An Interview with Ericka Jordan

Ericka Jordan is a recent NMSU undergraduate with a degree in English Language, Literature, and Culture, as well as a minor in Creative Writing. She has a deep love and passion for writing of all sorts but is particularly fond of poetry, believing that it connects individuals of all walks of life through shared experiences and emotions.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

Reading was an escape for me as a child. As I grew and moved through my academic career, I fell in love with so many great authors and poets and knew that I wanted to share my stories alongside them. Poe, King, Kaur, Hawthorne, Tennyson, Rand, and so many more helped mold me into the writer I am today.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

The human experience is that of love; whether it be for or despite it, love in every form is the foundation for and the motivation behind so many different experiences and situations. I wanted to share my experiences with some of the greatest loves and losses in my life so that others, especially people who live and operate within the same social spheres that I do, can see that they’re not alone.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The title, To Those Who Have Held My Heart, came pretty easily. I wrote most of the book and let those individual poems find their own homes within different sections, and as the text came to life the title just kind of hit me. It’s a dedication of sorts, and it made sense to reference all of the people who had come and gone and touched my heart and soul in some monumental way.

Describe your dream book cover.

I love the cover I have for my book. My friend Pamela Herrera is an extremely talented artist and helped with all of the illustrations and brought this to life for me. It’s a very beautiful and well-detailed line art drawing on a black background. A gentle hand grasps a human heart as budding flowers spring from the valves, a sign of growth and healing from something that should not be able to function outside of the body.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I dabble in writing and editing for others, as well! Creative editing and ghostwriting are something I thoroughly enjoy—I love seeing others’ visions come to light and being able to contribute to that process in meaningful ways.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

I want my book to be an eye-opening experience for young, black, female creatives. I want people who look like me to have the representation that I did not see in popular media when I was growing up and know that they are limited by nothing other than their own fears and doubt and that if they dedicate themselves to doing and achieving more, those dreams are always within reach.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.