INTRO BY S. PRESTON DUNCAN
TIFFAN IE BROOKE
Let’s be honest: among the self-styled “Instapoets” of the world, often there isn’t more behind their words than vaguely-poetic interpretations of fortune cookies and phrases from motivational posters. And while it is wildly popular, whether or not it is authentically poetry could be up for debate. Exceptions to this generality are somewhat rare, but Richmond’s artist and poet Tiffanie Brooke is undeniably one of them. Her writing is both accessible and wellcrafted, a refreshing combination in the literary world of stuffy academic writing and pandering to popularity. Brooke is an alternative model and a deeply candid poet. Her work is evocative, both in front of the camera and on the page. It’s her juxtaposition of imagery that defines who she is as an artist, and it provides a window into her expressive dynamic of strength and unique vulnerability.
INTERVIEW BY R. ANTHONY HARRIS
RVA Magazine’s R. Anthony Harris had a chance to talk with Brooke about her work, and explore the ideas that sparked her artistic beginnings. R. Anthony Harris: How did your modeling begin? Tiffanie Brooke: I had a very negative outlook on my body when I was a teenager; I was super thin, I didn’t have a chest. My cheekbones jut out. My nose goes off in one direction. I consistently beat myself up... One day I came across America's Next Top Model, and I became obsessed. I was seeing women that looked like I did, and they all had something about them that matched my “weird.” RAH: How long have you been writing?
PHOTOS BY CHARLES LONG
TB: I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. My brother and I were advised to write in those god-awful composition notebooks by counselors when we were very young. We grew up in a very confusing environment for two small children; I did not come from a communicative family. Writing was, and still is, my form of communication, though this non-direct writing has given me a safe way to express myself. RAH: When did both of these ideas start to intertwine? TB: They intertwined when Instagram became popular, honestly. I thought it was the perfect way to give my work a visual; to further push whatever I was writing about at the time. I wanted to give “selfies” another form, and transform how the imagery in my writing was supposed to look. Why not try to capture a visual of how I feel when I’m “in it,” versus a photo of something else entirely? After all, I'm writing about an experience and how it affects me. RAH: What writers do you draw inspiration from? TB: James Kavanaugh, Kris Kidd, Louis Gluck, Claudia Emerson, Jayne Pupek, and Richard Siken
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RVA MAGAZINERVA 37 | SUMMER MAGAZINE 2019 39
