The Woven Tale Press interviews Cherene Sherrard on Grimoire

Cherene Sherrard, author of Grimoire, was recently interviewed by The Woven Tale Press. The conversation, centered around Grimoire as a collection, touches on everything from motherhood and writing in the time of COVID to racial violence, generational trauma, and magic. A delight to read, this conversation gives us a fascinating glimpse into Sherrard’s approach to Grimoire, as well as her approach to writing as a form of resistance:

…I don’t name “the mothers” in my dedication because it’s a list that extends back in time and forward into the future. It includes Mamie Till, Sybrina Fulton, and Samaria Rice, along with mothers struggling to work from home while homeschooling, advocating for accommodations, or engaging in “essential” labor that puts their families at risk of COVID exposure. I couldn’t anticipate how the pandemic would intensify the deep schisms that we still have to reconcile as a nation.

…A grimoire is a magical textbook, a book of power filled with spells or “receipts,” which is an archaic term for recipe. Traditionally, these books were also passed down through families. A running theme in my book concerns inherited trauma, but also legacies of resistance to oppression. My Grimoire is a survival guide.

We’re very grateful to WTP Poetry Editor Sara London for sitting down with Sherrard and sharing these insights into Grimoire and Sherrard’s other writing! Read the full interview here at The Woven Tale Press.