Every Friday, Virago Rising will be featuring a new artist, ranging from poets to visual artists, and everything in-between. Whether they are established years into their career, or at the beginning of their journey, we hope you enjoy their work as much as we do.
Leisly Roman (she/her) is an aspiring poet and writer, born and raised in New York City. The eldest daughter of Dominican immigrants, Leisly is a proud member of the Latinx community. She is a passionate advocate for mental health and OCD awareness, as can be seen through her poetry. Her work often conveys themes of self-love, grief, personal growth, self-esteem, body image, and the beauty of the natural world.
Up-and-coming poet Leisly is ready to share her words. Currently working with Alegria Publishing on her debut collection, Leisly has always been a reader and a writer, but it was not until the pandemic that she was able to dedicate herself to her craft. She set a goal to write a poem every single day for a year. That’s 365 poems! While she may not have reached that number, she did realize ideas can come and go, but those most important could stay. Some of these would go on to develop into poems from the first pieces of her debut collection.
While others may have stopped at this setback, Leisly found opportunity in it. Her writing now had the time to evolve. She had time to expose herself to new styles and could extend her writing to a bilingual world. The years of writing had only made her a stronger poet, and person, as poetry has helped her navigate change after change. She focuses nowadays on writing more prose in an effort to build her storytelling skills. She admits, though, that she does have a favorite style: haikus.
Without giving too much away, her book will be tackling mental health, the role her Dominican culture has played in her life, longing, self-compassion, and much more. She is currently in the editing and writing stages but hopes to be done by the end of the year. However, if life and her friends have taught her anything, it is that it helps to be flexible with oneself. Leisly is trying to be patient with herself as she is now also incorporating Spanish and is learning that some things cannot be translated, nor should be.
As she now tries to find her way to combine Spanish and English into one voice, her voice, she understands that for some, writing is easier than speaking when it comes to certain topics. She leans into the difficulties that come when talking about mental health. She has learned that it is difficult to be passive when you care about something, and has surprised herself with how invested she has become in her process. Leisly cannot wait to continue surprising herself and we, the readers, cannot wait to be surprised alongside her.
From writer to writer, Leisly offers this piece of advice, “If something calls you, it is going to be the annoying thing in your head. Start off slow. Take five to ten minutes to jot down your piece. Set a smaller intention.” For anyone who may not have time, “Start reading. Expose yourself.”
Here is a sneak peek at Leisly’s upcoming debut poetry collection.
For more on Leisly’s work, follow on Instagram @_literaryhope.