Shayla Lawson is shedding light on Black girl culture, Black American legibility, and what it’s like traveling as a Black, femme, nonbinary, and disabled individual. Through their melodic poetry and emotive essays, Lawson allows us to develop a larger perspective on modern-day society. So, let’s dive deeper into Shayla Lawson’s world as an artistically unique author!
Introducing Shayla Lawson
Shayla Lawson is an accomplished poet, author, and journalist. Lawson has written various forms of media, including books and scripts — and they continue to do so. They have written for multiple companies as well, such as ESPN, New York Magazine, Paper, and Salon. MacDowell Artists Colony, Yaddo, the National Book Critics’ Circle Awards, and the LAMBDA Literary Awards have acknowledged Lawson for their incredible work. Currently, Lawson is the writer in residence at Amherst College in Massachusetts.
They were born in Minnesota and raised in Kentucky, which influences a big portion of their work. But what else influences Lawson as an author? In order to get some more insight into their work, we decided to ask them a couple of questions! Stick around until the end of this article to get the scoop on Lawson’s answers to our questions.
Publications
And the moment you’ve been waiting for … Shayla Lawson’s books! Lawson has a total of five published books, hopefully with more to come soon. Let’s take a sneak peek.
A Speed Education in Human Being
Lawson published their first book in 2013, A Speed Education in Human Being. This is a collection of poems that connect humanity to things greater than ourselves. For example, Lawson highlights family as one of these valuable connections.
Pantone
Next, we have Pantone, which was published in 2016. However, this poetry book’s production was limited. This book features a wide range of poetry, including narrative, first-person, third-person, and lyric. Each poem is titled after a color and conveys various emotions. Fluidity is a highly prevalent theme throughout this piece. Lawson successfully intertwined the world of color and literature.
“Trained as an architect, Lawson is an artist who works across mediums and has a keen eye for design. The chapbook is slick and glamorous. A limited edition run of it came with a perfume Lawson created in collaboration with Age of Earth Collective. The charisma of the chapbook fits given that the poems engage with surfaces—the color of surfaces, the significance of surfaces, and how nothing is just a surface.”
– Tupelo Quartlery, PANTONE
I Think I’m Ready to See Frank Ocean
I Think I’m Ready to See Frank Ocean was published in 2018. This poetry book is heavily influenced by the music artist, Frank Ocean. The poems highlight his musical composition while including Lawson’s personal narratives. Black American legibility is tied in through Ocean’s lyrics and Lawson’s words.
This is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, & Being Dope
In 2020, Lawson’s This is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, & Being Dope was published. This book was a National Book Critics’ Circle Awards and LAMBDA Literary Awards finalist! This collection of Lawson’s essays features Black girl culture. Society has repeatedly placed Black women in the “best supporting actress” role. However, Black women have — and continue to — impact mainstream culture through style, language, and art. Therefore, this book focuses on giving Black women the starring role they earned.
How to Live Free in a Dangerous World: A Decolonial Memoir
Their most recent book, How to Live Free in a Dangerous World: A Decolonial Memoir, was published in February 2024. In it, Lawson shares how their travels across the globe have allowed them to develop into the people they are today. They also describe the risks that come with traveling as a Black, femme, nonbinary, and disabled individual.
Author’s Questions
Now that we got to know Shayla Lawson and their books, let’s get an inside scoop on their authorship!
What advice would I give to other young aspiring writers of color?
“Write, you know, but also read. And when I say read, I mean read the environment, read books by people that you don’t imagine books are being written about. Because so often when we’re in school, we’re taught that there is this specific canon that we have to apply ourselves to. And we realize that much at the time, there are few outliers, but generally, cultural representation is at a deficit in what is being presented to us. But not in the world of literature. If you look at the world of literature, there is no better time to be writing. No better time has there been where there’s been a greater proliferation of writers of color who are writing just complete badassery. Like this is the time to be writing, and it’s the time to be writing because you can have friends. Like you can be in a community with people who are doing amazing things across the globe, and all you have to do is pick up your pen.”
How do I give voice to intersectionality in my writing?
“Personally, what I do when I write is I will map all of the things that I have been hearing about the world onto my body. The things that you’re not supposed to be. So when I hear that you’re not supposed to be too vulnerable, you’re not supposed to be too loud, you’re not supposed to be audacious, or needful, or think of yourself as desirable, or to be filled with desire. I love the idea of using writing as a way to get me to live up to the task of being all of those things. So, for me, intersectionality is about true embodiment. It’s about being the kind of person who recognizes that we are these fleshy, intimate objects that have a limited amount of time on this particular timeline. And all I want to do is show the world the beauty in taking a look at everything that we possibly can be in this one particular moment.”
As you know from reading this article, Shayla Lawson is an extremely talented individual. That’s just stating the obvious! Their books serve as proof of their unique flair and undeniable success. Get a better perspective on Lawson by reading their captivating and thought-provoking books. Check out their Instagram and creative portfolio as well!
Check out another successful Black woman’s fantastic work here.
Find some of Lawson’s books and more books by women of color here.
