Meet Lamar Neal | Writer, storyteller, and poet

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

Hi Lamar, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
As cliché as it sounds, a creative career chose me. The unceasing and incessantly growing desire to tell a story has been a part of me since I was a kid. Everything I did, from playing basketball to playing with my toys, always started with an internal writing room, where I scripted the upcoming play session. I couldn’t enjoy anything unless I built a story around it, so if I decided to play with my toys, each figure had to have a name, a backstory, a purpose, and a motive uniquely designed for that specific play session. The perfectly normal adolescent practice of playing with toys eventually turned into me filling up blinders of notes on “TV shows” I acted out with my action figures every day after school. During that time, I attempted to write a coming-of-age novel that I quickly lost interest in after 2-3 months.

By the time I hit high school raging hormones and a desire to find my place in the world shifted my focus to poetry, a way to process my stormy thoughts and feelings. It wasn’t until a bad breakup when I was 21 years old that I committed myself to creative writing. After dedicating 3 years to a relationship and neglecting myself and friendships in the process, I left the situation without many friends or a purpose in life. I always considered myself a writer, because the ideas never stopped flowing, but I didn’t actively pursue a writing career until after a breakup.

What started as a means of entertaining myself as a child turned into a creative career out of a desire to give a permanent, tangible home in a novel to the people and places in my head.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a poet and author, who writes poetry as a reflection of the world, and creative writing to escape that world. It’s been that way my entire life.

Poetry is a visceral response to life. When life gives me lemons, I squeeze them onto the page. My poems, though not exclusively one note, primarily centers around tragedies of society or my personal feelings. The way I see it: life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, so let’s talk about it. I’ve published three poetry collections since 2017, Charm Bracelet, We All Need Therapy, and [Pale] and I used each to either provide social commentary or as therapy.

Charm Bracelet (2017) explored the nature of my romantic relationships and situationships. With We All Need Therapy (2019) I wanted to discuss often taboo or controversial topics such as racism, homophobia, police brutality, toxic masculinity, family dynamics and religion while simultaneously arguing that everyone –myself included– would benefit from therapy. In 2020, I published [Pale], an amalgam of themes I touched on in my previous world.

I started writing poetry at 13 years old to regulate my emotions, and till this day, it continues to be therapy. I used to describe my poetry as “poetic rants.” Poetic as I’m not afraid to use poetic devices, but rants because sometimes you just need to get some shit off your chest.

Then, there is my creative writing. I like to think of my novels as whimsical, lighthearted and random takes on real life. Creative writing is my chance to reimagine the world, not to create a “perfect world”; instead, to tell the audience “everything will be alright” through the eyes and experiences of my characters.

I started my career as a published author in 2015, publishing a contemporary novel, A Misc. Eden (Pronounced A Miscellaneous Eden). It follows a kid, Adam, who cannot remember anything before his 10th birthday, leading him to believe his mother is a goddess who created him and the world. Enthralled by James Joyce’s Dubliners at the time, I desperately wanted to write a collection of short stories. The same characters kept speaking to me, and I ended up writing an entire novel around them, but each chapter is a self-contained story… A story I told out of order because I wanted to make it a fever dream.

In 2022, I published my second novel, Stages, a romance comedy- drama. It’s a story about two twenty-something college students who befriend each other and eventually fall in love during the most difficult times of their lives.
If readers pick up a Lamar Neal novel they can expect fun loving, story-driven stories, featuring black characters.

Sometimes it feels like life is dogpiling us and that happiness is temporary. I want my novels to be the opposite, overflowing in fun, whimsical lighthearted happenings.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The Inland Empire is one of the most centrally located places in the world. Drive 1-3 hours in direction and you’ll find deserts, mountains, hiking trails, wine country, beaches, amusement parks, big cities like LA or San Diego, smaller cities like Solvang.

I’m far too mentally disorganized and too much of a hermit to give you an itinerary. But if someone never been out my way before, we are definitely going to my favorite restaurants: Green Onion, Johnny’s Burger, Tuxies, & Batter Rebellion. If you’re looking for a “hey, there was this dope place, but I can’t remember what it is and where it is” look no further. If I need to make an itinerary, I defer to my wife 🙂

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?
Absolutely! Three people in particular: my high school mentor, Mrs. Steenhausen, my older sister, Sade, and my best friend Isaiah all played a vital role in my journey as a creative/writer.

Until high school, writing served as a means of emotional regulation. Mrs. Steenhausen, my high school English teacher, noticed my passion for writing, and not only did she support this medium of self-expression, she encouraged me to share it with the masses. With her support and under her mentorship, I wrote a 70+ poem collection as a senior in high school.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have grown up with one of the most talented individuals, my eldest sister, Sade. When you see someone draw an exhaustive drawing of Omarion –for some reason I feel the need to explain that this was during the B2K pandemonium—then turn around and design a book cover before writing and directing a screenplay, it inspires you to continue working on your craft and motives you to be as great.

One of the best things that ever happened to me was meeting my best friend, Isaiah. It’s funny. I would have never met someone I consider my best friend and brother if my mom didn’t stand her ground against my resistance to going to church. We immediately clicked. He was, is, and always will be one of the funniest and most intelligent people I know. Whenever I write a joke for a story, I ask myself “Would Zay laugh?”

Individuals I have a personal relationship with aside, I want to shout out all the musical artists that helped shape my voice: Kanye West—Pre-Life of Pablo—JPEGMAFIA, Tupac, Lupe Fiasco, and Poets of the Fall.

Website: LamarKNeal@rcc.edu

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theghostcharades

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ghostcharades

Image Credits
Tony Rizo

Ashley Neal