An Interview with Olivia Keenan

Olivia Keenan is a second-year student at the University of Virginia from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, studying biology and English on the pre-med track. In April, she published a book of poetry titled, Face Me: a declaration. 

The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity:

It’s really interesting that you’re on the pre-med track. I was expecting you to have your eyes set on a career in writing. So, is writing more of a hobby for you?

I guess it’s a hobby, but I think I will be writing, even writing books, when I’m a doctor. 

How long have you been writing poetry?

Early in high school, I started watching a lot of slam poetry on Youtube, and then I started performing during my junior and senior year. When I came to UVA, I joined a club called Flux Poetry and Spoken Word, and they do open mics and slams. It was a bit of a transition when COVID happened because I couldn’t do performance anymore. I started writing a lot more for the page.

Could you walk us through the timeline of writing and publishing this book? 

Some of the poems were written before I even thought I was going to write a book. Some I had written during my first year, some I’d written as slam poems. They all had a similar theme, relating to my race and identity.

As you know this summer was crazy, not only because of COVID but also with race and the Black Lives Matter movement being so present. I had a lot of time on my hands because I was at home and doing nothing, as well as thinking a lot about my identity. Then, coincidentally, my dad’s cousin, who is the CEO of an independent book publishing company, reached out to my mom, who had written a book maybe ten years ago. My mom mentioned to her that I write poetry, and so she came to me and asked me to pitch something to her. I did not have a book ready at this point, but I said that I had a lot of poems that I had written in the past that I  thought I could bring together into a book. I wrote the first draft of the book over the summer in Milwaukee. I came back to Charlottesville in the fall, and that was when I started working with an editor. I started really heavily editing and even changing out some of the poems over the fall. It was completely finished right around New Year’s, and then it was released in April. 

Did you do the illustrations yourself? 

I took the photos, but my roommate is an amazing artist—Caroline Weis, she goes to UVA. She did the front cover, as well as the drawings on top of the pictures, all on Photoshop. 

Were there any UVA professors who knew about this project you were doing? Did you reach out to any of them for advice?

This was pretty independent. I still need to tell some of my professors about it! I’ve taken multiple classes in the creative writing department, so I know some of the poetry professors here. A lot of them have seen many of the poems in the book. When some of them read it, they’ll definitely recognize a good chunk of it!

This isn’t actually the first book you’ve published. You self- published another book called What Love Does. How was publishing that book different from publishing Face Me?

I self-published my first book during my junior year. I’m laughing because it’s so cringey to me now, but that was made through an online service called Book Baby. I had a box of fifty books and I brought them to school and sold them for cash. That was a lot different than this process, since this process involved an actual publishing house. I still had a lot of autonomy with design and the writing process, but this publishing company helped me with many things I couldn’t do before, such as selling more than 50 copies!

Tell us a little bit about the book itself. What themes feature heavily?

The book focuses mainly on my identity as a black woman of mixed race. I look through the lens of American history, Christianity as well as my sexuality. It is an autobiographical journey that moves chronologically. 

The book is divided into three sections Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation. Could you talk a bit about that structure?

The beginning is the exposition, setting the scene. The person I see in that part is somebody who I was a few years ago—pre-this summer of 2020. The first part is really sad. It’s a time of my life where I felt a lot of shame. 

Development is when I’m starting to come to terms with all this stuff. Development is a really interesting part because it's definitely sad but it's getting to a point of self-realization where I’m starting to recognize things I didn’t recognize before. 

Recapitulation marks the culmination of everything and ends with a celebration of arriving at this reclamation of myself and my identity. 

The title of the book is Face Me. What is the meaning behind that?

The title comes from a place of refusing to quiet myself, which I’ve really done in the past. Not having to explain myself. It’s a quick command that orders people to look at me, to listen to me. I think I needed a title like that to go against my instincts of quieting myself. 

Thomas Jefferson is a recurring figure in the book. Has writing this book changed the way you view UVA or your relationship with UVA?

I think it has. I came to UVA with a bit of rose-colored glasses. It was a little bit of a switch for me because I came from Wisconsin. There are no slave-owners that have buildings in Wisconsin. There are no buildings built by enslaved people. So I was not used to being in space that at one point had enslaved people or being in buildings built by enslaved people. That was a switch I had to make. 

In school I learned about all the Founding Fathers, and the idea that they owned enslaved people wasn’t as close to me because I lived in the north. Coming here, it was a lot more ubiquitous and something I had to think about a lot. The book has made me face some of the idolizing of Jefferson that I took part in without accepting or recognizing the horrible things that he did. 

I think the book has helped me grapple with that. 

What have been some of your favorite English classes at UVA?

Black Women Writers with Professor Lisa Woolfork. She was the first Black female that I've ever had teach me, which was in and of itself amazing. It was wonderful to have her teaching about these incredible writers that came before.

Also, Kiki Petrosino. She wrote a book called White Blood, which is amazing. She’s definitely been an inspiration for me. I had her last semester while I was in the thick of my writing, so that was wonderful. 

Which UVA professors have taught you the most about writing?

My first poetry professor was for an intro poetry class, and she was in the MFA program. Her name was Elisabeth Blaire. Coming from high school, I’d been writing poems but I’d never been critiqued before. All my friends, when I’d show my poems to them, they would just be like ‘Oh, amazing!’ and so, I think that the first semester of my first year was the biggest moment of improvement for me as a writer because I was getting workshopped. I needed that and I didn’t realize I needed that. My poems from the beginning of the semester to the end were just completely different, and in the best way. She taught me a lot. 

Second semester I had Brian Teare. He was great for me, and he gave me some amazing books to read that really helped me incorporate aspects of slam poetry writing into page poems. 

Do you have any favorite poets or writers?

Danez Smith. FLUX hosted them last semester. They write in a way that I wish I could—just incredible slam poetry that is also beautiful on the page. 

One of my favorite books of all time is The Color Purple by Alice Walker. I have a poem in my book called “Lilac Gods” and that is about my relationship with The Color Purple. I was actually named after one of the characters in the book. 

I also love Mary Oliver. She’s a poet that influences my own writing on Christianity and religion. She embraces the beauty of God. 

I’m also a huge Toni Morrison fan. She’s the best writer I’ve ever read. Her work transcends prose and poetry. When I’m reading her work, I can’t tell if I'm reading prose or poetry and so, ultimately, she’s my greatest inspiration. 

What books are currently on your nightstand?

I’m actually in a bad spot right now as I am trying to read multiple books. I’m reading these short stories called Exhalations by Ted Chiang. He also wrote the short stories called “Stories of Your Life and Others” which inspired the movie Arrival. It's sci-fi. I’m also reading White Teeth by Zadie Smith. 

Are there certain genres that you are drawn towards?

I’m not a huge nonfiction reader, but I will read anything fiction: sci-fi fantasy, realistic fiction, romance, mystery, I love it. 

You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Who do you invite?

Toni Morrison, Mary Oliver, and probably Alice Walker. The Color Purple has just been so monumental in my life. 

Are there any books that you plan to read next?

The Overstory by Richard Powers and Life of Pi by Yann Martel.