PtoP Ep 27 McCoy edit 1
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Carrie: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Prompt to Page Podcast, a partnership between the Jessamine County Public Library and the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. I'm your host, librarian and poet, Carrie Green. Each episode, we interview a published writer who shares their favorite writing prompt. Our guest today is Jay McCoy.

Jay is a multimedia artist working primarily in poetry and visual collage. He calls Lexington home, but maintains his Appalachian connections and deep roots in eastern Kentucky. Jay is an adjunct professor at Eastern Kentucky University and Bluegrass Community and Technical College. Also, he is a writing instructor with the Carnegie Center and founder of their Q-munity program for LGBTQ plus writers, as well as the archivist for the Big Sandy Heritage Center Museum.

In addition to his book, The Occupation, you may find Jay's work in anthologies and journals, [00:01:00] including Naugatuck River Review, Still,: The Journal, and Blue Fifth Review. Welcome Jay, and thanks for joining us. 

Jay: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Carrie: So you mentioned in your bio the group that you founded with the Carnegie Center, the Q-munity group.

Would you like to tell us a little more about 

that?

Jay: Yeah, it came about from a number of discussions, with, a couple of the different staff who've been at the Carnegie Center about offering more opportunities specifically for LGBTQ writers and creating more of a safe space for writers from within that community to be able to come together and share their work.

So it started, I think we were going into our fifth year We started out just doing a writing group and it was a one, one time thing [00:02:00] of, each season I would run a writing workshop for writers from all genres, all different levels. The only thing was being an LGBTQ plus identifying individual , in the group and we did that for three years and then we decided to expand the offerings and bring in others , to do other classes along with it.

So like One person who, uh, comes in quite a bit is Erin Fitzgerald, who is known for her music as well as her illustration and like the comics that she does. So she actually teaches a comic class as part of the Q-munity programming. , I've had others come in and teach fiction or teach nonfiction , specifically with that [00:03:00] LGBTQ focus.

So this next year we will be doing sort of mini workshops with different leaders, doing it where, say, I will teach three different workshops within a month, and then Erin Fitzgerald will teach three within a month, and then a couple of other writers will be doing other months so that each month you could take three workshops with one queer writer , to work with.

And then in addition to that, we'll do Saturday sessions specifically focused on different aspects of the queer writing experience. 

Carrie: Yeah, that's great. That's a lot of, um, different programs to offer. How do people go about signing up for this? If they're interested, can they still join the the group? 

Jay: Yeah.

Yeah. And actually, the new sessions will be available through the Carnegie Center. So you [00:04:00] register for them just like you would for any other Carnegie Center class and, they're generally in a Q-munity section. So anyone could could see the number of offerings that we will have there. 

Carrie: Okay. So, like many library users, you're an avid researcher of your family history.

Jay: Yes. 

Carrie: But you also use that research a lot in your own writing, so I'm curious, did those interests develop around the same time? Or, you know, did your research lead to you writing about your family history? Just, you know, how, how did that work? 

Jay: Well, I started writing when I was very young, and, it was just something that naturally I gravitated towards and, and did.

And I come from a family on both my mother's and father's side who liked to tell [00:05:00] stories and pass on all of the information, true and somewhat true about the family. And so, you know, coming from a family of storytellers, , one of the things that, especially in my teens, I really became interested in family history, being a McCoy from Eastern Kentucky, having that connection to the feud was always something that really drove my interest in, studying family and, you know, I, I started really actively in genealogy in my early 20s and had started some bits and pieces of it before then, but it was really in my 20s that I got into it. And

naturally, the first thing I wanted to write about is that connection with the feud and about them. [00:06:00] But when I got further into the genealogy, I was finding interesting stories, on my mother's side. Uh, I was finding interesting stories of people who had no connection to that, that feud element. And so I found myself more and more.

When I come across someone in my genealogy that seems like there's this amazing story, I feel like I want to share that. And that has led to especially two of my more recent projects. One is about my maternal uncle who was Went into the military in World War II and went into the Marines and before he could be sent [00:07:00] into battle, he actually died in a training accident.

And I was lucky enough to gain his trunk that was sent from the military home to his parents which actually contained almost 300 letters between him and family. And so, really getting that understanding of my uncle junior, who was the oldest of 13 children, and that relationship with them. It's just something that really spoke to me, and so I've written, I have a full manuscript on him, uh, and then the other project was with my paternal grandfather, who was committed to Eastern State Hospital in 1936.

And he [00:08:00] died at Kentucky State Hospital, which was the institution in Danville at the time in 72. So he actually spent more of his life institutionalized than he did outside of the institution. And I spent a number of years working with the state archives and I now have a good amount of his medical records and letters from family or to family , about his time being institutionalized.

So I'm almost done working on a, a writing piece with him as well. 

Carrie: Well, those are two really amazing stories. Um, and you're really lucky to have all of your uncle's letters and, and to have been able to research your grandfather's life like that as well. 

Jay: Yeah, yeah, it's been, it's been [00:09:00] very rewarding and I was, ,lucky enough to get my uncle's letters before my mother passed.

So, I had a year of actually reading through those letters with her. 

Carrie: Oh, wow. 

Jay: And actually seeing the letters that she wrote as an eight year old to her big brother. 

Carrie: Oh my gosh. 

Jay: And so that, I mean, I, I, I have such a great memories of just sharing that bit with my mother, you know, before she passed that, you know, for her to go back in those memories as that little eight year old looking up to her big brother who was, you know, training to go to war.

Carrie: Yeah, that is, that is really lucky. I know, you know, a lot of times when I'm working with people who are just trying to research their family history, you know, it's too late for them to [00:10:00] ask their relatives questions about their family members. So the fact that you started so early and were able to do some of that with your mom, that's, that's really special.

Jay: Yeah, I'm so happy that I got into the genealogy of things, you know, early enough that one of my favorite things in my 20s and 30s was going to my parents house in Pikeville. We, you know, our family, my family on both sides is Pike County back into the 1700s, and so, One of my favorite activities was just getting in the truck with my father and me having a list of different things that I had found out through my research and us just driving around Pike County and going to these different places where, you know, different [00:11:00] cemeteries or different old buildings that were part of the family connection and getting his insight on, you know, on his side of the family as well.

Carrie: Yeah. Yeah. And that's, I think, unusual too, because so many people have moved away from, you know, where their families originated from or where they grew up. So, being able to have that background is, is unique as well.

Jay: Yeah, I feel very fortunate with that. 

Carrie: Obviously, your research has prompted some pretty big writing projects.

Are there other prompts that you like to use in your writing? 

Jay: Yeah, one, one of my, if not my most favorite prompt, , is one that I use all the, I use in most every writing class that I teach or any workshop, , that I teach, and it's one that I [00:12:00] got from Linda Gregg's essay called The Art of Finding. , And Linda Gregg was a phenomenal poet, one of my favorites, , who passed just back in 2019, and her essay, The Art of Finding, is a very short essay.

You can find it on online , either Poetry Foundation or , Poetry Society has a copy of it posted, and one of the main things that she says In the essay is that poetry at its best is found rather than written, and she goes, into an exercise that she uses that she used with all of her classes, which was basically at the end of the day, write, six things that you've seen that day, [00:13:00] not,

you know, not the most beautiful things or the most remarkable things, but just 6 things that you've seen 6 things that got your attention and I use that as a regular writing prompt for me that when I find that time every day to write, that I try to find, that's one of the things that I'm constantly going to, is writing six things that I saw, and I find that after

a period of time of doing that, you know, even after a week of doing it, you'll start to notice more and more of what your surroundings are and I find that as a good prompt to help you find that anchor for your poetry, that [00:14:00] thing that you can hang your hat on. With it, and that was one of the things that I see when I use it in a class is that's the first thing that we'll look at, or, you know, what were those six things you saw and then pick one of those and write a bit more about it so that it's sort of a prompt to come up with prompts.

So it's like coming up with six things that you could write about at some time. And that's probably the one that I go to all the time. Another one that ties in with my love of genealogy and historical research is going to antique stores or secondhand stores. And oftentimes, especially in the [00:15:00] antique marts, there will be a booth that has old photographs.

That you can buy for a quarter or 50 cents have no idea who the people are. I will give away my secret that Feather Your Nest in Lexington is a fantastic treasure trove for these and where I go is one of the places. But I will purchase just a bunch of those old photographs. Sometimes they will have notes on the back that give you great character names.

Sometimes the pictures are just so intriguing and I will just keep those in an envelope. And when I'm in a place where I'm sort of stuck for something to write about, I will pull out one of those and use that as a writing prompt. 

Carrie: Yeah, that's a great, that's a great idea. I love looking at old photographs too.

Jay: Yeah. 

Carrie: And sometimes you can even use old [00:16:00] family photographs. 

Jay: Yeah. 

Carrie: Um, as prompts as well. 

Jay: Yeah, yeah, I actually one of the sessions I taught for, uh, the Kentucky State Poetry Society a few years ago for the conference, I actually took in some of my old family photographs and asked those participating in the workshop to use them as a prompt.

And so it was interesting to see what they pulled out of the photographs, not knowing who they were. And then comparing that to what I know of that individual, 

Carrie: Were there any people who kind of hit the nose on the head? And 

Jay: yeah, it was, it was shocking. Some of the, especially characteristics of an individual, like 1 of my aunts who was like, this huge personality and, 

just a, a character, but in this photo I had of [00:17:00] her, she looked very demure and proper, but one of the persons who wrote about her photo talked about how the photo she seemed so restrained and wanted to like, let go. It was that, you know, it was a perfect interpretation of my Aunt Geraldine without them even knowing who she was in life.

Carrie: That's great. 

Jay: Yeah. 

Carrie: So you mentioned trying to find time to write every day. Is that a practice that you try to do? 

Jay: That is a practice I strive for, but that's also something I always tell anyone I'm working with. Strive to write every day. You know, find the time that works for you. But be aware that sometimes that time may change for you.

I used to be 1 that I wrote 1st thing in the morning [00:18:00] that that was what was best for me and but within the past year, it's really been evening writing has been much more conducive for me, and I always say, you know, find that time, be willing to change up that time and also don't, you know, don't chastise yourself

if you don't find time in a day to do it, you know, because that was 1 of the things that I would often fall into that I would just get so mad at myself, you know, that I'm supposed to, you know, I'm a writer. I'm supposed to write every day, but some days, yeah. You don't feel like it or some days it's just not what you need to do.

There are other things you need to do. 

Carrie: Yes, 

Jay: so give yourself grace is what I always say. 

Carrie: Yes. Yeah, I, I definitely agree with that. It's very easy to get in a shame spiral with, [00:19:00] with writing. So, in addition to the Q-munity group, you are very active in the Lexington area writing community. So, , just 

wanted to give you a chance to talk about a couple of the other projects that listeners might want to know about. And one is, you co host the radio show, Kentucky Writers Round Table with Linda Bryant and Kevin Nance. 

Jay: Yeah. 

Carrie: Would you like to say anything about that?

Jay: Yeah, it's an, I mean, that has been one of the greatest experiences over the past, almost two years that we've been doing it now with , Radio Lex.

And. We do it, it broadcasts, every Wednesday at eight o'clock on Radio Lex, but it's also available in podcast versions too. So, you can go back and listen to all of the great episodes we've recorded. We spend time with a Kentucky writer. You've been our guest on it. [00:20:00] You know, we're proud to say that we have episodes recorded with Kentucky Poet Laureate Silas House as well as with U.

S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, you know, and so many more fantastic Kentucky writers that we've had an opportunity to talk to.

Carrie: Yes, 

And I enjoyed being on that show as well. Thank you for having me. And then you're also co hosting a new reading series. 

Jay: Yes, Elizabeth Beck and I, who has been my collaborator in community activities for many years now, we actually started, we founded the Teen Howl poetry series for the under 21 crowd, 11, almost, well, 12 years ago now.

Carrie: Wow. 

Jay: And it is now in what we call the 2. 0 phase, , which we turned over to, , Jessica [00:21:00] Taylor and Hunter Nelson, who were, Teenage angsty emo poets themselves back when we first started. They were some of our early high schoolers, , and they are now grown adults and so we've turned it over to them and that is, , every, , first, , first Thursday of the month at Third Street Stuff.

And that's for. anyone, you know, under the age of 21. So we have middle school, high school, , and college students all alike there. And once Elizabeth and I turned over teen Hal to Jessica and Hunter, we're like, okay, we need something to do. And we kept hearing from people that, you know, there were a number of good opportunities for open mics, but Lexington always wants another one.[00:22:00] 

And so Elizabeth had been speaking with Rhett, who owns Kenwick Table. And we just, it basically just came about and was like, yeah, let's do a literary open mic and do it once a month. And so in November, we actually, launched it on the first Wednesday. We start at six o'clock and sign ups start at five thirty and then we have a feature poet that will generally go on at about seven and we in the New Year will actually be having two features, that you'll be able to

hear with it, and it's a great opportunity to get out and share your voice. Last night was actually our December feature and we actually had some parents who brought their [00:23:00] kindergartner and so we actually got to open last night's at the table with this wonderful kindergarten poem. 

Carrie: Oh, that's awesome.

Jay: And hopefully she'll be at Teen Howl tonight to get her set up with the kids.

Carrie: Absolutely, that's great. 

Jay: Yeah. 

Carrie: Do you have any final writing tips you'd like to give our listeners? 

Jay: I would really emphasize, you know, what I'd said earlier about give yourself grace, you know, try to, try to find a daily practice or at least a weekly practice because I think that's the, the key thing with writing is that it is a practice, with that and also read widely.

Your library is your friend, uh, you know, read, you know, I always suggest that poets read fiction and nonfiction and that prose writers read [00:24:00] poetry, because there are things we can learn from one another and I can always tell if someone has just been reading their genre, and it always shows in the writing.

So give yourself grace, read widely, and find your practice. 

Carrie: Well, that is very well summed up and very good advice, and we thank you for joining us.

Thank you for listening to Prompt to Page. To learn more about the Jessamine County Public Library, visit jesspublib.org. Find the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning at carnegiecenterlex. org. Our music is by Archipelago, an all instrumental musical collaboration between three Lexington based university professors.

Find out more about [00:25:00] Archipelago: Songs from Quarantine Volumes 1 and 2 at the links on our podcast website.