Poetry In Action | The Vignette

Dessa Darling is pictured on the left.

Dessa Darling is a member of the Minnesota-based hip-hop collective, Doomtree.

She is a rapper, lyricist and spoken word poet. Doomtree is performing at the Kanrocksas Music Festival. Dessa recently wrote in to discuss her favorite poets, lyrical inspiration and what is was like growing up in a musical family.

For more info on Doomtree, check out http://www.doomtree.net/.

What first got you into hip-hop?

I entered the hip hop scene through an interest in writing. I loved language since I was a kid and figured that made me a future writer. My big passion was creative non-fiction, a genre that presents true, real-life stories with literary craft and artistry. As it turned out, I found more immediate traction performing my work, rather than publishing it. I first competed as a slam poet and then connected with the Doomtree crew?a seven-member collective that?s as a much a family as a business entity.

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Did you come from a musical family?

My mom had an exceptional voice, she could do Whitney note-for-note. My father was classical guitarist and lute player. Although I don?t know the names of the songs he played at home, I remember him practicing in the sewing room, and I think the minor key and the doleful melodies of his repertoire informed my own tastes.

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Do you remember your first time onstage?

Eighth grade graduation. I did an a cappella medley of ?This Used to be my Playground? Madonna, ?Yesterday? and ?End of the Road? by Boyz II Men. Heavyhanded, I know.

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You are a very soulful vocalist and talented rapper. What inspires you lyrically?

I?m a sucker for subtext, for words or images that can are pleasing on first listen, but also on deeper levels of significance. On a language level, I think verbs and nouns are worth sweating over?finding the exactly the right ones means you don?t have to mess with adjectives and adverbs to modify your meaning.

Most often the spark of an idea will arrive in a scrap of overheard conversation, or while listening to music from other artists. Sometimes good books or melancholy movies will also trigger a song idea.

What do you look for in quality beats?

I love minor keys, strong melodies, a lot of dynamic change and a good share of organic instrumentation.

How do you approach writing poetry differently than creating lyrics?

I?m not funny in my lyrics, but wry humor is definitely a part of my prose. I guess I?m more comfortable with key changes as a writer?quick changes of tone and feeling. In songwriting, with only 3 minutes to work, I stay a bit darker more consistently.

The scope of an idea will often determine the format it lands in. If it?s an intricate, intellectual idea, that takes a lot of explaining, I?ll need the room and ink that an essay provides. If it?s a little turn of phrase that has a nice sonic bounce to it, that?s a rap candidate. If it?s a dense scrap of imagistic language that need not be expounded upon much, it?s likely to be thrown into the poetry pile.

Who are some of your favorite poets and why?

I read very little poetry, but the names Mary Oliver and T.S. Oliver come to mind. Oliver reminds me of one of my favorite prose writers, Annie Dillard, in that they both have an unflinching approach to naturalism. They both find wonder in the natural world, but they are frank with the reader about the horrors they encounter along the way.

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What are your hobbies outside of music and poetry?

I don?t have any to be honest. Not because I?m a crazy workahalic, but because I do for a living what I?d be doing in my off-hours if I had another job. I?m passionate about writing and music, and I make both very slowly. Need all the time I can get.

What advice would you have for artists just starting out?

Be decent to people and be very good at what you do. Keep your overhead low?that way you?re beholden to no one except your own instinct as an artist.

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