Stevie Luna’s journey as a poet began at the young age of 14, at a time of her life when she needed it most. Her English teacher, the late Ms. Garcia, encouraged her to keep writing after reading a poem during a time when Stevie felt severely traumatized and depressed. Ms. Garcia’s ability to cultivate the talent within her saved her life. You can find her poetry @stephanielunapoetry
Can you tell us more about what motivates you to write poetry?
Poetry means I can make sense of myself, the world, and its inhabitants.
I resonate with Gloria Anzaldua when she said: “Why am I compelled to write?… Because the world I create in the writing compensates for what the real world does not give me. By writing I put order in the world, give it a handle so I can grasp it. I write because life does not appease my appetites and anger… To become more intimate with myself and you. To discover myself, to preserve myself, to make myself, to achieve self-autonomy. To dispell the myths that I am a mad prophet or a poor suffering soul. To convince myself that I am worthy and that what I have to say is not a pile of shit… Finally I write because I’m scared of writing, but I’m more scared of not writing.”
I write poetry because I have to, because I see no other way out. I write to make sense of myself and others. When I write, I come to certain conclusions or find some sort of truth. I create something that I think is beautiful out of stuff that usually hurts, like heartache or death.
What topics resonate within your poetry?
Heartbreak, death, love, capitalism, being from the borderlands.
Inspiration comes from everything and everyone. I love writing about heartbreak the most, I’m not sure why. Maybe because suffering is inevitable, so maybe all of us can relate.