An Interview with FaRose DéVon

FaRose DéVon is a poet, born and raised in London. She began writing poetry in her teenage years as a form of therapy to express her deepest thoughts. She professionally became a poet at the age of seventeen.

Topics may vary from naivety, personal growth, resentment, and love, with a love of writing poems using free verse and elegy structures.

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

I come from a very creative background/family of dancers and singers, so poetry has always been a form of expression I was encouraged to use since I was a little girl. I vividly remember I started writing at the age of ten, and by the age of thirteen I began turning my poetry into other forms of art such as music, paintings, dance, etc, due to a mentor I had who read my poetry and inspired me to start taking poetry seriously.

In essence, my influences are a combination of my family, my mentors who raised me, and amazing writers that I aspire to be like (such as r.h.sin, s.l._gray, and Mr. Amari Soul).

What inspired you to start writing this book?

I went through a horrible heartbreak and transformation period in 2019 that changed the trajectory of my creative career. I was so young and had only experienced one relationship, which we ended amicably. I dated after ending things with my ex-fiance but no one had the level of depth I was in search of. Thereafter, I met someone who I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with… I knew I wanted to write about my experiences because I was in a tremendous amount of pain but I didn’t know how to channel my pain when the heartbreak happened. My friends were incredibly supportive and suggested I put my pain into my art (which I was already going to do). I knew I needed to channel this energy and emotions onto pen and paper because I really hope I can inspire someone who may be going through their own heartbreak journey to know that there is a light on the other side of the darkness and you will eventually come back to yourself.

Happiness is your birthright!

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

It was quite a simple process, if I’m being completely honest. “Metamorphosis” came about as I was brainstorming and writing up a business plan for my poetry book.

I knew I wanted the theme to be about “transformation”—however, I didn’t want to use that specific phrase because I felt as though it wasn’t eye-catching and was a little basic, so I used my thesaurus that was gifted to me as a child by my mother and searched for synonyms…it really did stick! Metamorphosis!

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Ooo I really like this question!

I have a couple of songs I resonated with and listened to while writing Metamorphosis, but I’ll give my top 5:

Your Anxiety Buddy – “Chamber of Reflection (Live Cover)”

THEY – “Blü Moon”

Jhene Aiko – “Wading”

AUGUST 08 – “Keep Me Around”

Sabrina Claudio – “IOU”

I have so many more, but we’ll be here all day if I keep going!

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

I actually worked as a Stage Manager/Live Music Representative after leaving university and after the pandemic! I had the opportunity to meet many different bands, musicians, and artists! It was a very interesting and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—those are incredibly special memories to me.

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

I really hope what they take from Metamorphosis is that there is beauty in all that we experience—with the vulnerability, the uncertainty and the unpredictability of life…it’s beautiful. We will never get to experience those moments for what it was ever again and I really believe living every day present and with appreciation is the blessing of life.

I also hope they take with them that it’s okay to feel emotions that they may be uncomfortable with. Life is all a learning experience and we’re all just going with the flow.

Take it easy and just breathe!

In closing, I would like to leave my readers with the quote from the Bible: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” – 1 Corinthians 13: 4

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