Yrsa Daley-Ward went from the runway to writing her truth in simple verses. Her poems have a variety of themes that are relatable to any human being that has lived. In 2014 she self-published the book Bone which was then published by the Penguin House. This strong, beautiful woman teaches us the importance of words.
How this model become a poet?
She believes that she always had been a poet simply wasn´t ready to show her words. Yrsa first had to create her voice. Learning how to read at a young age she devoured books with her eyes. Her range of books in her house helped her learn more than a child is used to. Believing that this is how she learnt her ability to see us.
Deciding to create an Instagram account for her poems her voice was herd. With 143,000 followers she found a poetry community. A place Yrsa could be heard. When she realised her self-published book Yrsa already had a fan base of 116,000 followers including Florence & the machine. Her art was already becoming a great deal.
Yrsa and her words
Yrsa explains that her life experience flows through her writing. Both the beautiful parts and hard of truth. She wrote for others, to help those too scared to talk about these issues. Being a black lesbian feminist and an ex-model she had perspectives many are too scared to say but many can relate. Her words touch many subjects, mental health, sex, abuse, image, love and many more. She best explains her courage as stepping off a cage. “In acting and modelling I was so busy expressing what somebody else wanted that I’d completely shut down my own voice. I didn’t have any mirrors. When I was 20, I was in knots. I couldn’t speak my reality to anybody. There’s no cage now. Lots of people are afraid, to tell the truth. But I don’t care. It’s fucking boring otherwise.”
Her advice for artists
If it wasn’t for the internet how would I have got the book out? How would I have got a publisher? If I went to a publisher armed with Bone and zero internet following… I didn’t know what to expect. I just persevered.” Yrsa Daley-Ward
