Atlanta Poet Theresa Davis' work centers on personal narratives and social commentary

Atlanta Poet Theresa Davis. (Courtesy of K Moments Photography)

Our “Speaking of” series spotlights local creatives sharing their inspiration, influences, and experiences. In our continued efforts to expand the series, we’ve added “Speaking of Poetry” to our collection. In this segment, Atlanta’s most prolific wordsmiths discuss the art of evoking emotions with words.

For this edition of “Speaking of Poetry,” we feature poet Theresa Davis. Davis describes her style as storytelling in the form of personal narratives and social commentary. “Because I believe that the personal is political, I’m often referred to as a political poet,” David said. 

“What I write about is what is happening in the world, and when the same things keep happening over and over and over again, I keep finding myself in that stuck place of ‘Why do I have to keep writing this poem?’” Davis reflected.

In this segment, Theresa Davis shares an excerpt from her poem “Flotsam.”

and when she could no longer

float on her back

she turned over

spread her arms wide

she opened her too big mouth

took a deep breath

watched herself float out to sea

Poet Theresa Davis’ book is “Drowned: A Mermaid’s Manifesto” and find Theresa Davis on Instagram here.