'Stay Brave' with Traci Thomas

‘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]

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1. How do you interpret the phrase, "Stay Brave?"

A call to pushing through the scary stuff.

2. As a woman-identifying writer, what are the ways that you “stay brave” in your life?

I think just continuing to show up and putting work into the world is brave in a lot of ways. Though, and I am not a writer, I wouldn't say that I am brave. I think there are real brave people and I am just throwing a lot of book related spaghetti at the walls and hoping something sticks.

3. Who is someone in your life who models “staying brave” for you?

There is so much suffering in this world and I think a lot about people who live on in the face of that. I think right now people living in Gaza are top of mind for being brave, but it isn't isolated to them. The scope of the suffering makes the outsized bravery necessary and heartbreaking in a lot of ways.

4. What writers, artists, and/or musicians do you look to to foster a sense of “bravery?”

Beyonce. (Is this too obvious?)

5. 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 am such a scaredy cat, this question is funny to me, because I need an older version of myself to talk to me now and give me advice.

6. Can you remember a time in your life where you realized your own bravery? How did you use it to propel you forward?

I once jumped off a cliff into Atlantic ocean and that was the biggest rush I ever got from doing a scary thing.

7. What do you do when you aren’t feeling brave? What inspires you or motivates you?

I am so rarely feeling brave that I usually just keep going. A good playlist can help. I also call on my friends to talk through things with me.

8. In what ways would you like to be more brave in your creative life?

Oh, let me count the ways.

9. What is your proudest moment of bravery?

The first 24 hours I was alone with my twins -- it was peak COVID (spring 2020) and they were 4 months old

10. What are you currently working on?

The Stacks Podcast, always. 6+ years in, and still going! (Is that brave? I think so!)

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Thank you, Traci!

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Traci Thomas is the creator and host of the critically acclaimed literary podcast, The Stacks. In addition to the podcast, Traci is a monthly contributor on NPR’s Here & Now, a columnist for shereads.com, and the creator of the LAist live literary series, One for the Books.

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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 PBS’ ‘Story in the Public Square,’ 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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