Today we’d like to introduce you to Raquel “Rocky” Perez.
Hi Raquel “Rocky”, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I went to my first spoken word performance at the age of 17. It was for a high school extra credit assignment. I have always been a huge hip-hop and lyricist fan, so being exposed to spoken word opened up my world. I had no idea that this form of poetry even existed and that people could play with words in that way. I saw these spoken word pieces being performed like hip-hop songs but without a beat. I was tuned in to every lyric and raw emotion shared by these poets. Two years later, at the age of 19, I started going to more shows in the LA area and I never thought I would be able to write a spoken word piece but when I was given the assignment to write a poem for a class and present it, I took a shot. I remember the spoken word piece being about my identity as a Chicana. It was the first time I put my feelings around this into words. I was so shy and was nervous as hell performing it, but being able to creatively express myself was a game changer. From that moment on, I started sharing my poems with folks and every time I shared a piece, I gained more and more confidence. I started building community through poetry and finding my voice by writing and exposing my most thoughts and feelings. At the age of 28, I self-published and released my first book of poems, Confessions of a Chicana with a Broken Tongue. This book includes poems of identity exploration, social injustices, and heartbreak. As a school social worker, I get to use journaling with my students as a form of creative expression so that they can be exposed to a healthy outlet. Sometimes we just need a little exposure, like an extra credit assignment, to find our passion.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Sharing my book, which contains my most intimate thoughts and feelings, with my community – my world – was far from easy. It was emotional and scary at times processing my grief, heartbreak, and identity exploration through poetry. Sharing my poems for everyone to see was even scarier. I expected only my closest friends would be purchasing my book and that my experiences would stay close to home. So you can imagine my shock when more than 100 books were sold in the first week of releasing my collection. I did not expect that this many people would be interested in what I had to say and I could not sleep all week because it felt like family, friends, and strangers were reading the most personal stories in my diary. I kept rehearsing every poem line wondering if I should have just kept those emotions and experiences to myself. Should I have written about that? Should I have left out those details? What will they think of my stories? Will people know who I’m talking about? What will they think of her? How will this change the way they look at me? And on top of my self-questioning, many others asked me if the book was my way of “coming out” as a queer woman. While that wasn’t my intention, that was how some people received it, which also created some conflict in my relationships. The days following my book release were more difficult than I had ever anticipated. However, the vulnerability that self-publishing a book of poems required of me pushed me to be more confident in myself and the person I am becoming. When I wrote these poems, I felt so alone in those experiences but then, once my poems were out in the world, it was beautiful to see so many people relating to so many of them. Although self-publishing my first book has not been easy, connecting with folks and building community through poetry has been the best part of it all.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a queer Chicana from Santa Monica, California who is passionate about poetry and social justice. I am a school social worker and a poet. I wrote a book of poems last year, titled Confessions of a Chicana with a Broken Tongue, and continue to write poetry. I enjoy working with youth and doing community work.
What are your plans for the future?
A line from one of the poems in my book reads, “I’m working on staying in the present more, living in the future less, and not dwelling on my past mistakes.” Although I wrote those words a while back, I continue to put them into practice every day. In the past, I would compartmentalize my life, as I and many others were taught we should. You have your role as a professional, as a daughter, a cousin, a friend – got your side hustle, your alone time, romantic relationships, and everything in between. I used to think of myself as a social worker by day, a poet by night, and all the other things fit in when they could. But I’ve come to realize that the truth is, I can be all of those things in the present moment. I am continuing to focus on my passion of writing while finding balance in all aspects of life. In the near future, I am planning on finishing and publishing another book. Down the line, I would love to mentor youth in creative writing and get more involved in the poetry community by creating my own journal/magazine to give young folks a platform to get published. More specifically, I want to be able amplify the voices of BIPOC and queer youth by providing them with adequate opportunities and resources to showcase their work. My hope is that I can provide a space for young folks to be able to express themselves creatively to help them gain confidence, understand themselves better, and even find their passion – like the world of poetry has done for me.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: rockyperez.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockytheauthor/?hl=en
