Feels Like the Right Time: An Interview With Tremaine L. Loadholt

Courtesy of Melissa Lemay

The lovely Melissa Lemay at Mom with a Blog and editor of Collaborature, invited me for an interview, to which I happily obliged. I appreciate her presence here on WordPress, her strength as a writer, and the outpouring of support she lends other creatives throughout the WordPress community, too. Below is a snippet of the interview:

Melissa Lemay: Hello, Tremaine! Thank you for joining us here at Collaborature today!

Tremaine L. Loadholt: Hey! Hey! Hey! You can just call me “Tre.” Tremaine is WAY too formal. LOL!

ML: Understood. It’s a bad habit.🙃 Will you tell us a little about when your writing journey began?

TL: Ah, okay. I began writing when I was nine years old. My mother’s oldest sister died from a crack cocaine overdose in an alley behind another user’s home in my hometown. I was particularly close to this aunt, and so was my mom. When she died, it’s like my mom lost a piece of her; therefore, I lost a piece of me. I wrote a poem to memorialize her death and celebrate her life, and that’s where it started.

ML: That is an incredible place to start. What are some things you enjoy writing about?

TL: Life, love, relationships (all forms), LGBTQ rights and appreciation, socioeconomic trials, systemic racism, hope, and peace.

ML: I know you have published at least one book. How many have you published? Will you tell us about them and what inspired you to write each?

TL: Okay, this is a meaty question, and I fear I will become verbose in answering it. I will do you one better. Here is the link to the books I have written and published (a total of five) via my website… Published Books. I am also sharing my Author Pages via Amazon and Goodreads. What inspired me to write each? Anytime I compile a body of work, I am moved to do so—compelled, really. I cannot describe what comes over me, but it always feels like the right time. I hope this makes sense.

ML: It makes perfect sense. Do you think it is imperative that we pass on writing and the arts to generations that come after us?

TL: I do. I spent about eight years mentoring young writers, helping them harness their craft, and showing them different forms/genres/methods for expressive writing. I also hosted writing prompts and placed a spotlight on them when featuring their work. This was a part of my “Young Minds of Medium” venture. To this day, I maintain a relationship with several of them, and I am overjoyed by how they have excelled.

ML: That is meaningful. Thank you for participating in that. What is something important that you have gained or learned as a result of writing?

TL: Patience. I have always been a patient person, but writing, especially editing and publishing, has given me a newfound understanding and appreciation for what it means to be patient. It does not matter how fast you want to get somewhere or do something, or accomplish your goals. If patience is not factored into your method of living, you very well may not succeed.

ML: Preach! Which do you enjoy more: poetry or flash fiction?

TL: Now, why’d you have to go and ask me this?! LOL! Poetry is my first love. If I want to find, become one with, learn more about, and understand… truly understand myself and everything around me, poetry is what I turn to. Fiction (be it flash, micro, short stories, etc.) is how I commune with my characters—how I become one with them. If I need to get their stories out, and I know poetry will not be sufficient, fiction is what I turn to. I love writing both forms of genres equally.

ML: If you could go anywhere in the world to write, where would you go and why?

TL: Anywhere in the world? Hmm. I’d have to say Tonga. I would love to immerse myself in the culture, learn the beauty of their connection to one another, experience Vitamin D the way it’s supposed to be experienced, and produce poetry and fiction for at least two more books. I would like to explore at least twenty of its 170 islands.

ML: Why stop at 20?! Who are some people who’ve inspired you on your writing journey? These can be fellow writers, people in your life who have inspired your writing, etc.

TL: My late cousin, Chrissy. I have written about her life and death so much that it is a part of my modus operandi. My now deceased dog, Jernee Timid. I cannot tell you how many poems or longform pieces I have written about her life as well as her death. She was a source of motivation for me. Renown writers: Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Octavia Butler, June Jordan, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Mitch Albom, and Elizabeth Gilbert.

If you’re interested in reading the rest of the interview, you can do so by visiting Collaborature, and also (if you have time) read a few of the works shared by other talented writers, artists, and creatives throughout our blogosphere.

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I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing, as I discuss recent events related to my previous place of employment, including racism and discrimination, the growth I experienced after resigning from that company, and the foibles and overall experiences of life. I welcome your visit.