Callaloo Contributor Feature: Tryphena Yeboah

Our next Contributor Feature comes from Tryphena Yeboah, whose work appears in Callaloo 43.2.

What inspired your piece in this issue?

I wrote “Marriage”, well, during the first year of my marriage. I was surprised to see how differently my husband and I approach finances, how our upbringings have informed how we think about money and what’s worth purchasing, particularly in a season of new and small beginnings. We’re learning to live in the tension of scarcity and freedom. I think it’s much harder than it seems. A “Stone Room” was inspired by the days surrounding my wedding. I had travelled back home to Ghana for the ceremony and had to sleep in the room I’d spent so many of my teenage years in. It was strange to be back there. Everything was still the same after all those years, and yet, it felt like nothing had changed. Being back there brought back memories of the house, many of which were painful, but there was also a surprising sense of comfort in it. For the poem “Burn,” I was at a colleague’s house and just watched the fascination in their child’s eyes as he looked at a burning candle. He was curious and in awe he could almost touch it. I thought a lot about unending vigilance and care for children. Many of my older friends tell me that it never stops, not even when your child is a responsible adult living out of the house. I am deeply interested in that.

In one word how would you describe your contribution to Callaloo 43.2?

Honest.

How did your creative journey or background lead you to this publication?

I suppose none of these three poems would exist if I wasn’t in the habit of thinking and reflecting about my life and how I live my days. So, I’ll say the practice of journaling and reading over the years has taught me to not merely move through moments, even the most mundane ones, but to also interrogate my emotions and impressions of things, to sit still, to wade deeper, and to grow the kind of curiosity that has me questioning and wondering and imagining and looking beneath the surface of things. 

Tell us about a book or writer that influenced your work in this issue

Rather than a book or writer, it was the simple and ordinary events that were happening in my life at the time that led to these poems. I love that writing invites me to pay attention to my life and the world around me.

More About Tryphena:

TRYPHENA YEBOAH is an assistant professor of English and Creative Writing Director at Tennessee Wesleyan University.

https://www.tryphenayeboah.com/