-time student studying Art Therapy; I hope to combine my passion for all things creative with my desire to help others in my professional career going forward.
4) Who are 2 -3 artists you wish more people were aware of?
• Andrea Gibson – poet/spoken word artist (You Better Be Lightning, Lord of the Butterflies): Andrea’s art literally gives me goosebumps. Their ability to find the most unexpected, perfect metaphors, leaves me in awe.
• Calida Rawles – visual artist: Calida’s artwork is so visually clear and stunning I could stare at it for hours. Almost photorealistic, yet the quality of painting as an otherworldliness to the work that could not be captured with a lens.
• Porsha Olayiwola – poet/spoken word artist (I shimmer sometimes, too): Capturing with humor and sharpness the realities of growing up black in Chicago, Porsha’s language snaps and demands attention. Enthralling.