When we first met her while covering North Carolina’s famous Lilly’s Kitchen Restaurant, we had no idea that she was prolific poet who would go on to gain earn national acclaim after we featured her work. We proudly introduce Khayree Lilly.
We have featured several of your literary works in previous issues, when did you begin writing poetry?
Yes, you have published several of my poems, thank you for giving me a chance to share my words to the world. I have been writing since elementary school, I wrote a short story called “Room 703” I got an “F” on the story, because my teacher really thought I stole the story from Stephen King. Even when she found out I wrote the story, she gave me an “D” on the story. It was a hard blow for someone so young, so I stopped sharing my poems and stories with the world.
You tackle a lot of social issues including racism and injustice among other things in your poetry.
Yes, a lot of my poetry is inspired by what I’m going through and how I’m feeling. It takes me weeks to recover after I write a poem on social injustices, I literally cry when I write some of my poems. Writing is a way for me to heal and work through things that I may not understand, I hope people not only read my words but understand my words and make a change. I want my words to heal and spark thoughts, causing a change to come.
As one of the most prolific wordsmiths to emerge on a national platform this year, who are some of your favorite poets.
My favorite poets are Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin and Gil Scott Heron. Just to name a few.
Has the current political environment including Donald Trump’s presidency inspired you to be more outspoken?
Yes, I’ve always been an outspoken person, but I would follow the unspoken rule, don’t discuss politics. I had to break that rule when I saw that politics, had an unspoken rule to treat people of color as second-class citizens. When I started to see all the murders of unarmed black people, I found my voice. Urban Magazine gave me my platform to speak my truth, to speak OUR truth. We are not the labels America has put on us. Our lives do matter.
What would you like readers to take away from your body of work?
I want to inspire people to understand what the next person is going through. I want people to read my poems and understand the pain that has been forced on the black community.
When I wrote the poem “Intelligence” I wanted to make people uncomfortable, so I gave them the truth. Life isn’t comfortable or easy, and if you’re a person of color it’s even harder. I want people to know they aren’t going through it alone. I want people to read my poems and learn about self-love.
Now that you have garnered national attention, what’s next for you?
A book, I would love to write a book of poems and short stories!! That is my ultimate goal!
