It’s been two years since the release of my memoir, When They Tell You To Be Good, and the journey has been transformative. In this video, I reflect on what writing this book has taught me about masculinity, Black mortality, and personal growth as a queer Black man. Through confronting grief, toxic masculinity, and abandonment, I’ve come to realize that the answers we seek often lie within us, and writing has been my way of reclaiming that power.

Join me as I share the key lessons from my memoir and how they continue to shape my understanding of survival and resilience. Whether you’ve read When They Tell You To Be Good or are discovering it for the first time, this video offers a deep dive into how writing can be a tool for self-discovery and healing.

Imagine a novel that combines the magical realism of a children’s literary classic like Bridge to Terabithia with the emotional complexity of coming of age through grief, similar to The Fault in Our Stars. This is the tonality found throughout Cassandra J. Kelly’s debut novel, The Clearing, released in the spring of 2024.

In this episode of THE CREATIVE HOUR, host Prince Shakur sits down with Cassandra J. Kelly to delve into her captivating narrative. Cassandra, who holds degrees in journalism and environmental science from Ohio University, continues to call Ohio home and enjoys spending time in nature with her Australian Shepherds, Bonnie and Eva.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Clearing opens with Sadie and her mother struggling to get by in a beat-up car in Juniper, Ohio. From there, the story transforms into a young woman’s adventurous escapades in the woods, the reconnection of a family torn by loss, and the harsh realities of a failing healthcare system. Sadie’s journey of caring for her ailing mother, exploring the woods, and coming of age resonates deeply with readers.

To buy... "THE CLEARING" by Cassandra J. Kelly: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781633377776 [affiliate link]

Join us as we explore:

• The complex themes of staying and leaving one’s home.
• Growing up at a young age and how surrealism can save us.
• How Cassandra avoided cliché tropes in narratives dealing with illness.
• The surrealism of childhood.
• And how writing can be a transformative, healing process.

EPISODE CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

02:55 - How did you grow up? And get into writing?

05:35 - How "THE CLEARING" started as an idea

10:32 - On discovering Sadie as a main character

13:25 - Coming of age through grief and writing

19:35 - Family dynamics and psychology in "THE CLEARING"

24:21 - How to write illness consciously and avoid tropes

28:30 - Surrealism in nature and as a means to navigate trauma

32:56 - On Sadie's character arc

40:43 - Your favorite character in the book?

44:35 - A sequel to THE CLEARING and What's Next

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR | CASSANDRA J. KELLY holds journalism and environmental science degrees from Ohio University. She continues to call Ohio home and loves spending time in nature with her Australian Shepherds, Bonnie, and Eva.

It's finally season three of The Creative Hour and I'm so happy to bring this podcast back in a new form. In season three I'll be breaking down the many different aspects of my life as an author and writer, whether it be getting published, navigating book tour, working on fiction after publishing, a memoir and much more.

If there any particular writing questions, you want to see explored in this season let me know.

We chat with WILLIAM O'NEAL II, a playwright, and artist born and raised in South Georgia. O'Neal II is currently based in NYC and writes stories centered around coming-of-age narratives, queerness, and social transgressions through desire, cannibalism, surrealism, and beyond.

To find WILLIAM O'NEAL II, find them on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/willthesecond_/)

• In this episode, we talk to William O'Neal II on ….
• • Being a career artist versus something else
  • How good stories are specific, and therefore honest
  • The power of coming-of-age narratives
  • Their thematic fascination with cannibalism
  • Their history as a playwright 
  • Films mentioned include: BONES AND ALL, INFINITY POOL, GREEN INFERNO, RAW

ABOUT THE GUEST: RASHEED NEWSON is an author, a television drama writer, an executive producer, and a showrunner. My Government Means to Kill Me (in stores August 23, 2022) is his debut novel. Rasheed – along with his television writing partner, T.J. Brady – is also the showrunner of the drama series Bel-Air (premieres Feb. 2022 on Peacock).

ABOUT "MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME": A fierce and riveting queer coming-of-age story, following the personal and political awakening of a young gay Black man in 1980s NYC, from the television drama writer and producer of The Chi, Narcos, and Bel-Air.

PHOTO IN ALBUM ARTWORK BY CHRISTOPHER MARR

Mentioned Media

• WE WERE HERE, documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ656rmQAaM
• BAYARD RUSTIN and JAMES BALDWIN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OalPJ3ITHKg
• ACT UP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrAzU79PBVM
• "Why Black AIDS History Matters": https://www.aaihs.org/why-black-aids-history-matters/
• LARRY KRAMER: https://www.npr.org/2020/05/27/512714500/larry-kramer-pioneering-aids-activist-and-writer-dies-at-84

I talk to Aaron H. Aceves about the process of writing his debut YA book, THIS IS WHY THEY HATE US. We tackle drafting, revision, exploring biphobia through your work, and what this book means to him.

SHOW NOTES:

• THIS IS WHY THEY HATE US: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/This-Is-Why-They-Hate-Us/Aaron-H-Aceves/9781534485655
• AARON'S WEBSITE: https://aaronhaceves.com/

ABOUT THE SHOW

In this episode, I talk to Ashunda Norris, a visionary filmmaker from Georgia. Her work spans numerous short films that delve in black gender and relationships, as well as an impressive poetry and open mic career.

WORKS MENTIONED

• Ashunda Norris Website: https://ashunda.com/
• JOSE OLIVAREZ, poem: https://poets.org/poem/i-walk-every-room-and-yell-where-mexicans
• JAMILLA WOODS, “My Afropuffs”: https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=10153350222521534&_rdr
• BELL HOOKS, Opposition Gaze: https://pages.ucsd.edu/~bgoldfarb/cogn21s12/reading/hooks-oppositional-gaze.pdf

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born and raised in rural Georgia, Ashunda is a Black feminist multidisciplinary artist with creative work that encompasses film, poetry, archiving and critical scholarship. Her art centers the complexities of Black {southern} womxnhood/girlhood, magical spiritual traditions of Southern Black folk, Black futures and fugitivity. Her most recent film, MINO: A Diasporic Myth is an award winning afro-surreal futuristic short currently streaming on kweliTV. Ashunda is a 2022 and 2021 Furious Flower Poetry Prize finalist, a Pushcart Prize nominee and an inaugural Starshine & Clay fellow. She has received fellowships from Cave Canem, the California Arts Council, Haile Gerima’s Liberated Territory, Community of Writers and the New York State Summer Writers Institute. Her writing has been featured or is forthcoming in Obsidian, Taint Taint Taint, Root Work Journal, Fence, EcoTheo Review, PANK, Trampoline and elsewhere. A country blk girl at heart, Ashunda loves hot water cornbread, stargazing, obscure cinema and the ocean. 

Learn more at ashunda.com

I spent a whole month in St Paul de Vence, France in June and had to sit down to talk about major emotions as an artist and soon-to-be debut author! #ArtistResidency #France #TheCreativeHour

Music by Sam Holman Smith and Sonic Music Loops | Broadcast by Verge.FM. Hosted by Prince Shakur. The Creative Hour Podcast Website. | To support The Creative Hour and Prince Shakur, support on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/prshakur)

ABOUT MY BOOK

My debut memoir, WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD, comes out October 4, 2022. To preorder: https://bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534422

"Prince Shakurk’s debut memoir brilliantly mines his many eras of radicalization and self-realization through examinations of place, childhood, queer identity, and a history of uprisings."