“I fantasize about divorcing my real life, and running away to be a writer.”
Too many people see spoken word as the poor man’s rap. An art reserved for kitschy coffee shop parlors with blurry black-and-white portraits on the walls. Reserved for latte-wielding teenagers with a grande-sized cup of angst. Well, I’m here to tell you there’s a lot more to it than that. The world of spoken word poetry is one that has remained thoroughly underground, but that does not mean it can’t be heard – it’s louder than ever in New York City, and Charlotte Mishell has got to be one of its loudest voices.
Middle school teacher by day and swift-witted MC by night, Charlotte Mishell is giving New York a piece of her mind, and she makes no apologies. Charlotte was born to the stage; she began acting at the age of nine and continued doing theatre all the way through college. It wasn’t until after college, however, that she did her first spoken word performance. Since then, she’s been practically unstoppable, quickly garnering a following in the NYC spoken word scene.
Charlotte’s brutal honesty and deadly fast intellect make give her a very unique voice. A lot of her poems read like pages from a beautifully written diary – they can make you feel guilty just for having heard them. But, that is the outstanding factor about this woman’s writing: once under Charlotte’s spell, she can do just about anything she wants with your emotions. Charlotte is an independent woman, and certainly a true Woman of Indie.
I recently had the distinct pleasure of asking Charlotte a few of my most pressing questions about her life, work, and art.
A lot of your songs are very personal. Is your art a form of catharsis?
Yes. All of my work is autobiographical, drawn from personal experience. I’ve lived alone my entire adult life, and even during my childhood I was a “latchkey” kid. Poetry lets me talk to myself without sounding too crazy.
Your delivery is very “classic” of the spoken word genre. By this I mean the pacing of your words. You add more space between words in certain areas to increase impact and contrast between faster sections. It’s quite effective. That being said, I’m sure you listen to a lot of other spoken word artists. Who are some of your influences? Do you listen to hip-hop as well?
My influences come from a variety of sources. I am mostly inspired by artists who experiment with mixing genres and styles. Some of my favorites include Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Lauryn Hill, The Last Poets, Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest, Run DMC, Ngoma Hill, Darian Dauchan, Jive Poetic, and Jill Scott. Jill also inspires me to write about my experiences with love, sex, and issues of womanhood, as do Mahogany Browne, Jeananne Verlee, Anne Sexton, Sonia Sanchez, Toni Morrison, Terry McMillan, and K. Desiree.
You’re a middle school teacher. Do your students affect your writing in any way? What is one important lesson that your students have taught you?
Several poems are about my students, or education in general. The kids help maintain my sense of conscience. I guess if I had to name one lesson my kids have taught me it would be “persistence in the face of resistance.” Many of my students manage to persevere through some unbelievable domestic situations to achieve great things. Sometimes we have our “Stand and Deliver” moments, when people outside label our kids as one thing or another, but the only thing that matters is their desire and our willingness to get them to the next level. I’m not saying that it doesn’t get tough, but teaching has never been for the faint of heart.
When did you first get into this genre? For some, spoken word performance can be a big help in heightening self-confidence. How has your art helped you grow, in all senses of the term? How have you changed since you began writing and performing?
I started performing spoken word when I broke up with an ex. I was already writing at the time, but not performing. One time we broke up, I wrote a poem, and begged my friend to come with me to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. I’d been there before, but never to read. So we went, and I read my poem during the open mic. The host liked it, and encouraged me to keep writing.
I grew up on stage. I started acting at age nine, was a theatre student in high school and college, so performing wasn’t new, but it’s different when you’re reading someone else’s words. What had always been hard for me was making new friends, and spoken word has helped me immensely. Every time I hit the stage, the whole audience becomes my new group of friends. I tell them all my little secrets and insecurities.
Writing has also helped me become more aware of myself, my surroundings, as well as the events that affect my environment. Because writing poetry is an examination of the self, you cannot create a work that is relevant without organically connecting yourself to what’s relevant.
At times, your writing is quite phonetically layered. You seem to have a keen concept of “flow.” Your rhymes are very internally and phonetically based. This seems to be quite common in the genre. Did it take you some time to develop this “voice?”
The spoken word genre has always been very much a bastard child of hip-hop and poetry. Therefore, I believe it’s only natural that the rhymes take on “rap-like” qualities, especially for those of us who are heavily influenced by the art form. There are even more spoken writers who do not use rhyme at all, most notably slam poets, and I love that even more. So I guess to finally answer your question, it took time for me to find the sound I thought suited me best, or rather discover it. I believe that that particular “voice” was already imbedded in my subconscious.
What is your process like? Do you write everyday? Do you use a pen and notebook, a typewriter, a computer? Do you write in other mediums? How do you maintain creative output in a world filled with distraction?
My process is probably not even a process. I get that question all the time, and have no idea how to answer because I don’t know how the words get on the page. In fact, there are some poems that I don’t even remember writing. “Dear Brother” is like that. I swear it wrote itself. Usually, it starts with a conversation, or a statement I hear someone say, or something I saw on the news. While I’m analyzing the meaning or implications of what I just heard, the ideas are written in my phone/ipad/notebook/napkin/gas receipt and I’ll forget about it until one day I decide . . . “hmmm, wasn’t i working on a piece about . . .”, and I’ll flesh it out. I’ll try to think of a metaphor for the situation, or look at it from a different point of view. i find that it’s harder to write full poems during the school year. I may start 3 or 4 ideas during the year, but not get around to expanding them until summer. Every once in a while, an idea or situation will be so affective, that the whole poem just pours out when i sit down. Those moments are golden, and I’ll put off everything just to be alone with that feeling.
I envy those writers who are able to sit everyday for a period of time to churn out some great material, or even workable mediocrity. I aspire to become that time efficient. Instead, I feel like my writing comes in stolen moments when I should be doing something else. Oh my . . . Am I having an affair with writing? Maybe. I know I fantasize about divorcing my real life, and running away to be a writer . .
You mentioned you work with a producer. What is your relationship like with him/her? Do you write together simultaneously? Do you write lyrics to a pre-made instrumental? Give me the low down.
The producers I’ve worked with, thankfully, are people who have been genuine fans of my work from the start. They’ve heard my work, they’ve seen me perform, or they know me personally. They get me. I use mostly hip-hop producers, and everyone with whom I’ve had the pleasure of creating has not only been a producer, but has also been a well-established emcee in the New York City underground. So they are completely familiar with my style and the way I hear and listen to music. I can say, “I’m looking for Erykah, but with a PE boom bap . . .” and they know what that means. It’s definitely a casual, friendly relationship.
My producers have never written anything for my albums. Usually I come to them with pieces and they play tracks they think fit the piece. Sometimes they just play music, and tell me to pick out what I like. If I write for a beat, it’s usually a commissioned piece. I try to never write to a beat though. The beat makes me think of bars, and then I start forcing rhyme and meter on the work, and it limits what I feel I can do. It’s much easier for me to just write what I want, and then go back and make edits to make it fit.
Album Name: Love, Charlotte
Date Released: Jan, 2009
Genre(s): Spoken Word Poetry
Location: Queens, NY
Band Members: Charlotte Mishell
Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/charlottemishell
