Gray Davidson Carroll
I’ve been writing poetry since I was a teenager and fell in love with public health in college. Beginning and since then, I’ve worked to weave those passions together in my personal and professional life.
By Jessica H. Riggs
Meet Gray Davidson Carroll a transfemme writer, educator, public health researcher, (self-proclaimed) hot chocolate connoisseur, and a recent graduate of the Certified Listener Poet training course!
They are the author of the poetry chapbook “Waterfall of Thanks” (Bottlecap Press, 2023), and their work has further appeared or is forthcoming in “The Common, new words {press}”, Sage Journals, and “Frontiers in Medicine” and “Door = Jar.” They have received fellowships from Brooklyn Poets, The Good Listening Project, Columbia University, and elsewhere. Originally from western Massachusetts, they currently live in Brooklyn, where they are pursuing a poetry MFA at NYU.
Read the full interview below to learn more about Gray’s favorite poets, what excites them these days, and what poetry platforms they follow.
What drew you to the Good Listening Project?
A passion for poetry, public health, and integrating the two!
What was one takeaway from your training to become a Certified Listener Poet?
Affirmation that most of writing poetry is listening and allowing what you hear to move you.
What poetry are you currently reading?
Right now, I’m on my third re-reading of “Love and Other Poems” by Alex Dimitrov, and in the middle of “No Rest” by Jason Koo.
Tell us about your professional and personal interests.
TGLP as an organization pretty much optimizes my professional and personal interests. I’ve been writing poetry since I was a teenager and fell in love with public health in college. Beginning and since then, I’ve worked to weave those passions together in my personal and professional life.
What excites you these days?
Reading! I’ve gotten to watch a lot of my friends get published recently and seeing their books together on my shelf is one of the more joy-inducing experiences I’ve had in my life.
Who is your favorite poet?
Impossible question. But some folx whose work I’m really loving right now are Hala Alyan, Gaia Rajan, Sharon Olds, and Ross Gay.
What poetry platforms do you follow or poetry scenes do you engage in?
I’m in New York so there’s no shortage of spoken-word venues and workshops to find my way into. I’m also subscribed to Poem-a-Day, Only Poems, and regularly listen to Poetry Unbound.