interview by kiki nicole

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A noun, verb ending in -ING, & adjective to describe Pink Door Writing Retreat. 

Feral Bitches Howling

You have a dinner date with the parts of you that you hate the most. What do you have to say to yourself? 

I don't hate anything about myself, but I am annoyed at how shitty my fingernails are.

Make up a lipstick name only for you.  

Sea Hag

What materials should be placed on your altar to honor your spirit?

I wouldn't want to decide that for myself. I think it's up to those still living to place whatever object their memories of me invoke. Though I would expect more than one altar to include an 8x10 of Danny Trejo.

Elements of your Power Outfit: 

Oversized earrings, a dress with a wild pattern and always ALWAYS my brass chicken foot necklace.

What are you still learning?

Patience is big for me, and I'm working hard to not take shitty behavior so personally. I spend a lot of unnecessary time trying to understand a careless person's actions. No use trying to figure out why a clown sleeps in their makeup.

Describe yourself as the contents of a Chopped mystery basket. The 3-4 items are:

Black eyeliner, a glazed donut & a machete

A list of little miracles.

Melted butter on sourdough toast.

My children humming a Ramones song.

Paying the electric bill on time.

Shea butter.

Proper tacos.

Handwritten thank you notes.

Baby powder.

Charlotte Abotsi's Twitter.

Hairy-legged femmes.

Shitty first tattoos.

Spandex.

Yard flamingos.

Flossing.

Chapstick.

Venues with comfortable chairs.

Thick-cut bologna.

Bees.

Advice from wise bitches.

Youthful wonder.

Trashy novels.

Waking up in the morning.

Snappy pickles.

My children humming a Frank Ocean song.

Nachos.

Chipped black nail polish.

Kittens, mid-yawn.

Hood moxie.

Soft cardigans.

Red vines (eff Twizzlers!)

Moonlight's Oscar for Best Picture.

Cuckoo clocks.

Velcro.

Too much eyeliner.

The audacity of trick-or-treating.

Widows.

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Rachel McKibbens is a two-time New York Foundation for the Arts poetry
fellow and author of three books of poetry. In 2012, McKibbens founded The Pink Door Writing Retreat, an annual event open exclusively to women, femme, trans & non-binary writers of color. McKibbens is a member of Latinas Unidas and co-owns The Spirit Room in Rochester, NY.