Renowned poet and author of "You Don't Miss Your Water"

February 3, 2000

Cornelius Eady is the author of "You Don't Miss Your Water," "The Gathering of My Name" - a Pulitzer Prize nominee; "BOOM BOOM BOOM," "Victims of the Latest Dance Craze," which was the Lamont Poetry Selection of the Academy of American Poets; and "Kartunes." His honors include the Prairie Schooner Strousse Award and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Foundation. He is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Poetry Center at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He lives in New York City.

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CosmoGIRL: Welcome to our chat with renowned poet, Cornelius Eady. Share your dreams of becoming a poet, and get some tips from a real pro. This chat is sponsored by CosmoGIRL! --a magazine for REAL girls with REAL issues. Log on at www.cosmogirl.com Welcome, Cornelius!

Cornelius Eady: Hello! It's good to be here.

Sigmagirl: When did you start writing poetry?

Cornelius Eady: I began writing poetry when I was about 12 years old. I didn't take it seriously until I was in my twenties. Or professionally, I should say.

Chommy11: Who was the first person to read your work other than yourself?

Cornelius Eady: The first person to read my work, other than myself, was my high school English teacher. Her name was Joanna Mason, and she was very encouraging. She was a wonderful teacher. She made me very curious about writing, and she was there to help me out in a very supportive way. I don't think I would have become a writer had I not met her.

DingaLynn: Hi! I was wondering what your childhood was like. Did you receive a lot of encouragement?

Cornelius Eady: No! Neither of my parents were writers, or readers for that matter. So from their point of view, writing seemed to be a very strange sort of profession to want to pursue. But my childhood was actually quite, well, I wouldn't say idyllic, but it was filled with wonderful material that I used later, and continue to use as a writer. One of the great gifts that was given to me by my parents was the music of their voices. I use that quite a bit in my own poetry today. I'm very grateful for that.

Chommy11: What does your family think about your success? Are you married? Do you have any children?

Cornelius Eady: Well, my father, who has now been dead for maybe 7 or 8 years, didn't get to see this part of my career. But he was quite pleased to know that I became a tenured college professor before he died. And I think from that point of view, it was normal enough for him to feel good enough about what I was doing. I am married; I've been married for 22 years. And I have no children.

DingaLynn: I understand that you teach poetry. How does it feel to pass on a part of yourself like that?

Cornelius Eady: Oh that's wonderful! That's one of the great gifts of being a teacher. It's when you can engage a writer who you know has tremendous potential. And I think it's a great gift to be able to assist that person, in that point, in that career, to become the writer that would be possible, and to see that voice take shape. And when that happens, their voice will always be their voice. But you will always feel some satisfaction that you were helpful in letting them discover who they could be.

Fan46: Do you feel it has been more difficult for you and your success being a black man? What obstacles have you had? And way to go!

Cornelius Eady: Well, thank you! There's always some sort of resistance to choosing a writing life. One being, of course, that we are in a society that doesn't really celebrate its writers unless they become very famous, or celebrities, for whatever reason. So there will always be some sort of resistance against the choice you make. That's universal. Now, being an African-American writer has its own set of obstacles, unique and by itself. One of the main problems, I think, is that one always feels the pressure not to say or reveal who you are, or where you come from, because it feels somehow that it is not legitimate. And that's very hard to get over. I've been very lucky in the sense that I've had very good support from friends and teachers over the years. And it's helped to let me know that what I write has some value and worth to it. That has helped me, at times, very lean times, when there wasn't a lot of attention being paid to my writing. It's helped sustain my writing, my art.

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