Interview with author and scholar Mara Lee Grayson: Insights on Poetry and Identity
September 2, 2026
Mara Lee Grayson’s poetry has appeared in Poetry Northwest, Tampa Review, and Nimrod, among other literary journals, and has been nominated multiple times for the Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize. An award-winning scholar of rhetorics of racism and antisemitism, Grayson is the author or editor of five books of nonfiction. She holds an MFA from The City College of New York and a PhD from Columbia University and was previously a tenured professor in the California State University system. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, she currently resides in New Jersey.
Her poem, How to Be a Jewish Woman in Amerikkka while Your Friends Sleep Fitfully in War Zones, was the winner of the 2026 Honeybee Poetry Prize and appears in Issue #24.
Tell us a bit about yourself, something more than just what’s in your bio. Perhaps something not a lot of people know.
I acted before I wrote. (My father was a stage director, and I grew up surrounded by theatre.) In some ways, I came to writing through acting – I wanted to make moments come to life. Also, I have more piercings and tattoos than people expect me to have (which says a lot less about me than it does about people’s expectations).
As far as message and intention, the poem speaks for itself. What more can you tell us about what compelled or inspired you to write it?
I actually began writing this poem in 2022, set it aside for a while, and came back to it in 2024, after hearing from friends and colleagues who had been running for shelter every night. I juxtaposed that with what I had been trying to make sense of a couple of years earlier.
What unique or surprising detail can you tell us about the revision process?
Believe it or not, this poem was originally a sonnet that I deconstructed about 20 different times.
What did you learn (about yourself, craft, or life in general) through writing and revising it?
As I returned to this poem, I wondered how much of my own experiences of identity and positionality reflect the experiences of my ancestors. What do we share across space and time? What is universal, so to speak, and what is particular? How do we draw connections without losing what makes us unique?
What do you hope readers take from the poem?
I never presume what readers will take from a poem. Over the years, readers and editors have shared with me interpretations of my work that I never intended, and I’ve come to not only be okay with that but to kind of appreciate it. I won’t say all interpretations are equally valid – they’re not – but we all bring ourselves to the work we read. If my work speaks to you, I’m glad, and I hope it makes you both feel and think about something just a little differently than you did before.
Do you write in other genres, and if so, what?
I do! My MFA thesis was a collection of short stories, a few I’ve since published. I wrote freelance briefly for a couple of newspapers, and I even once worked as a theatre and film critic. A lot of people know me primarily as a scholar.
What fuels your desire to write?
I want to say that I write to make meaning of the world and to feel like myself, and both are true, but, at root, it’s a feeling, a compulsion maybe. I feel driven to write. I don’t feel comfortable or satisfied when I don’t.
How do you balance writing with everyday life?
I have no idea what balance means, and I have yet to meet a writer or artist who does.
Are there any special projects, other pieces, or books you’d like to promote?
Readers can find my books here.
What do you think when you hear, “the good life”?
Having time and space to do the things I want to do without feeling like I have to squeeze them in or compartmentalize them. Maybe the good life is really about finding that ever-elusive balance.
Thank you, Mara, for sharing more about your life and writing with us. We are grateful to you for participating in this Q&A and for being a part of what is becoming a sweet history of Honeybee Prize winners!!
We wish you continued success with writing and that you will someday find that balance!
