Check out Joy Young’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joy Young.

Joy, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I was in a coffee shop in Phoenix socializing (read: reading and drinking coffee alone). It had only been a few months since I moved here and subsequently broke up with my partner at the time. The only other people I knew in Arizona were related to her, and I’m not great at socializing so my sister made me promise I’d say yes to whatever next thing I found myself invited to. Not an hour later a man in a cape, top hat, and no shirt came in and invited me to a poetry slam across the street. Marginally more afraid of telling my sister I’d broken my promise during our next phone call than going with the stranger across the street to a bookstore, I followed, where I discovered poetry slam. I was immediately enthralled with the possibilities it opened up to me— particularly a better capacity to explain my existence, to feel truly heard and shine light on many issues that matter deeply to me. As I stepped into writing and later performing, I became aware that my college education in gender studies and queer theory solidified what I felt I intuitively knew to be true about myself and the world around me, but poetry and storytelling offered a vehicle to communicate that in an accessible way.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I categorize myself as a teaching and performance spoken word artist, but I also make books and engage in a variety of other artistic practices. A lot of what I make focuses on identity and exploring personal narratives within a larger social justice context. I typically make art with audience in mind. Some of what I make is done specifically for other queer people. Some of what I make is an attempt to explain the nuances of (my) queer experience to others. Some of my work isn’t “about being queer” at all (but to paint you a picture, I basically look like a 12-year-old boy with breasts if you look closely, so whatever I say reads as queer on a stage). Whatever the case, I try to be imaginative, accessible (an awkwardly placed joke can really break the tension when dealing with difficult concepts!), and treat my work as a doorway I am building to conversations with my communities.

What do you think it takes to be successful as an artist?
I think making work at all makes you an “artist”. Making work that sticks with people makes you a “good artist”. Making work that fundamentally changes or connects people makes you an *incredible artist*.

I want to make work that connects people. I want to create things that highlight marginal voices. More than anything, I want to create and help others create/amplify voices that move toward places of hope and possibility.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
You can see a few of my most known poems and purchase books or even just donate money to the community teaching work I do on my website: joyyoung.org

I cohost The Storyline Slam at Changing Hands bookstore in Phoenix. I also co-run a monthly writing and performance workshop at Wasted Ink Zine Distro in Phoenix at the Hive called Off the Page. Speaking of zines, you could also come say hello to me at Phoenix Zine Fest this October (I’ll have a table and be there all day)!

At the moment, I’m more focused on amplifying other people’s voices at the moment. So I’m doing curriculum development, partnering with the Storytelling Institute and SMCC for projects like the Arizona Two Spirit Project, and co-creating an anthology with the press I co-founded with another poet, Nico Wilkinson. You can check out information on the book, We Grow Anyway, at our press’ website: PricklyPearPrinting.com

I’m sure I’ll circle back to performing more eventually, and you can friend me on facebook or Instagram (@joyyoungpoetry) to watch out for that!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joyyoung.org
• Email: joyeyoung@gmail.com
• Instagram: @joyyoungpoetry
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joyyoungpoet

Image Credit:
Photo Credit for first artist image (photo with blue chair): Briana Noonan

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