Meet Marissa Forbes | Art and Poetry Instructor & Creative Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marissa Forbes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marissa, why did you pursue a creative career?
While in undergrad at Pratt Institute and grad school at The New School NY, I had to work to provide for myself, so I always thought that’s how my life would roll out: needing to have a “sensible” job while pursuing my passions on the side. For much of my professional life that’s what I did; however, during the height of Covid I was asked to rejoin The Art Garage Denver team and I became drawn to the idea of curating my professional life through a fully creative scope. Being immersed in the nonprofit arts education field again, paired with the grief I experienced with the death of my biological father in 2020 and the demise of my marriage in 2021, I knew a career in the arts was the only way to reclaim my selfhood. That reclamation of self included my own creative endeavors, so I started writing again in 2020 after nearly a decade hiatus. Soon after, I found a community of poets through the Community Literature Initiative and I learned how to make my dream of being a career writer come true. Now, in addition to being a lead educator at The Art Garage, I also teach a 10 month poetry to publication course through CLI, am the Managing Editor of Twenty Bellows Lit (CO based literary magazine), my first full length poetry collection, “Briding The Gap: Poems & Ethos for Emily Warren Roebling” is slated for October 2023 through Finishing Line Press and I am shopping my second poetry collection called “Surviving Peter Pan.” My roots in art, education, and writing have grown into a creative career that allows me to hold my visions daily, which includes making sure my children see me constantly reengaging with my goals in order to reach them. I pursue a career in creative fields to help others realize that art is for all—the creators, the community they serve, and for the future generations of artists.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

My main creative passion is words: I write short fiction and one-act plays, but have focused heavily on poetry for the last 18 months. My first full length collection “Bridging The Gap: Poems & Ethos for Emily Warren Roebling” is historical poetry about Emily Roebling (the Silent Builder of the Brooklyn Bridge) that intertwines stories from an era long gone but still ringing true today. “Bridging the Gap” is about the sacrifices women make in the face of motherhood, professional livelihood, marriage, and the will to make progress on all fronts. The story of Emily Roebling spans across the pages, but more importantly, this collection bridges the gap between the struggles and victories women continue to forge through every decade since. It will be available for presale in October 2023 through Finishing Line Press.

I’m currently shopping my newest poetry chapbook “Surviving Peter Pan” which is a dark journey to Neverland. It’s a reclamation of the classic novel by J.M Barrie, told through the countering points of view of Wendy, Tiger Lily, Tinkerbell, Neverland’s mermaids, the Lost Boys, Hook, and his Pirates. “Surviving Peter Pan” is poetic exploration for women as: lost girls, trying mothers, discarded lovers, strong warriors and sirens; mostly it’s a recovery story about me and my strength to see what I experienced in a trauma bonded narcissistic marriage isn’t insanity. Neverland isn’t a fantasy or a far off place I put myself in as a form of denial, it’s where I found my courage.

Being a professional creative means holding passions in multiple areas and since launching my creative writing career while also being immersed in visual arts I’ve left space to focus on combining those worlds. I spend my days teaching art to toddlers-teens and my nights writing but I needed to connect my words to the visual world. So, I’ve been making a series of necklaces and bookmarks mixing collage and poetics. These pieces will be given with every purchase of “Bridging The Gap” or “Surviving Peter Pan” made through my website: www.marissaforbes.com.

I’m excited for what’s in store for 2023 with Twenty Bellows and The Art Garage. A collaboration has been forged with Center for Colorado Women’s History, which involves 20B hosting generative writing workshops, along with speaking and reading series starting in late March and continuing on through the rest of the year. The Art Garage will be leading artist series and classes for youth and adults across the city filling the need to bring art to more communities. It’s important to me to not only create but to teach the craft of creativity, so expanding and connecting the spheres of art, education, and writing has been crucial for my professional livelihood.

When I was working outside of the creative sector and writing in a bubble I craved community. Then I found the Community Literature Initiative and that sparked a fire in me that I hadn’t had since I was in the undergrad creative writing program at Pratt Institute. But CLI is a national organization and we  meet once a week via zoom so that in person aspect to the creative community wasn’t realized for me yet. And what do you do when you don’t have a community? You create it. Twenty Bellows hosts an open mic the last Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm at Lady Justice Brewery, I lead an in person open writing studio at 6:30pm on the last Friday of every month at The Art Garage. I’ll also be launching a Denver chapter of CLI in the fall in order to bring more poets together to realize their dreams of publishing full length poetry collections.

This is just the beginning for me. I’ve learned over the last two years that just because it’s not happening right now doesn’t mean that it’s not happening. I always hold my vision daily and re-engage with my goals constantly because that is the only way to make sure that the steps I’m taking every day are leading me to where I want to be.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As a single mom I don’t get out much but when I do I focus on my kids’ or guests’ desires, which are art, nature, and vegetarian/vegan options. I always take friends to DAM and MCA. I wish events like “Untitled” at DAM happened more than quarterly but if it did happen more often it may lose its magic. MCA never fails to impress and inspire.

Cascade Falls and Gem Lake are favorite hikes for my kids and out-of-towners. If we’re hitting fall, Golden Gate Canyon State Park is our favorite Aspen viewing trip and if we want some nature but need to take it light we head to Red Rocks, Lair ‘o’ bear, or Look Out Mountain—the Buffalo Bill Museum at the top is always a hit. When it comes to vegan and vegetarian options, City O’ City is a guaranteed favorite but Sputnik has the very best jackfruit cuban sandwich!

I also try to expand my poetry intake, so I always recommend checking out the open mic “Snap, Crackle, Pop” hosted at Mutiny Cafe the second Sunday of every month at 10am, the open mic at Gypsy House Cafe the third Thursday of the month at 7pm, and the Botanical Bakery of Denver also hosts an open mic on the first Thursday of the month at 6pm.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Katie Moran, the Executive Director at The Art Garage Denver. Without her I wouldn’t have been able to find my footing in the the creative arts and education sectors again. The Art Garage is a community center that only employs professional artists as instructors in order to create a space for artists to build a livlihood while pursuing their personal creative endeavors.

Joy Giles, Savannah Hope Ducharm, Lena Niermann, and Elyse Lani: All amazing women artists and educators at The Art Garage who are fueling the Denver art scene with a variety of high quality art while enriching young artists all over Denver.

Cat Jenson, the Education Director at the Center for Colorado Women’s History, is a powerhouse who I am so thrilled to have recently joined forces with to create creative programming at CCWH with writers from Twenty Bellows and artists from The Art Garage.

James Stuart, the Founder of Twenty Bellows Lit. I met him just months after Twenty Bellows launched in 2020 and we have worked as a team to help amplify the Colorado Creative Writing Community, particularly the voices of LQBTQ+, BIPOC, and female identifying writers. The latest endeavor is our open mic on the last Tuesday of every month at Lady Justice Brewery.

The rest of my creative collaborators and mentors are spread around the nation through Community Literature Initiative, but I will be launching a Denver chapter for CLI in the fall of 2023 and aim to boost a few more Shoutout Colorado worthy writers.

Website: marissaforbes.com

Instagram: @word_nerd_ris

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marissa.j.isch

Other: twentybellowslit.com artgaragedenver.com

Image Credits
Marissa Forbes Kevin Foote (poetry reading images only)