Today we’d like to introduce you to Nyarko.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m originally from South Florida, and I come from a Ghanaian-American family. I graduated from Spelman College in 2018 with a degree in Chemistry, so my professional background is rooted in science.
Writing and poetry, though, have always been a different kind of outlet for me. Writing became healing for me. It gave me a place to process emotions, experiences, and things I didn’t always know how to say out loud. What started as something personal eventually grew into something I wanted to share with other people who might see themselves in my words.
That journey led me to publish my first poetry collection, Soul Thoughts, and now my second collection, Imbalanced, which explores anxiety through the intersection of emotion and chemistry.
I love that I don’t have to choose between being a scientist and being a creative. Both sides of me influence how I see the world, and through my writing, I hope to create work that makes people feel seen, understood, and maybe even a little more whole.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all. The road hasn’t been smooth, but I think that’s part of what has shaped me as a writer.
I’ve experienced things at a pretty young age. My dad moved back to Ghana when I was entering middle school, and having to navigate that change and his absence was something I carried with me as I grew up. More recently, I lost my grandmother, and that was another kind of loss that affected me deeply.
Writing became a place where I could process those experiences and emotions that I didn’t always know how to express out loud. I’ve written through hurt, grief, anxiety, love, and different seasons of trying to understand myself. In a lot of ways, writing has been part of my healing.
Even with my journey as an author and poet, there are still moments when I feel like giving up. I question myself, I get discouraged, and sometimes balancing my career in science with my creative life can be a lot. But I don’t give up. I keep coming back to why I started and reminding myself that my words have a purpose.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an author and poet, and I think what sets me apart is the way I bring different parts of myself into my work. I’m a creative, but I’m also a scientist with a degree in chemistry, and I’ve learned that those two sides of me don’t have to exist separately.
I’m known for writing poetry that is sensual, honest, emotional, and relatable. I write about anxiety, love, grief, healing, and the different emotions we sometimes struggle to put into words.
I’m most proud of allowing myself to keep evolving as a writer. From Soul Thoughts to Imbalanced, I can see my growth, not only in my writing but in how vulnerable I’m willing to be. Knowing that something I wrote to help me process my own emotions can make someone else feel seen or understood is probably the most rewarding part of what I do.
I think what sets me apart is simply that I’m not trying to fit into one box. I can be the woman in the lab and the poet on the stage. Both are authentically me.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I’d just say that I’m still growing, both as a writer and as a person. I don’t have everything figured out, and I think that honesty is a big part of my work. I write from real emotions, real experiences, and real moments of trying to understand myself.
I also love exploring poetry in different forms. Outside of my books, I have an EP called Carnal Triggers, which allowed me to bring my poetry into another creative space and give people a different way to experience my words. I never want to limit what my creativity can look or sound like.
Pricing:
- Signed Imbalanced — $22
- Signed Soul Thoughts — $12
- Poetry performances / bookings — Contact for pricing
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nyarkothepoet@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nyarkothepoet?stkn=dXl2MDZ6eDZ4OGdp&utm_source=qr
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nyarkothepoet_?_r=1&_t=ZP-99d01NnPcvH
