Who Are You? 

I am Iman N. Milner. I’m a writer, actress, former EIC of EDGE Magazine and author of the poetry collection, ‘on breakups and beginnings’.

Where do you currently reside?

I live in in the DMV as of August. If you’re in the area, reach out!

How long have you been writing professionally?

Oh man. We started the magazine back in 2010. I guess that means I’ve been writing professionally for a whole decade. Time moves.

Who or what inspires you to write when inspiration is lacking?

I’m still working on pushing past “inspiration” especially in a time like this when everything seems so bleak and there is so much to say but everything feels pretty futile. Free writing in the morning usually gets some juices flowing for me. And I love to tap into others’ creativity when mine is lacking—-that can be reading another writer’s work or watching a dope visual artist create a piece. Poetry tends to open me up too—-I’m rereading Pablo Neruda’s ‘Love Poems’ currently and its been perfect.

When did you or will you know you’ve arrived as a writer?

I think I’ve gotten to a place where I know that there is no arrival, really. I have goals that I want to attain when it comes to writing (staff writing position, a publishing deal, NYT bestselling memoir for starters—-if anyone’s listening) but I understand how life works. I remember just wanting to be able to create for a living and I am doing that. And writing is part of that. So this spot feels like an arrival of sorts.

What piece of writing are you most proud of and why?

Definitely my article for Shondaland. It’s not my best writing but it definitely broadened my audience as a writer and it’s just a super transparent piece. This joint from my own site is sort of a banger too.

Do you have any current published pieces?

My most recent pieces are all on my site here.

What is your favorite quote from yourself and from your favorite writer?

This is actually kind of hard…not because I have so much heat but because I am overly critical of my work but I think right now it’s

and from my favorite writers Toni Morrison and Ron Milner, respectively: “She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order”. That’s from Morrison’s Song of Solomon. And this one’s from Milner, “Beauty is the ability to inspire love”.

What does being a Black woman identifying writer mean to you?

Part of the reason we’re still celebrating representation is because, by in-large, Black womxn have spent so long not seeing ourselves between pages or onscreen so being in a position to write as a Black woman for Black womxn means everything to me. Nothing makes me happier than a Black womxn saying she connected to something I wrote.

What do you wish you knew before embarking on this journey?

Whatever I didn’t know is the exact reason why my journey has been perfect for me. I’d say let your pen take the lead, I guess. There’s a certain amount of mimicking we all do at the beginning as writers—-taking on the writing cadence of whoever we are fans of—-but if you get out of the way, your own voice will show up.

Any last words?

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. I live by those words.