'Stay Brave' with Taylor Byas
‘Stay Brave’ is an interview series by woman-identifying creatives for woman-identifying creatives to inspire bravery in the creative life. [Created and curated by Leah Umansky]
How do you interpret the phrase, "Stay Brave?"
For me, "stay brave" registers as standing up for myself and for what I believe in, standing up for others who might not have the means, resources, or platform that I have. Staying true to my work. Writing what is important to me, and writing through the fear of failing.
As a woman-identifying writer, what are the ways that you “stay brave” in your life?
Right now I'm trying to stay brave by loving myself better. I've never been the best at putting myself and my needs first, so I find myself really prioritizing my well-being and my career this year. I'm staying brave by protecting my time, my peace, saying no, setting healthier boundaries for myself.
Who is someone in your life who models “staying brave” for you?
I always look to the women in my family, but one model who I gain more and more admiration for every day is my little sister Alexis. She's ten years younger than me but she knows what she wants, she goes after it, she knows what she's worth, she doesn't accept anything less. She stands up for herself. She stares discomfort DOWN. She is a force to be reckoned with and she teaches even me how to be brave all the time.
What writers, artists, and/or musicians do you look to to foster a sense of “bravery?”
Writers who are on my mind in this moment: Patricia Smith always, Ariana Benson, Amber McBride, Victoria Chang, Kathleen Alcott, Remica Bingham-Risher, Allison C. Rollins, I could go on. Musicians: Victoria Monet, Beyonce, Ama Lou, Adele.
What’s a piece of advice you would pass on to your younger self about “staying brave?” What’s something you know now, that you didn’t know in the past?
I wish I could tell my younger self that the fear she feels sometimes only means she is on the edge of something bigger and better. So often I would run from it, but I was only afraid because I wanted to do well. When I started to do the things that scared me, my life changed. I wish I had known that earlier.
Can you remember a time in your life where you realized your own bravery? How did you use it to propel you forward?
I think a really notable moment of bravery for me was publishing the first big essay about my father. I had a lot of fear and complicated feelings around its publication, a lot of anxiety about what he would say potentially, but it was another lesson in choosing myself and my voice over silence. I'm proud that I shared that piece, and proud that the story helped those who needed it.
What do you do when you aren’t feeling brave? What inspires you or motivates you?
I watch videos or documentaries about powerful women. There are always moments where some of my biggest artistic heroes talk about being afraid, speak about not feeling good enough, feeling unsure. I need to be reminded that everyone's journey looks different, and that no one's journey is untouched by fear or doubt. It gives me the strength to keep going. It reminds me that the doubtful days are all a part of the process.
In what ways would you like to be more brave in your creative life?
I want to find ways to be more active in my community. I've been discussing ways to support Palestine in more meaningful ways. I also just want to find ways to create more spaces for writers of color and for younger writers who are just coming on to the scene as well. Being a good community member, both in the writing community and in a larger societal community, is brave to me. I always want to be doing more of that.
What is your proudest moment of bravery?
Right now, I have branched out and started a YA project, which is actively scaring me every day. I'm proud of myself for continue to try to find ways to overcome my fear and to try something I haven't done yet.
What are you currently working on?
I'm currently editing my second full-length, Resting Bitch Face, writing full-length poetry collection #3, and working on the YA novel in verse.
Thank you, Taylor!
Dr. Taylor Byas, Ph.D. (she/her) is a Black Chicago native currently living in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is the 1st place winner of the 2020 Poetry Super Highway, 2020 Frontier Poetry Award for New Poets Contests, and the 2021 Adrienne Rich Poetry Prize, and a 2023-24 National Book Critics Circle Emerging Fellow. She is the co-editor of two poetry anthologies, and the author of two chapbooks, the debut full-length I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times, out from Soft Skull Press, and Resting Bitch Face, forthcoming from Soft Skull Press in 2025. You can also find her on Twitter: @TaylorByas3 and Instagram: @taylorbyaspoet
Leah Umansky is a poet, writer, curator, writing coach, artist and teacher. Her new collection of poems is OF TYRANT out now with Word Works Books. She earned her MFA in Poetry at Sarah Lawrence College and has curated and hosted The COUPLET Reading Series in NYC since 2011. Her creative work can be found in such places as The New York Times, POETRY, Bennington Review, American Poetry Review, Minyan Magazine, The Academy of American Poets' Poem-A-Day and others. She is a writing coach who has taught workshops to all ages at such places as Poets House, Hudson Valley Writers Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering and elsewhere. She is working on a fourth collection of poems ORDINARY SPLENDOR, on wonder, joy and love. She can be found at www.leahumansky.com or @leah.umansky on IG.
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