Reflections: Ep 14

This week we sat down with slam poet and community builder Gemini Fox to talk about imposter syndrome, artistic mentors, and sharing your authentic voice.

Gemini grew up in St. Lucia, loving to read poetry. Because of British colonization, Gemini grew up reading British Literature. She had a specific fascination with Shakespeare, Robert Frost, and John Keats, later adding to her favorites Walt Whitman, Langton Hughes, and Maya Angelou.

Gemini grew up believing she was too loud, like her stories were too detailed and too long. She was told by the people around her she was too much and because of it, she retreated into herself and became incredibly quiet. She was not able to share her inner world with others.

Performing poetry came into Gemini’s life when her daughter signed up for a school poetry competition. She started taking her daughter to local poetry nights and soon had people around her encouraging her to share her poems and voice.

Gemini said others recognized her talent before she saw it herself. Sometimes it’s hard to see our talents over the voices and noise of those who did not see our magic or encourage us early on. It is so important to find creative communities, people who value storytelling and art. People who understand us. And it’s important to let ourselves be seen by those people. It’s important to find safe places to share your art and talent.

It was the first time I was doing something for me that I actually enjoyed. It was the first time I wasn’t limited in my expression & people told me they loved hearing me speak.

Finding genuine things we love to do is so important to our growth. It helps us uncover our authentic voice and share ourselves with others. It can be very easy to listen to the voices trying to shut us down and out from living authentically, but pursuing the things bringing us real joy is important.

Gemini said she had to stop sabotaging herself by giving into imposter syndrome. At the beginning she was comparing herself to everyone else. She compared herself to the great poets she loved to read growing up. She would fan girl hard over her peers and psych herself out. It took her a year and a half to call herself a poet. Eventually she learned if someone else’s voice mattered, her voice mattered too. She could speak her truth, just like the people she admired did.

Gemini’s stage name comes from an encounter she had with a red fox outside of the mall she worked at. Foxes are private, wise, and rarely seen. Gemini identified with the spirit of the fox, there being a side of her no one saw. Her poetry now gives her an avenue to share this side of herself, the one she thought was never worth sharing. It has allowed her to begin integrating both sides of herself into the world, sharing herself, her story, her raw emotions, pain, and creativity with the public.

Gemini runs a fashion business where she up-cycles unconventional materials not usually used for clothing into beautiful wearable garments. Sewing helps her quiet her brain as when she is not sleeping she is writing poems in her head. She is excited to take the next step in her creative entrepreneurship journey, becoming a full-time artist, sewing and writing, hopefully finishing a book in the near future.

Gemini is apart of the Growhouse Poetry community in Tampa, FL and you can find her at any of the events her community puts on.