Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious, Black, multiracial, nonbinary, suicide survivor who served as Portland, Maine's seventh poet laureate. Eir debut full length poetry collection Judas & Suicide was a finalist for a New England Book Award. Their second full length poetry collection, Refused a Second Date, was a finalist for a Maine Literary Award. They won two chapbook prizes: What's So Wrong with a Pity Party Anyway? in 2024 and Feminine Morbidity in 2025. Maya contributed prose to venues such as The Rumpus, Black Girl Nerds, LGBTQ Nation, The Daily Beast, Honey Literary, Talk Death, and more. @emmdubb16
Where were you born and raised? How did it influence your writing and your thinking about the world?
I was born in Richmond, Virginia. Because I was raised by a Biracial, single mom who was raised to move around as a third culture kid, it makes sense that she raised me in three different states in the South: Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. It influenced my writing and thinking about the world by making me sit with the identities I hold amidst different settings of migration. It influenced my writing and thinking about the world because I needed an outlet to express myself while struggling with mental health and suicidality.
What kind of reader were you as a child? What books made you fall in love with reading as a child?
I was a voracious reader as a child. Books that made me fall in love with reading at a younger age were books by Sharon Creech, Laurie Halse Anderson, Maya Angelou, Markus Zusack, The Bible, and much more.
Describe your typical writing day.
My typical writing day involves one of the following: (1) going to or facilitating a workshop where I can "warm up" my writing, (2) outline sections of a prose essay I want to work on before writing it fully, and (3) complete as much of a draft of poetry as possible before revising it.
Tell us about the creative process behind your most well-known work or your current writing project.
My creative process behind my current writing project on pilgrimages to death sites related to suicidality involves the following: (1) journaling what comes to mind and transcribing it in my ongoing Google Doc; (2) picking sections of the journaling that resonates with me to create a full length essay; (3) revise that essay or more than one essay depending on the time on my hands; (4) reading and taking notes on books and research in conversation with suicidality, religion, ostracized grief, pilgrimage, altars, cemeteries, memorial sites, funerals, Black enslavement, and Black funeral practices/burials.
Do you keep a journal or journals?
I keep lots of journals. One is for drafts of poems and prose. One is for notes on any reading I complete. One is for my prayers.
Which writer, living or dead, would you most like to have dinner with?
Anis Mojgani.
Do you draw inspiration from music, art, or other disciplines?
I love drawing inspiration from films and television shows. Visual art and other people's writing, for sure. I also love drawing inspiration from my family and chosen family.
AI and technology are changing the ways we write and receive stories. What are your reflections on AI, technology and the future of storytelling? And why is it important that humans remain at the center of the creative process?
It is unacceptable that AI steals from artists. AI would not have art to steal if humans didn't make it. It's important to center human art all around us. I try to have compassion for folks who use AI for accessibility reasons, and I try to have compassion for artists who are curious about AI. Overall, AI's existence frustrates me. I don't believe AI will affect too negatively the future of storytelling. I do believe AI takes adavantage of artists too often.
Tell us about some books you've recently enjoyed and your favorite books and writers of all time.
Towards a Retreat by Samaa Abdurraqib I read recently and enjoyed immensely. I also re-read Anis Mojgani's The Tigers, They Let Me. Favorite books of all time include In the Pockets of Small Gods by Anis Mojgani, I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusack, Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, Dead Girl Cameo: a Love Song in Poems by M. Mick Powell, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger.
Exploring literature, the arts, and the creative process connects me to…
myself and the people around me.
