GRIOTS REPUBLIC - AN URBAN BLACK TRAVEL MAG - JULY 2016

Hola,
Morocha!
A Q&A with author, Jennifer Poe,
on publishing your travel memoirs.
Writer and author, Jennifer Poe, is
publishing a new book about her travels
throughout Buenos Aires. As soon as
we saw her post on Twitter, we jumped at the
chance to pick her brain. Continue reading
for insights on how you too can publish your
memoirs and make sure to follow Jennifer for
updates on her new book!
Tell us a little bit about yourself and
how you wound up in Buenos Aires.
Well, I’m a writer through and through. More
so than a blogger, I would say. But I was 16
when I started writing seriously with the goal of
publication one day. I began my artistic journey
as an underground poet and artist on the Lower
East Side and landed my first publishing credit
(Poem in We Got Issues) at the age of 20 and
was named one of the top New Yorkers by New
York magazine not too long after that.
I caught the travel bug, however, when I was
just 19 years old. It was the first time I had
been in an airport and I went to Paris. I haven’t
looked back since.
When I turned 22, I wanted to experience
living abroad for an extended amount of time
and had never been away from my family or
lived on my own and since I was going through
heartbreak at the time and going through the
emotions where the city sickens you because
every monument and piece of concrete reminds
you of the person you loved, I decided I wanted
to pack my things and leave.
A friend told me about Buenos Aires and as soon
as I saw pictures of the city I was in love. I also
noticed the absence of black people. I mean,
not a single one! I heard stories of racism and
was a bit scared and hesitant, but I said screw
it! I’m not going to let color define or deter me
from any part of the world I want to explore. So
I made my fear take the back seat, grabbed a
copy of Hemingway’s Movable Feast and took
off!
What inspired “Hola, Morocha! A Black
Woman’s Adventures in Buenos Aires”
and whom did you write it for?
My, my, my. Let me tell you. Living in Buenos
Aires was one of the most bizarre, yet thrilling
experiences of my life! Some of the stuff that
happened was straight out of a movie. I said,
“I have to document this!” So to stay sane, I
started the now defunct blog “Black Girl’s Guide
to Buenos Aires” while I was still living there.
I was surprised by how popular it became. At
the time, back in 2007, I was one of the few
black travelers blogging. I think there was like
ten of us. I can confidently say I am one of the
original black travel bloggers. Now the Internet
is saturated with them. This is a great thing!
But I still get emails from other black women,
who are embarking on their own journeys to
Buenos Aires, who need help or support to
quell the same fears I had. I’ve even inspired
some to travel there. That experience inspired
me to re-write Hola, Morocha as a book series.
Book one in the series is called Culture Shock
and I re-wrote it in a playful conversational way.
I want readers to feel like a friend is spilling the
tea from abroad!
I think we need more diversity in travel nonfiction.
I’m still having issues finding such
books. So to answer your question, the book is
for everyone who loves to read travel memoirs,
but targeted towards black women who want to
see more of themselves in travel narratives and
also black women traveling to Buenos Aires.
Can you describe the writing, editing,
and publishing process of going from a
travel blog to an actual novel?
I think they’re two different arenas. It’s one
thing to throw a travel blog up and then connect
it to your instagram and post pretty pictures
styling and profiling off the coast of Rio, but
it’s not going to help you sell books.
The number one thing is to learn book
marketing. You have to come up with a