CCA MFA WRITING
San Francisco
DeShara Suggs-Joe '18
DeShara Suggs-Joe graduated with her MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts and her BA in Marketing Communications, Public Relations. She is the Creative Director for Winter Tangerine and the Co-Founder of the Daughter’s Tongue Coalition. She is also a former member of the Youth Speaks Collective. She has crafted syllabi for online workshops and led online and in-person workshops in New York City for Winter Tangerine. Previously, DeShara’s coalition self-published two chapbooks and produced five poetry readings in the Bay Area. DeShara has received fellowships from Callaloo, The Poetry Incubator, and Pink Door. She has released three poetry videos on her YouTube channel, Supershardom. She’s been published in Voicemail Poems, Tinderbox Journal, The Texas Review, Button Poetry YouTube's channel, and others. She has performed at the likes of Spotify, Yahoo, Pinterest, and other venues around the Bay, Chicago, and New York. She was also the Writer in Residence for the Black Light Exhibition at the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art. Through it all – she considers home to be the spaces she gets to teach creative writing workshops, read Jesmyn Ward, Ai, or Lucille Clifton, and listen to her "Feels" or "Home Frequency" playlist on repeat.
Why Did You Choose CCA?
When I was thinking about grad school — I was living in NYC. I hadn’t previously studied poetry or creative writing but began to take it seriously after a Cave Canem workshop with T’Ai Freedom Ford. I was starting to burn out in NYC and wanted to make a move to the opposite coast. I chose the Bay because of Oakland's history and CCA because of what it could offer outside of the poetics. At CCA, I worked with brilliant poetry mentors like Tonya Foster, and outside of CCA, I got to meet some of my favorite poets through my time at Youth Speaks.
Advice for Current Students?
Stay true to yourself and your writing journey, and don't let comparison be the thief of joy. I believe that being a writer means you’re committed to observation, self-discovery, and evolving. So even the bad poems are steps toward good ones. I also believe that my best writing is always ahead of me because my curiosity leads the way. So, focus on the themes that have become mini-obsessions and investigate why — that’s usually where your best writing lives. Lastly, invest in your writing community by being present. Water the ones around and watch how you bloom, too. Oh, and SUBMIT YOUR WORK!
What's Next for You?
I have a chapbook coming out on April 9th with Button Poetry. I am still gathering (writing) poems for my full length book, but my next project will be a queer graphic novel or comic. Currently, I am very interested in creating visual art and exploring where that will take me. I want to work with other writers on their book covers and play more in that illustration/graphic design arena. That's where my heart is pulling me next. Stay tuned!