Creativity doesn’t stop at work.
Outside of the office, I’m still a creative. I love writing things; poems, short stories, scripts. Here are some of the side projects I’ve been working on lately.
Luck.
This is a poem I wrote about luck and karma. A friend of mine worked on the illustration for this flyer. We also made our very own typeface by scanning my handwriting.
You can currently find it on telephone poles in the streets of Brooklyn and Philadelphia.
Aliens! A Theory, Reprised.
This is another poem I wrote. The focus on this one was about how much we as individuals truly don’t know. I had another friend work on the illustration for this flyer.
You can find these hanging up around the streets of Philadelphia.
Who is Writer in a Shiesty?
Some call it a pen name. I call it my alter ego.
Writer in a Shiesty is the pen name I adopted for publishing my short stories and poems on Substack. Like any creative project, it’s a work in progress.
If you’ve ever seen the film American Fiction, Writer in a Shiesty was created to subvert the idea of what a writer should look like. Young black writers are seen less and less everyday; rather, the world sees young black men as nothing more than the shiesties they often hide behind. Writer in a Shiesty is what happens when you take a look behind that mask. Below, you’ll find some of my most recent short stories and poems, linked to my Substack.
The Usual.
A story about the performance of a first date. Art by Valentini Mavrodoglou.
Familiar Details.
A poem about the strange intimacy of a familiar place.
Playing with Branches.
In this short story, a group of boys enlists the help of the new kid to find their missing friend. Cover art by Antti Laitinen.
Someone Lives Here.
In this short story, a girl moves into a new apartment, only to find that the previous tenant never left. Not your typical ghost story. Cover art by Bill Traylor.
The Train.
A short horror story about an everyday commute home. Written entirely from the main character’s inner monologue.