“Write the weird thing no one understands. If you have the vision for it, build it, write it, make it happen. It was given to you for a reason.” –Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton
Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton is an award-winning, multi-hyphenate literary artist, director, performer, critic and the first Black Poet Laureate of Houston, TX. Formerly ranked the #2 Best Female Performance Poet in the World (PSI), Her work has appeared in Houston Noir by Akashic Press (2019), Black Girl Magic by Haymarket Books (2019), the Texas Observer, and Fjords Journal, and on such platforms as NPR, BBC, ABC, Apple News, Blavity, Upworthy, and across the TedX circuit. D.E.E.P.’s recent memoir, Black Chameleon (Henry Holt & Co.), was named Best Nonfiction of 2023 by The Texas Institute of Letters. Her 2019 poetry collection, Newsworthy (Bloomsday Literary), garnered her a Pushcart nomination, was named a finalist for the Writer’s League of Texas Book Award, and received honorable mention for the Summerlee Book Prize. Her upcoming children’s book, Hush Hush Hurricane (Kokila Books) is set to release soon. She is a certified teacher with the State of Texas and has dedicated over 20 years towards the education of young minds, the expansion of literacy, and the dismantling of literary racism. She resides in Houston with her loving husband and two energetic children. Visit our class page here for D.E.E.P.’s full bio.
On Wednesday, December 11th, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton is teaching a class for the WLT called “It’s All in the Details: Tapping Into Visceral Imagery.” In this class, you’ll learn how to write more engaging and emotional narratives, all by focusing on the smallest things.
Here’s what Deborah had to share with us:
Scribe: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you write? How did you come to writing?
Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton: I am known as a genre-bending artist. I write everything from poems to fiction to operas. I started reading and writing at an early age and fell in love with telling stories. I think everything I’ve done since then has been an extension of that love.
Scribe: In your own work, how do you approach overcoming the challenges that come with writing, be it writer’s block or craft or business-related challenges?
D.E.E.P. : I never really believed in writer’s block. For me, it was the expectation of the writing not meeting what was on the page. Usually, when I let go of the expectations I am able to write freely. I think balance in projects and life is an entirely different beast that I haven’t learned how to wrangle.
Scribe: Has there been a moment of epiphany in terms of your work, when you thought, “This is it! Now I know what I’m doing!” How long did that feeling last?
D.E.E.P. : The first time I saw my work on stage without me as a performer I had a revelation: I think all writers are trying to have longevity beyond their years on earth. Seeing the work moving freely, on its own, was a shock and made me consider what else I could build to have my voice in as many places as possible.
Scribe: What piece of advice do you find yourself giving to writers again and again?
D.E.E.P. : Write the weird thing no one understands. If you have the vision for it, build it, write it, make it happen. It was given to you for a reason.
Scribe: What is one thing that people will take away from this class?
D.E.E.P. : I think we often think of writing as needing to be universal, but the way to make it that is the exact opposite. When you are so specific that the reader can see it, smell it, feel it on their skin, then any story opens up to a universal space.
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Thanks, Deborah!
Click here to learn more about Deborah’s upcoming class.
