The Writing Journey of Rakhee Kissoon of Trinidad & Tobago

As a Guidance Officer, poet, and novelist living in the beautiful Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago, Rakhee Kissoon always found solace in creative expression. For eighteen years, she has been fortunate to share her life with her loving husband and her two children, surrounded by her four dogs and a cat – a testament to her affection for animals.  Her writing journey began in childhood, with poetry as her first language. A well-timed suggestion from a teenager ignited the dream of publishing a poetry collection. Though daunting, the aspiration stuck. Writing became a compulsion, with her poetry serving as heartfelt confessions. This led to her first self-published collection, “Teardrop”, followed by “Teardrops in Time”.  

A writing course recommendation to write daily surprisingly unearthed a novel within her. This discovery opened a floodgate of stories, revealing her novelist self. Since then, Rakhee penned several manuscripts, including her first published novel, “The Unwilling Husband” – a romantic tale set in Trinidad and Tobago. Her poetry continued to flourish in “Unrequited”, and her short story “Deva” further showcased her range.  Her educational background in Psychology fuels her passion for her role as a Guidance Officer. Whether through counseling or writing, her goal is to help others. This mission is further supported by Kissoon’s MFA in Creative Writing from the University of the West Indies.  Beyond writing, she finds joy in dancing, and solace in music, movies, and stories. But her greatest happiness comes from time at home with her family and beloved pets.  Let us get to know more about her in our short interview below:  

1. What age did you start writing? 

I completed my first ‘book’ when I was about eight years old. I cut a copybook in half and wrote a story inside. I don’t remember the story, but I do remember using a lot of ‘thens’ to connect too many sentences together. After that, I stuck to poetry. 

2. Can you remember your very first poem/writing and what it was all about?

My first poem was on Diwali, the festival of lights. I was about eleven years old at that time, attending a Hindu school with a strong Hindu background. Most of my first poems were themed similarly. That was, until puberty hit, and I discovered my favorite topic – love! 

3. Do you believe that writers affect eternity and why? 

I believe everything affects eternity – every thought and every action create a ripple through time. I think what writers do is play with the idea of eternity, provoking interpretations of what it would be; and what poets do, is craft the idea of eternity into something hauntingly beautiful or painfully bereft. Like all things, poets infuse heart into the topic. 

4. What kind of poems do you usually compose and why do you love this theme? 

My favorite topic is love. I believe love to be the most powerful thing in the world. It had the ability to save a little girl who was often lonely, to give hope to the dire, or to allow weary eyes to see splendor in the world again. Like many little girls, I had this idea of a great romance being my savior to take me into a world of adventure and pure happiness. The idea of romance was easy. It was a pretty dream. A lot simpler than real life. So, I learned the art of taking every drop of pain I felt and reshaping it into a romantic poem – purging pain while creating art. 

As I aged, the concept of love widened to something that included the maternal, platonic, and even spiritual. Still, I have a default to veer towards the romantic in my writing, even if the core inspiration is different. 

5. Where do you draw inspiration from for your writings? 

A lot of times it comes directly from what I’m feeling. It’s like a compulsion to express my emotions in a way that has petals, stems, darker shades of green and multiple hues of red, rather than just calling it a rose. 

Sometimes I’m expressing other people’s sadness. It’s like I absorb their feelings because I wish I could take their pain. I know I can’t, but I try to. I’m left with these intense emotions that I can’t fix, so I fashion them around a story in my poetry. 

Other times, it’s a random thought. Literally, I’ll be showering or driving, and an entire poem will form in my head, as if it were already written. 

6. Tell us something about your first poetry book “Teardrop.” 

I had a little notebook with my poems that I would share with friends and family. When I was about seventeen years old, a friend of our family promised me that she would publish my book one day. A dream was born. It didn’t work out as smoothly as I had thought. I had imagined this simple process of handing her my book and, magically, a published work of brilliance would appear and the whole world would just love it! A child’s dream can certainly be a laugh-out-loud trigger, albeit with a tinge of sadness. 

When I tried publishing my first book, Teardrop, I received multiple rejections with the resonating theme being that poetry was dead. I learned several lessons at that time. I learned that I was no one 

of significance (in the publishing industry), my poems were not as incredibly awesome as the teenaged me thought, and the world certainly was not waiting excitedly to read my work. 

I resented the repeatedly echoed sentiment that poetry was dead. How could they say that when I see poetry in everything? In the sky on a random day. In the sound of the ocean as the sun sets. Are not our songs poetry? 

Out of this anger, a determination emerged, and it fueled me to get my book published one way or the other. 

I turned to self-publishing. 

There’s nothing glamorous in self-publishing and it’s a lot of hard work. But I did it! I published my book with the poems I wrote from about twelve years of age up to that point in time. Of course,  after the joy of that grand personal accomplishment wore off, I realized that I didn’t have a marketing or sales team behind me to get my book sold. Still, it was a dream come true, and a huge step in my life as an author. 

7. What prompted you to write your novel “The Unwilling Husband”? 

It always comes back to the lost girl I was, doesn’t it? 

It’s the story that I always had in my head (with a little enhancement on the sexy details). Unlike many teenaged girls in my time, I dreamt about an arranged marriage in the vein of a perfect Bollywood movie meets Trinidadian culture: 

A drop-dead gorgeous sexy guy who does not want to get married. 

An innocent girl who is a lot more than she seems. 

Amazing chemistry.  A marriage doomed to fail with a sexy sizzle that becomes undeniable love. 

These stories were my escape. There were multiple versions of it, but they followed a similar path. "The Unwilling Husband" was the story I always knew, and, as such, I finished writing it within two or three months. 

8. As a graduate of Psychology and a Guidance Officer, do you believe that your professional career also influences your writings? 

Everything that I am affects my writing. Art is funny like that. Even if you try to hide parts of yourself, they have an insistent way of popping up in your work. Just like writing, being a Guidance Officer is a part of my personality. I call it ‘work’, but even without the title it will be who I am. My profession and educational background help me to understand people a little better. This understanding extends to my characters. 

9. Do you have any plans of exploring other writing genres? 

I don’t. But then I thought I was just a poet. I didn’t know I was a novelist until the day I somehow started writing a novel. I had no interest in writing short stories, until the day I wrote a short story. 

So, to answer your question, no, I have no plans to explore other writing genres, but I’m no longer surprised by where life can take me or my writing anymore. 

10. What is your message to young and aspiring writers out there who want to follow your 

footsteps? 

Write. 

It’s that simple. 

Write every day. Do not write just to be published. Do not ask yourself if this is good enough. Do not stress about the ending. Just keep writing. 

When the writing is done, you will figure out the rest. 

Everyone has a story to tell. Tell yours.