Despite having been writing poetry for only a year, Nona Lea has taken to it with the fervor and curiosity that she approaches the four other artistic mediums (poetry, photography, sculpture and sewing to name a few) that she uses to create and articulate her experiences.
“Innocence is a Rose in a Blender” was one of the first poems Nona wrote and it earned her a place in the 2019 Issue of The Delta. “ I actually hated poetry,” Nona says, “until I took Professor Laura Glenum's class and she introduced us to freestyle poetry.”
Nona’s poem was inspired by a comic where a man attempts to pick a rose, but is disappointed when he is stabbed by its thorns. Once the man leaves, the rose tells her friend, "Some creep tried to touch me so I shanked him."
The comic resonated with Nona’s experiences as a young woman who has been “harassed and leered at by older men.” What emerged from these freighting and disturbing experiences was “Innocence is a Rose in A Blender.”
In addition to her poetry, three of Nona’s photographs have appeared in the 2018/2019 issue of Delta. Nona used a Sony Cyber-shot DSCH300 for photography class a few years ago. The photos she submitted to Delta were all taken during this class.
“Bubble” was the toughest photo she took. Nona estimates it took at least two hours to capture an image of feathers floating in the sky without a tree in the background. “Hold,” was inspired by limited resourced for an Impressionism assignment. “I didn’t have many stage props on hand that could convey a wide variety of emotions,” she explains, “So I just used a rose and a door to communicate what words can’t convey.” “Bars” was the result of “in the field” assignment where she had to capture an image of moving object that wasn’t staged.
Of all of the artistic mediums that Nona uses to channel her creativity, novel writing is her favorite. “Short stories don't evoke excitement from me like novels do,” she explains. One of the resources that have helped Nona the most is Brandon Sanderson’s Youtube channel where he uploads the lectures from his creative writing course at Brigham Young University. The courses that improved Nona's writing the most were business writing, technical writing, novel writing courses at LSU. “They helped me learn how to write better, more engaging prose,” she insists. “That’s something not all standard creative writing classes have time to teach.”
Nona Lea also has a love-hate relationship with creative writing workshops. On the one hand, “If someone genuinely enjoys my story, that spurs [her] to keep writing.” However, she worries whether the praise was warranted. “I always felt peer reviews in poetry and short story classes were dishonest to some extent because no one wants to say they think your writing is bad up to your face.” “When I worked as a poetry editor for Delta, I got to see how people really felt about my poems and pictures.” Under the blanket of anonymity Delta requires for its submitters, Nona receive some of the "best feedback" on her work.
As of now, Nona is a Senior, pursuing a Creative Writing BA with a concentration in Fiction. Upon finishing her undergraduate degree, Nona plans on applying to Stonecoast's MFA program for popular fiction, where she will focus on her dream of becoming a famous author.
If you’d like to read Nona’s poem or view her photos, head to the Delta Online tab where you can view Volume #61 for free.
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