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[The Weekly Q&A]

Vegas poet Ash DelGrego on teaching writing, persevering and loving yourself

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Ash DelGrego hosts Campfire Open Mic at ReBar in the Arts District.
Photo: Wade Vandervort

When life gets to be too much, Las Vegan Ash DelGrego puts pen to paper. It’s what he has done for as long as he can remember. The practice led to a poem titled “Chrysalis,” which takes the reader alongside the trans poet’s difficult, yet fulfilling, journey to self-acceptance.

The poem was so special, DelGrego’s words were placed on a sidewalk on South Third Street in the Arts District. It was then that he was inspired to begin work on a book. His first collection of poems, Chrysalis, was published by Zeitgeist Press in December.

The 32-year-old DelGrego isn’t just a poet, though; he’s also an advocate. Shortly after moving to Las Vegas in 2016, he began attending open-mic nights, which eventually inspired him to launch his own. Today, he runs Campfire Open Mic, a reading event that provides a safe space for poets to share their voices. DelGrego also brings poetry into the classroom through his work with Poetry Promise, Inc.

To get the creative juices flowing, he also likes to create visual art, including jewelry and tie dye, work which can viewed and purchased at stardustessentials.com.

The Weekly caught up with DelGrego to find out more.

How long have you been writing poetry? I feel like I’ve been writing since I came out of the womb. I came out and I was like, “All right, I’m ready to write it down!” But it took me a little while, I feel, to understand and hone what that voice was. But my first instance—that I can recall—was a poem titled “Wild Child.” I was very young, and it talked to my experiences being adopted and my family dynamics. It was sort of an opening for me into therapeutic tools. Poetry just became such a tool for me.

What themes and ideas can be found in Chrysalis? I would say the biggest one is self-love. You know, really advocating for a self-love approach in life, in leading with kindness, especially in regard to how we treat ourselves. For me, I feel like I was treating myself like I was an enemy. I was always helping people out with their problems and being kind and true without giving to myself first, and what I understood about that people pleasing nature is that’s not true kindness. It’s not authentic.

What is your favorite line from ChrysalisThe last one always gets me: “… after all it took me 25 years to start becoming happy with who I am today, and I cannot give up these wings for anybody, not even me.” I’ve often been my own worst enemy, and it took me a long time to come out of my own darkness and embrace who I am wholesomely as a trans, queer individual and a self-love advocate. It’s my reminder to keep going, despite anti-trans legislation, leadership and influence, and to continue to be brave in using my voice to share my story.

What is an average night like at Campfire Open Mic? We usually have about 50 to 60 people show up, and we have 20 to 30 people sign up on the list [to share]. … Also, we have a feature pretty much every single night, and that is somebody from the community, generally (we have [also] had out-of-town people feature randomly). They get about 15 to 20 minutes for their own sets. We run on donations, and we offer a portion of the proceeds to our feature of the night, and also my wife and I—[knowing] that artists sometimes struggle—[will] offer a meal and a drink, if you’d like one, as the feature for us.

You also work with Poetry Promise. What kind of work does that organization do? We go in there and teach them about poetry, teach them about things like metaphors, similes and ways that they can define things outside of maybe the way that they’ve been taught. [We] talk about the five senses and how to include that into your poetry. We talk about performance and editing. Then for the slam workshops … like a mini slam, where they’re actually up there performing in front of their peers, teachers and other students. They’re in an auditorium with the lights on them. It’s so beautiful to see them.

Sounds like you’re really enjoying those experiences. I love being a teaching artist. There’s something about going into schools and talking to kids and sometimes being the first person in their life to talk to them about self-love.

Where do you think you would be without poetry? It’s difficult to admit this, but I don’t think I’d be alive without poetry, as I feel it exists within me and is embedded in much of my day-to-day life. So I don’t know where I’d be, but I’m beyond grateful to be where I am now.

What do you still hope to achieve? I continue to just want to evolve and grow. I am aspiring toward working with TED Talks to get out there with my story and have a bigger platform that I can share about self-love. [I’m also aspiring to] having a tour happen, where I can bring my book out to different states and different open mics.

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