This weekend we hit a pretty cool milestone: 4k Twitter followers! To celebrate, we wanted to drop a special Drunkerview. We had so much fun with our last one, that we didn’t wanna wait.
Today, we’re bringing you another awesome Drunkerview with Reggie Johnson. Reggie is the author of eight (!!!) poetry books, with his latest Cuarentena, due out soon.
Grab a cold one and enjoy the show!
1. Tell us a little bit about your writing process. Do you have a schedule for when you write?
My writing process has evolved since I was a kid. When I was nine, I would take a notebook and journal all of my experiences that I would have over a summer vacation. Over time, I began writing poetry as a pastime. It wasn’t until I was nineteen when I truly began taking my writing seriously. Most of my writing happens at night right before bed. I turn on some music and I open my Notes app on my iPhone and just let the ink flow.
2. Who inspires you the most when it comes to writing?
When it comes to writing, the main sources of inspiration are music, my experiences and my close friends. Music has been very therapeutic for me over time helping me get through a lot of different situations both good and bad. I actually showcase this in my latest book entitled Audio Therapy. The events that have transpired in my life have been the subject matter for a lot of my writing as it allows me to process these situations and fully understand. Fellow creatives, Harold (Twitter: halfxyou), Elijah (Twitter: elijahhorton94), Natalie (Twitter: Natstradamusss), Danny (Twitter: fuckdirtydan) and Antonio (Twitter: Tone_26_) have all helped me to fully express my thoughts through writing and I’m truly grateful for them.
3. Your writing is filled with so many great pop culture references. Explain your style for us.
Being a ’90s baby, growing up pop culture was inescapable. Music has been a big part of my life growing up, especially Hip Hop & R&B. Musicians such as Drake, The Weeknd, Big Sean and Bryson Tiller have helped me include a musicality in my writing. These artists are very good at storytelling through their signature styles. From them, I’ve developed my ability to showcase emotion, braggadocio, wordplay and my thoughts all into one.
4. Favorite Four Loko flavor. Go.
Surprisingly if you can take me back ten years ago to the original Four Lokos that I would drink in college, these contributed to a lot of memories from my times then. Nowadays, I’m drinking Budweiser or my all-time favorite, D’ussé Cognac lol.
5. Would you rather be compelled to high five everyone you meet or be compelled to give wedgies to anyone in a green shirt?
Lol, I would probably high five every I meet in person. Especially all of the creatives I’ve come to network with via social media. I would personally thank everyone for taking the time to reading my content or giving feedback. With these hard times that we’re enduring right now, it seems like we taken for granted the simplest greetings.
6. Hit us with your Top-5 anime shows.
Top Five Anime: Ghost Stories, Full Metal Panic, Blue Seed, Death Note and Kakegurui.
7. You have your 9th book coming out soon. That’s incredible! Is there a theme for this one?
Cuarentena is the title of my 9th book. Coming from the Spanish word meaning quarantine, I wanted the readers to get an inside view of a mind that has navigated through all of these events world has experienced this year. For me and a lot of us, living in quarantine is a new experience. Also, it has seemed like we have had a domino effect of one bad thing after the next (social injustice, politics, coronavirus, etc). This book will showcase the life before quarantine and how one lives in this new normal.
8. Finally: Do you put ketchup on your fries or keep it on the side for dipping?
If anyone knows me, I’m emptying out the ketchup bottle in different designs across all of my fries lol. I don’t like dipping my fries into ketchup. Knowing that it at least has some ketchup keeps me satisfied.
Reggie Johnson is a poet reigning from Cincinnati, Ohio. Starting at the age of nine, Reggie has been writing poetry through their love of music and life experiences. He has eight books now available on Amazon. You can follow him on Twitter @r_d_johnson and on IG @rdjohnsonwrites.
Shawn Berman (@sbb_writer) runs The Daily Drunk. He enjoys the occasional cold beer.