My Big Little Break: Athena Dixon
In My Big Little Break, we ask authors to talk about the first piece they ever had published, how it felt to finally break through, and what they’ve learned since then. This week we’re pleased to be speaking with one of the featured authors at our upcoming conference in Philadelphia on September 23, Athena Dixon.
What was the title and genre of your first-ever published piece?
My first published work was a poem titled "Coming Into Orange" and it was published in the Spring 2001 issue of Uhuru Magazine at Kent State University.
Who published it? Are they still around?
Yes! The magazine is a publication of the Black Student Union at the school and has been around since the 1970s.
Give us some context: how old were you? How long had you been writing and submitting? How many times had the piece been rejected? Anything else we're missing.
I was about 22 when the piece was published. I'd been writing since I was a child, but I'd only been sharing my work since I was 18 and that was really only at open mics. I honestly think this was the first time I submitted anything, but in full transparency, I was also Editor in Chief of the issue even if I was not in charge of the creative works included.
Did getting that acceptance feel as triumphant as you'd always hoped? Walk us through the moment when you found out.
I was more nervous than anything. I was graduating the same year I helmed the issue and I wanted to make the best impression I could with the entirety of the issue and not just my own work.
Are you still proud of that piece? Have you re-read it recently?
I'm still proud of it, but not because of the craft of the piece. I'm proud I was brave enough to share it. It took a lot to allow someone else to read my work and make a decision on whether it was ready for the world. I haven't read it in quite a long time, but I'm going to seek it out and see how it holds up.
Now that you've been doing this for a while, collecting plenty of rejections and acceptances along the way, what advice do you wish you could give your younger self?
The two biggest pieces of advice are to be selective with where you send your work because the integrity of your work and what you want to say is more important than the publication credit. And second, you will always find your audience even if it doesn't come when you want it.
Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, Athena Dixon is a poet, essayist, and editor. She is the author of The Loneliness Files (forthcoming from Tin House Books in October 2023) and The Incredible Shrinking Woman (Split/Lip Press 2020). Her work is also included in the anthology The Breakbeat Poets Vol.2: Black Girl Magic and her craft work appears in Getting to the Truth: The Craft and Practice of Creative Nonfiction. Athena is an alumni of V.O.N.A., Callaloo, and Tin House and has received a prose fellowship from The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing and a Second Book Residency from Tin House. She writes, edits, and resides in Philadelphia.