39: Interview with Screenwriter and Painter, Kafia Haile

Check out my interview with screenwriter and painter Kafia Haile. Below you'll find the words to her poem "A Requiem from the Front Yard", a sample of her artwork, some of her most pertinent quoted from our interview, and how to keep in touch.

A Requiem from the Front Yard: A Response to Gwendolyn Brooks’ A Song in the Front Yard

by Kafia Haile

I longed for the back yard all my life But rarely made my way there Instead I dreamed bigger for visions of war

Of visits from Death and Despair

Little did I know the back yard was safer Though George went to jail and Johnnie Mae followed suit

No sand, nor mortars, nor fear abounds And there my well-intentioned works bear fruit

But in that hot desert it will take generations

For my good works to see manifestation Too many young ones bear witness to blood

And the horrors of war still wait to be undone

I longed for the back yard all my life Curious as to what trouble I might find Perhaps some danger, some excitement, and yet still hope

Now I mourn for the innocence the desert left behind

Quote: "If you're a writer, everything weird happens to you so you have something to say."

Quote: "I'm not really a writer, but I'm going to create a website...I'm going to create business cards..."

Quote: "I'm dressed for the job that I want, not the job that I have."

Quote: "When I'm finish writing my story I give it to God and say, 'As beautiful a story I could make up for my life, I know your plan is even bigger than that.'"

Website: http://www.kafiahaile.com/