Clayre Benzadón
What have you been up to these last couple of months?
These last couple of months, I received a book deal, for my collection titled Moon as Salted Lemon! I also was recently published by new words press and Jet Fuel Review: link, link, & link.
What are your long-term creative plans? Are you working on something big and secret or taking it day by day?
My long-term creative plans are to start working on my next book, with the tentative title Boundary Work. I’ve been involved in a weekly writing group, so my poetry has not been as secret as it usually is, but I’m also taking it day by day, also currently working on a project that includes more politically-driven poems, speaking out about what’s going on in the world today.
What’s the status of your mental health these days? It’s in all ways prosaic to say that we live in trying times. How is the zeitgeist responsible? What are some actionable ways in which you’re taking steps to quiet the void, if any? (If it’s a glass of wine and an episode of Mad Men at the day’s end, that counts, please know that).
The status of my mental health these days, I’m happy to say is on a stable path. The zeitgeist is responsible for much of my more negative mental health symptoms, such as the anxiety of impending doom, the depression of isolation, and not feeling safe in this world in the body that I live in. I don’t take enough steps to quiet the void, but I would say going to the gym and hanging out with my friends (especially my queer friends) helps to feel less alone.
What is something you’d like readers to take away from your work in regards to mental health advocacy, discussion, or criticism?
I’d like readers to feel a sense of relief after reading my pieces that have to do with mental health. It’s not easy to write about such stigmatizing topics, but I’d like to bring in my experience of what it’s like to like with bipolar disorder so that others can relate and understand what it means to live with a mental health disorder, and to also emphasize the fact that I’ve overcome this challenge and am continuing to live my life despite it.
Why do you create, still, despite the climate and political current and pervasive doubt we’re made slaves to?
I create despite the climate and political current and pervasive doubt we’re made salves to, because, quite simply, if not, I don’t know how else I’d be able to survive.
When was the last time you told your psychiatrist or therapist something you were afraid to disclose? In your own words, how do you feel about going up against the stigma?
It’s not difficult for me to go up against the stigma anymore, as my therapist and I have a pretty close relationship at this point. I would say that I don’t have anything currently that I’m too afraid to disclose.
During my time in the literary community, I have been lucky enough that I can’t remember a time when there has been a stigma or belittling language surrounding mental health. My literary community is the place where I feel safe getting to voice my experiences, and I’ve been fortunate to have an inclusive, supportive environment surround me.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I’d like to say, to those who are struggling now more than ever, to keep writing. It’s the thing that keeps us going, keeps us in community, keeps us sane.
Clayre Benzadón (she / they) is a queer (bi /pan) Sephardic (Mizrahi)-Askhenazic poet, educator (adjunct professor) and activist recovering from depression and an eating disorder. She has been awarded the 2019 Alfred Boas Poetry Prize for her poem "Linguistic Rewilding." Her chapbook, "Liminal Zenith", was published by SurVision Books in 2019. She has been published in places including SWWIM, Olney Magazine, and Blue Stem Magazine. Find more about her here: https://www.clayrebenzadon.com.