The Write Stuff is a series of interview profiles conducted by Litseen, where authors give exclusive readings from their work.
Heather Bourbeau is a writer living in Berkeley. Her poetry has been published in
Alimentum,
Open City,
Boston Literary Magazine,
Cleaver,
The Fabulist,
Tupelo Press and
Work. Her piece “Hopscotch” was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She was a finalist for the Randall Jarrell Poetry Prize, a Tupelo Press 30/30 poet, and the winner of the Pisk! Poetry Slam. Her journalism has appeared in
The Economist,
The Financial Times,
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Policy and
The New York Times. She was a contributing writer to the
New York Times bestseller,
Not On Our Watch: A Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond with Don Cheadle and John Prendergast. She has worked with various United Nations agencies, including the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia and UNICEF Somalia. Her first collection of poetry,
Daily Palm Castings, profiles people in overlooked professions.
When people ask what do you do, you tell them…?
I have become more comfortable with saying I am a writer, which is different and more vulnerable for me than saying “journalist” (which I was for many years).
What's your biggest struggle — work or otherwise?
My biggest struggle is finding the balance to work on my creative writing, pay my bills through my paid employment, explore the world, and enjoy my people.
If someone said I want to do what you do, what advice would you have for them?
Remember: paid gigs are necessary, but they do not define you. Allow what makes your heart soar (not ache) be how you view yourself.
