artoberVA Spotlight: Paula Akinwole and her ways of Storytelling
Meet our artoberVA 2023 Spotlight, Paula G. Akinwole. A storyteller that best describes her writing as word spells and ramblings on a mic. This is an exciting opportunity for our community to see her live and in action at the artoberVA Storytelling spotlight event at SPARC. CultureWorks has partnered with the Virginia Storytelling Alliance and The Writer’s Den to bring you ten great stories from some amazing storytellers.
CW: Introduce yourself and your creative background as a writer! When did it all start for you? Most importantly, what titles would you like me to use when I credit you in the Spotlight?
PA: I'm Paula Michelle Gillison - Akinwole but most people know me as Paula G. I'm a storyteller. I think that best describes all my writing, word spells and ramblings on a mic. Sometimes it's poetry or essays, short stories or think pieces, but it's always with the goal of telling a story or presenting an understanding that hopefully matters to the reader. Maybe it even changes them a little. As a young poet, I wrote about whatever was heavy on my heart. Some poems I could share in school or church and others were private and full of secrets. As a storyteller, I no longer keep secrets. Maybe I share to-a-fault but the things are less heavy that way. My resume says I’m the editor in chief behind the internationally recognized blog “For Lack of Better Words” (www.lackofbetter.com) and the owner of PGARTistry LLC. I have been published multiple times on page and stage, most notably with the Billie Holiday Theater and Life In Ten Minutes Press. I am the creator of workbooks “Go Hard” and “YOU” as well as the author of “All the Boys,” “Under,” and “Parables and the Gold Plated Things.” My newest project “Sent Me Flying” is underway.
CW: Tell me a bit about your relationship to your creative work! Are there certain themes you are drawn to when writing/storytelling?
PA: My work is a reflection of whatever experience I'm having in life. Maybe that's selfish writing but self is what I know best. The whole world can be talking about apples but if oranges are my jam, I'm gonna write about oranges and hope you take notice of them too. The writing is healing; I'm writing to heal and I'm showing a road map to healing or healthier. I spent many years questioning the norms of the world in my writing, then I focused on grief. Now, I'm looking into the way my mind works and my mental health. I'm going "woah, this event altered my brain chemistry" and people respond "wait, I'm not the only one." It shows up in my short stories too. My characters are not normal. I might be in this theme a few months or years but the goal is to always be growing.
CW: Similarly, do you have a personal process for getting into the mindset of writing?
PA: No. I wish I could say I light a candle, turn on some Sade, and become one with myself but that would be a cute lie. I struggle to find time, to commit, to do the work just like most artists who have to be a functioning human during the day. Between school and work and family, writing doesn't always get prioritized. But when I do get into the zone, it's more magical than a candle and music. It feels divine and rightly connected to all I am and all I'm meant to be. That feels so much more special than an everyday 6am writing routine though I could use some of that will power. But when it's pivotal, I remind myself of why I am a writer. There's no writer's block or failure to launch because I'm always seeing the next story or listening for the next assignment.
CW: How have you felt your creative work as a writer connect to the community around you? Have you discovered anything new over the years, and/or do you have a special memory in your experience?
PA: I find that when I write from my authentic experience without trying to be general or relatable, I find community and community finds me. There are subsections and pockets of humanity who are all feeling the same thing in the same way yet think they are completely isolated in their experience. I once had a grieving mother come up to me after a show and simply say "me too." We had both lost children but she was in the audience seeking comfort and I was on stage pouring out my heart. We both had a part to play in a storyteller’s exchange. All of a sudden, there are words where there was just utterance and expression where there was just sorrow. We weren't alone.
CW: You are participating in artoberVA’s storytelling event at SPARC with The Writer’s Den & Virginia Storytelling Alliance. What can attendees expect, and what are you most looking forward to about this event?
PA: The Writer's Den is so special in the way that it makes you wonder how you ever existed without the experience of a poetry slam, writing workshop or open mic. We are a group of beautifully flawed humans who lean into those ugly places to create art. Attendees can expect to hear from people who don't look like what they've been through but are testament to the power of when words are wielded into weapon. I'm most looking forward to listening to the stories. There are few greater gifts than someone giving you a bit of themselves in a story. We are all stories in a single collection.
CW: What advice do you have for artists interested in exploring writing/storytelling as a medium for the first time?
PA: Start with conversation. Talk to the people around you in a meaningful and specific way. Don’t ask me how my day was, I’m gonna say fine! But ask an open-ended question that requires someone to think, remember, and share like “Woah, cool tattoo. What’s that story?” And if that’s not possible, then do it to yourself. Talk to yourself about your stories and spend time remembering your childhood and think about the magical things and serendipitous moments. Then when you sit down to write, don’t just give the facts about what happened but write about how it feels, why you think it is, and what makes the moment special.
CW: What has been inspiring you lately?
PA: My son has been such an inspiration. He feels otherworldly to me. He is the rainbow baby after a thunderstorm. It feels like I’m finally putting down my umbrella to enjoy the sky, the rain, and how everything feels. I’m also inspired by myself these days. It took me a while to really see me again. I feel like a child who saw themselves in the mirror for the first time and thought it was another baby so they laughed and cooed at how cute it was. I’ve just gotten to the part where I realize I’m the cute baby! I’m impressed by myself.
CW: What do arts & culture mean to you, and why does it matter?
PA: When I was younger, I was terrified of statues and any non-human things with a realistic human face. My skin would crawl and I would freak out if I looked too long. My fear was that the statue would look back at me. Wink! Until someone told me that my fear wasn’t rooted in the statue itself but the obsession someone had with another person to the point they wanted a replica! That understanding changed my whole world view. I’ve come to understand that the world and all its norms, peculiarities, nuances, and mystery is based on how people have interpreted what they see and how it feels for them. Art is the expression of that. Culture is the habitual acceptance of that. It matters because it shapes how and who we are. And for some reason, if a person has been shaped in a way that’s sharp and unyielding, then art and culture can help soften those edges. You experience me and I experience you and we both walk away musing on a world we never knew existed.
Purchase tickets to listen to Paula Akinwole’s storytelling live at VA Storytelling Alliancex The Writer's Den at SPARC on 10/20
Learn more about Paula: https://lackofbetter.com/pgart/