Ashley James

Ashley James, a former Appomattox Regional Governor's School Literary Arts major, has recently had a poem published in The Fire Inside, a collection of poems and short stories about and inspired by Zora Neale Hurston. The anthology was written by Zora’s Den, a group of Black women writers focused on uplifting each other’s voices and stories.

James said that Zora Neale Hurston is her favorite author, and that Hurston’s writing is a big inspiration for her. “I believe that her writing empowers women by featuring strong female leads who overcame the obstacles of this world,” James states. James’ poem in The Fire Inside is about an epidemic in the U.S. where Black women are more likely to die from childbirth or have poor health compared to any other racial group. She believes her poem relates to Hurston’s writing because of the similar focus on “the experience of Black women and... our suffering.”

James also says that ARGS is the main reason she feels comfortable and confident enough to submit her work to places like Zora’s Den. “I feel comfortable putting my work out there because I had practice at a young age when I attended ARGS.” She says things like workshops and experimentation with multiple genres at ARGS was “invaluable” to her and her writing. “I write today because I attended ARGS.”