At what age did you start writing and why did you start?
I started writing at 13. It was a way for me to come to terms with my life and what I was experiencing, though obviously that wasn't how I understood it at the time. There was a whole combination of things going on which I didn't really have a way of understanding school, peers, my adoption. Writing was a way for me to get my real feelings down without offending anyone or shouting. Looking back there was a confusion which I suppose you could call an identity crisis.

Was this identity crisis due to you being of mixed race?
That was a part of it, though I think it's a stereotype to say that being of mixed race heritage leads to problems of identity. I was adopted into a white family when I was seven, which was difficult. It still is in some ways. My sense of self is radically diff erent from theirs. Even at seven years old you understand a lot about how the world sees you and how that differs from the way you see yourself. My self-awareness and my friends confirmed my blackness in a way which my adoptive parents didn't really understand. They had a very white liberal attitude which came into conflict with the way I constructed my identity. I'm not saying that they didn't try to understand, but the way my identity was constructed as a child and a black person was very unreal and alienating. I was never really consulted or asked what I wanted or how I felt. People made assumptions about me and about what I was feeling. So my writing was a way of expressing my frustration and anger at this, and at the way society controls and restricts you.

How did your adoptive parents react to your poetry?
They were very positive and encouraged me with anything creative that I chose to do. I think that they knew that this was an outlet for my anger and frustration, which often was against them . My poetry was a focus, and by using my emotions as a creative force it enabled me to talk openly with my parents from a very young age. I was and am in awe of my adoptive father; his was the first voice that gave me self worth, and is one of the most po werful philosophers I know. He taught while we were very little, and then went on to write and publish a series called 'Lifeskills'. I am extremely proud of him and keep my writers name, Scally, in honour of him. (Also because it is in ironic harmony with who I am!) For their encouragement, and their belief, I am grateful.

How would you describe your poetry then and now?
Poetry was my therapy. It was also a stimulus; when I became interested in poetry I became interested in books. When I first started it was just a raw comment on myself, a self absorbed reflection on my situation. And it was a way of taking an interest in the world. I know that sounds like a contradiction but it isn't. My writing and reading then was about going out to others in order to end up back at myself. I still do that to a degree, only now, when I write for myself I write for others as well. What I write reflects on the emotions and hurts of women, their loves and laughs, and their shades of colour.

What is your subject matter?
That depends. I believe everything around us is an energy; I write when I get something from that energy. Usually it is a reflection on circumstances, family, the people around me, but not always. I don't make any conscious decisions about what I write, or if I do it never really seems to have the same soul.

What do you think you achieve in your writing?
Personally, I achieve an outlet which enables me to survive and grow. Its an empowerment thing. If one person comes up to me and says 'I know exactly what you're talking about', then I've achieved. I try to use my voice as a way of helping other people to find theirs.

Do you collaborate with anyone else?
It's very important to me to work with other poets, because I feel that I still need to mature. The other writers I work with help me to ask new questions, about the world and about myself. You need new questions in order to develop, not just as a writer but as a human being. That's one of the main reasons I also work with singers. My poetry is naturally rhythmical and emotional and defiant, singing expresses the feeling in my words beautifully. It is also a challenge, to find the right weight for the words so that they can inhabit the voice instead of being dragged along by the rhythm or music. For a lot of my poems, singing brings out the sound of emotion, the echo of emotion. That's not always the case. Each poem reflects on what it should be, so if a poem needs voices then it will be a song, or if it needs dramatic performance then that's what it will be; like MotherGod, I'd never turn that into a song.

Who were your major influences?
God, Bob Marley, Malcolm X and Maya Angelou. She was the first strong black female writer I identified with as a teenager. The first book by her that I read was "I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings". It's stayed with me ever since.

What tradition do you think your writing belongs to?
My own mixed race tradition. I am the daughter of immigrant parents, one from the Caribbean and the other from Ireland. that there is a connection with black women writers, and Beyond Irish women writers, all concerned with the society we live in and the generally. We're manifold ways it oppresses and as human beings. us, as women

When did you first start performing?
I was encouraged to perform as part of winning a competition run by a local poetry organisation. I found it extremely nerve-racking to start off with, but after a while I learnt how to give life to my performance. I think I realised that performa nce is about helping your audience understand your words; you walk part of the way towards them so that they will walk the rest of the way towards you. It doesn't always work of course, but that's what I aim to achieve.

What inspires you to continue to write?
Basically I write as a response to what happens around me, in my life and the community I live in. My work reflects my dual cultural heritage and allows me to be myself. I now reinforce the positiveness of being mixed race through my writing and performance. For me it's a liberation and a chance to understand.

Some of your work has been described as controversial. Was that intentional?
Being mixed race is controversial to some people. The way I express what I see as the truth of my position causes some people to feel uncomfortable because they have to question their own prejudices about people of mixed race backgrounds. If they find me controversial because of that I don't mind. Hopefully some people will understand what I'm trying to say and that will allow them to make choices to better themselves.

So, what happened in 1997?
I wrote about 50 poems and am planning a book which is currently being compiled and edited and rewritten! I've also done alot of performances this year which I've found very empowering.

So what should we look out for in 98?
In December of last year I finally traced my birth father. I feel that I've come full circle and my poetry has begun to reflect the strength and struggle of handling this new truth in my life. I think for me my past needed to be found in all its ? for me to accept my life as now and for the future.

How would you like to be remembered?
As a mother who car ed for her children and taught/gave them unconditional love so that they could take possession of themselves. And through the memory and strength of my descendents.