Joy Sullivan speaks candidly about her journey as a writer. There’s no pretense or high-brow talk—just raw honesty. The poet, author, and founder of the writing community Sustenance admits she still faces the fear of the blank page.
“I still struggle with fear of the page,” Sullivan confesses.
This admission is striking considering Sullivan’s success. Her poetry feels intimate, almost as though she knows the reader personally. Her bestselling book Instructions for Traveling West is a testament to her ability to connect through her writing. But Sullivan reveals that this connection comes from a deep, personal struggle. As she puts it, writing is about “grappling with the self.”
Sullivan’s words feel particularly timely as this week Maria releases her new book, I Am Maria. Like Sullivan’s work, Maria’s poems explore universal human experiences—grief, love, loss, identity, and healing. We asked Sullivan for advice on how to begin grappling with ourselves on the page.
Her insights are grounded in her own experiences, both as a writer and as an educator. “All the best instruction I give writers,” she says, “is always the internal pep talk that I’ve given myself over decades of feeling terrified to write.”
A Conversation with Joy Sullivan
The conversation begins with the topic of fear. What do you do if you want to find yourself on the page but feel scared?
Sullivan explains that fear of writing often stems from discomfort with self-exploration. “When I sit down to write, it’s not so much the writing I fear; it’s that I’m going inward,” she says. “That’s where you’re laid bare. You have to listen to yourself. It’s normal to resist that, and it’s human to feel that discomfort.”
She assures writers that resistance is natural. “It doesn’t mean you’re not meant to write, or that you’re not a real writer. Creativity is a human birthright.”
As the founder of Sustenance, a writing community, Sullivan offers more advice. She encourages writers to write from the gut rather than the brain. “When I’m doing a first draft, I don’t worry about editing,” she says. “Just let it flow. Let what’s inside come to the surface. It always emerges when given space.”
Sullivan also follows the advice of poet Brendan Constantine: “Where it’s going and what people will think of it is none of your business.” She suggests writing without self-judgment and embracing the weirdness of creative expression. “If you’re writing about tulips, and you suddenly remember your grandfather’s garden, follow that.”
For Sullivan, the key is to write about what feels important. “Write about what you remember. Write about what you wish you didn’t know. What keeps turning over in your mind is often what’s most productive to explore.”
Sullivan also addresses the common barrier of feeling “not good enough” to be a writer. “Many people think they have to write a certain kind of poem or essay because that’s what the poets they admire have written,” she says. “But the poem or essay you’re supposed to write is the one that the world needs.”
Sullivan shares her own experience, explaining how she struggled to write like poets such as Sharon Olds. It wasn’t until she embraced her own voice, the “Joy Sullivan poem,” that she felt free to write.
Watching others find their voice through writing is something Sullivan finds incredibly rewarding. “I’ve seen people step into their sovereignty through the page. It’s beautiful when someone writes for the first time and reclaims their voice,” she says. Writing, she believes, is a form of self-expression that everyone has the right to embrace.
Sullivan’s belief in the power of writing is clear. “Creativity is a right, a human need to express what the body needs to say,” she says. “It’s holy work, and I feel honored to get to do it.”
Joy Sullivan is a poet, teacher, and author of the bestselling book Instructions for Traveling West. She holds a Masters in poetry from Miami University and has served as the poet-in-residence for the Wexner Center for the Arts.
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