Editor’s Note: The Influencers is a new interview series where Editor-in-Chief, Brian Dunlap asks writers about their influences, local and otherwise.

Benin Lemus surrounds herself with the written word. At home, it’s notepads full of her handwritten ideas in her own strong, empathetic voice. At work, it’s bookshelves and aisles of other people’s ideas as a librarian and educator. She ensures students who use her library feel both welcomed and at home. She understands the impact and influence she has directly working with these young people, these environments of library and classroom she still loves. In the programing she creates. In the two upper division English electives she teaches; “Literature of Minorities in America” and a film analysis course.

Lemus said in a Shoutout LA interview, “I have been publishing poems and participating in literary projects for more than 20 years,” filling her life with influences that shape the philosophy of her life, much less the verse she pens. As such, she’s grown to “live from a space of radical love and in service to others” and uses it to inform her life’s work.

Recently, I asked Benin Lemus about her influences on her writing, local and otherwise and how they’ve shaped her poetry.

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Brian Dunlap: Who were the original influences on your writing? Poets, writers, maybe even musicians? Teachers? Why and how have they influenced your writing?

Benin Lemus: My original influences on my writing were playwrights like George C. Wolfe and Ntozake Shange. Since college, I always had one foot on the page and the other on the stage, so playwrights and directors who told complex stories about the human condition, especially of Black Americans, were always of interest to me. 

Nikki Giovanni and writer (and poet), Sandra Cisneros will always be two of my literary North Stars. I tend to gravitate toward writers who go against convention and write without fear.

Dunlap: What local writers, past or present, have been influential to your writing and/or you’ve fallen in love with? In what ways have they been influential on your writing and/or in what ways have you fallen in love with their work?

Lemus: Kamau Daood is a local writer I really love listening to in part because he is a poet and collaborates with musicians. Spoken word is a dynamic art form and paired with jazz, hip-hop, or blues, it is the perfect combination. Los Ángeles has a long history of phenomenal and influential writers like Michael Connelly, whose stories are set in LÁ, and the city itself is a character. Pasadena native and futurist writer Octavia Butler is, of course, one of my spiritual influences. I personally do not write either mysteries/hard-boiled detective stories or science fiction as Connelly and Butler do, but I appreciate great writing with strong characters and sharp dialogue. As a poet, being a diverse reader of all genres is important in developing my craft. 

Dunlap: What writers do you read today, whether poets, essayists, novelists or others? What draws you to their work?

Lemus: In my “day job,” I am a teacher-librarian, so reading is extremely present in my life. Right now, I am reading books by California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick, a hybrid work about poet Etheridge Knight written by the genius Terrance Hayes, and a fiction book by the very popular Colleen Hoover. (My students love her work, so I have to check her out!) My book club is reading Sonia Choquette’s latest book on trusting your vibes, so I am making my way through it, too. As you will note, I keep several books going at one time. What draws me to this work is my love of variety. I am a curious person, and writing that piques my curiosity will always interest me. 

Dunlap: From your engagement in the local literary community, what are your honest thoughts and opinions about this community, good, bad or otherwise? It’s issues. It’s positives and anything else?

Lemus: I love our L.Á. writing community. Instagram has been a fantastic way to learn about readings, publishing opportunities, conferences, etc. From deep in the San Fernando Valley to Whittier, there are always great events for poets to meet, appreciate, and collaborate with one another. Los Ángeles is a big city, and our county is even bigger. That can be a hindrance for some. Time is another. I work full-time and have a young daughter, and getting out to events can be a challenge for me, but when I do get out, I always have fun and deeply appreciate the love and generosity of my poetry community.