4 More: Ajanae Dawkins
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting some of our favorite Cincinnati People from 2022.
We checked in with Ajanae Dawkins, the Taft Museum of Art’s 2022 Duncanson Artist-in-residence.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2022?
I was the biggest surprise to myself in 2022. I took a lot of risks, artistically and personally. (Applying for the Duncanson Artist-in-Residence was one of those risks). I surprised myself with the things I was willing to try in both my professional and personal life. It's led to a lot of amazing things including bolder, more vulnerable poems. Poems that make me nervous to read to an audience sometimes. It’s scary to change as a person and artist and not know how you’ll be received. 2022 was my first time re-entering the non-virtual world since the start of the pandemic and at every turn I surprised myself with what I believed was still possible.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
Not much has changed since we've last spoken. I'm co-hosting a podcast with my best friend, Brittany Rogers and The Poetry Foundation. Our first episodes are available wherever you stream your podcasts. I graduated with my MFA in poetry and am due to graduate in May 2023 with my Masters of Theology. I did a mini-tour of Europe with my husband and we’re hoping to become dog parents! I've published some work but mostly, I’ve spent my year traveling, reading, and writing towards a new projects.
What have you learned about our community this year?
Where to start! I’ve learned so much about the Cincinnati community this year. It remains one of my favorite cities and that is mostly because of the community members that I got to spend time with. I learned how rich your historic landscape is and how that has influenced the art that has been produced over the years.
One of the biggest lessons I learned about your community was from a young girl at a school I visited in my time at the Taft. A fourth grade girl wrote one of the most profound poems I've ever read called "Diamonds in Water." It reads like this. “Water falls every 3 seconds. It stops every 2 seconds. A diamond falls 2 drops at a time. The waterfall becomes diamonds. There's always a rule. Keep clean from the tide.” I wish I remember her name but I kept this poem because it was a reminder of how expansive and imaginative the minds of children are. The children of your community taught me how to imagine more beauty in the world. To look at a waterfall or even a dripping faucet and see diamonds.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
Right now, I'm doing a lot of research and thinking about faith, the Black church, and contemporary Black poets and I'm excited to continue to immerse myself in that. As a writer, I'm most looking forward to seeing some writing projects that I've been working on mature. I'm looking forward to the things that I can't imagine will happen yet. Every year, I've received a career opportunity that shocked me so much I immediately started crying or worshiping. I don’t know what that opportunity will be in 2023 but I have faith that it will come. Outside of writing, I'm looking forward to getting older and all of the beauty that comes with that. Nobody told me that it was commonly understood that your early twenties are messy and difficult. My late 20s have been phenomenal. I know myself better and because I know myself better I can love myself better. I can make decisions for the future I want. I can be a better community member to those around me and refine my love ethic. In general, I am less afraid. This is the least afraid I've ever been and I expect to be more fearless in 2023. This is the most in love with myself I’ve ever been. The most in love with God I've ever been. I'm looking forward to the way time will grow those things.
See our interview with Ajanae when she was named Duncanson artist-in-residence.