Featured Interview With Danelle Deonath
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Trinidad, West Indies. It is one of the twin islands of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. I currently live there. I have two dogs. I am the youngest of three, with an older sister and brother, and I live with my two parents. I pursued a Bachelor of Science degree at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad. My sister is married and has five children, all of whom I absolutely adore. In my spare time, I love to read and dance. I am currently learning to play the violin and keyboard. Sometimes, I like to paint. My favourite medium to use are oil paints.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Originally, I thought I got into writing when I entered secondary school in 2006 (I am currently 25 years old). However, some years ago, after an unfortunate flood, my mother dug up a book I had created for her when I was about seven or eight. It was made from some copy book pages that I stapled together. It was a story of two best friends, and I had written the stories and done the illustrations. I think I always had a fascination with storytelling. I used to envision movie ideas, or sequels to movies I’d watch. I would do the same to books; imagine follow up stories or think about all the directions the book could go. I started to get serious about it in 2006 when an assignment was given by my Form One English teacher to recreate a story inspired by Greek Mythology. I decided to write on how the red rose came to be. From a little assignment, I started to build on a book, and then another book idea came, and so on. In Form Two, after reading a book called The Snog Log and watching A Walk to Remember, I decided to keep a journal of all my favourite quotes, scriptures and song lyrics, as well as create poems that would replace my “Dear Diary” entries.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I grew up in the era of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys so mystery novels have always peaked my interest. I also love classical literature. I love to read Jane Austen. I enjoy J.K. Rowling as well. C.S. Lewis is another favourite, and someone that has inspired the descriptive style in my writing. For inspiration, I like to read Vance K. Jackson for motivation. I am currently diving into Paulo Coehlo and I admire the way he grabs your attention with every page, and that is something I aspire to do with my literary works. In Secondary School, I read Olive Senior’s Gardening in the Tropics and that was the first time I thought about compiling a book of poems. Both her poetry style and Maya Angelou’s have inspired me in my own poetry compositions. Both books and movies inspire my writing style. I look at movies and observe the buildups; think about the way the script was laid out or even get an idea of the climatic rise in the books the movies were based off of, and use the styling to help me create a book. Writing a four page story is one thing, but having to write books of one hundred pages and more, while still keeping people locked in is a challenge and something I have observed writers like Stephen King, and those mentioned above, be able to do.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Girls Should be Seen Not Heard is my first publication, and is available on Amazon as an ebook and paperback. It is a collection of poems. I chose that particular title because I remember hearing it in my school’s auditorium before assembly whenever us girls wouldn’t settle down. “Ladies… Girls should be seen not heard”…
Back then, I knew it was a statement meant to quiet us down but it was always a statement that was confusing to me. I mean, who even came up with that? It sure wasn’t someone trying to quiet some school girls who wouldn’t stop chatting and giggling. As time went by, like most young women, I grew into my feminist role, as I observed the “onesidedness” that society often operated with. I learnt more about women in history and the way we were viewed, and still are viewed. I would hear jokes and comments and be subjected to some which were only made to me because I was a “young woman” and there was a standard attached to that. I observed how women were treated as fragile and timid; weak and some even grew to believe that. I saw the double standards with which girls were punished and scrutinized, while boys were praised and excused or when certain things were “okay” for a boy to do, or not do, but a girl should never do or it was a duty to do certain things. I came up with the idea a couple of years ago when, on my WordPress blog, I did a four part series called “Girls Should be Seen Not Heard”, which were the four poems you will see featured in the book. When I completed the final poem, which was inspired by Jessie J’s song “Queen”, I decided to put together this collection. It took me about two years. Each poem that I wrote was based on my personal experiences. They are based on my issues with my body type and my experiences with society trying to define beauty; my personal insecurities and self-doubt. They are based on my experiences with people who shut me down or rejected me. They were created during moments where I felt used, abused and alone. And they were also the words that I shared to my friends, I spoke to myself on dark nights to pull myself up, and the words that I wished I had the courage to say to those who had hurt me. The purpose behind sharing these poems is to help other young girls and women feel understood, represented, seen and heard. My hope is that through reading this book, girls and women everywhere would realise that they are not alone on their journeys, and that through my words they can be empowered to speak up for themselves, the way I feel inspired every time I would read stories with a strong female lead. I wish that not only women can read this book, but men as well and see the way women feel and the things we go through, and try to help us change the way the world operates. I want parents to buy this book for their little girls or read it themselves and strive to create a household where all their children are treated equally. I chose this title because I wanted to use a title meant to oppress and limit women as the heading for a book that would serve to do the opposite. That is why the cover art is as diverse and colourful as it is. It shows women of all colours and types and races, with tapes on their mouths, because by the last page, I hope that those tapes would be ripped off and their limitations and oppression would be left trembling.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles