Meet Lisa Vicious | Author & Visual Artist

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

Hi Lisa, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Honestly, I don’t think I had a choice. I’ve always been creative. As a child and teenager, I wanted to be a full-time artist. I never grew out of that teenage angst phase where I was going to be a dark and inspirational writer who wanted to change the world.

Although I’ve had to take jobs that were not so creative, I’m very fortunate at this time in my life to be able to continue where I left off over a decade ago.

Life had gotten in the way for a long time and I stopped creating. As of 2023 I’ve been able to get over my writer’s block, and publish my third book of poetry that was 12 years in the making. I re-released my first book of poetry from 2008. It was just time to flourish and not be afraid of success, which I was for many years.

There is a sense of urgency and obligation to share my story through being an artist and an author. I write about overcoming adversity, recovering from addiction, being in and coming out of an abusive marriage that almost killed me, and finding myself. I was lost for a very long time.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My writing is not for everyone, it might sound pretentious to say but it’s for a certain group of people. It is very dark, acerbic, it is both Heaven and Hell. I have not had an easy life and it was ugly more times than not. I write about what I know and what I’ve lived through which is drug addiction, being in an abusive marriage, childhood trauma, and mental health issues. I’ve been told that I’m not an easy read and that’s what sets me apart from other writers. I am very in your face. My choice of vocabulary is not something you would normally find in a book about the above mentioned. It’s laced with complexities and metaphors that you don’t associate with certain situations. I have a piece that I wrote about being abused and in it I compared myself to a dog. In the beginning of the poem as I’m reading it people laugh; by the middle they’re unsure of what’s going on, at the end I either get angry looks or see people crying. Sometimes both. In a way I don’t understand how I move people to tears, but I’m starting to learn the more I make these connections by performing. And at that point it’s not about me, it’s about them and what I’m giving them is not just someone reading a poem; it’s an experience, it’s a healing opportunity, it’s someone reaching out and saying “I’ve been there”.

I write about these topics because I’ve overcome them and it’s important for me to share with others who may still be suffering. I almost feel like there’s an obligation to do so, it’s my way of helping without having people cross the boundaries that I’ve set up to protect myself.

I’m currently 12 years sober and drug free.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve overcome is writer’s block. That is no joke! For a natural writer to not be able to create it’s akin to having a physical ailment. I stopped writing in 2009, with some scattered poems here and there but I was not able to start writing again or look at my previous work until 2023. At times I was disgusted by it and I didn’t have a passion anymore. I had put out two books in 2008 and 2009 and shortly after that my drug addiction had started its downward spiral quickly.

It was after I got sober that I ended up in an abusive marriage and being a single mother, and I was in survival mode for many years. My ex-husband tried to kill me right in front of our son in 2016. When you live in survival mode it’s fight or flight all the time – nothing else matters. So writing was not a priority. I had replaced creative writing with creating a paper trail to take to court to help prosecute my ex, rather than coping with what I was going through in a healing way.

I am excited today to be in a place where I can create again and I’m excited about the future. I can make an actual living, not a luxurious one, but a living off of my work and be fulfilled creatively for the first time in my life if I push myself. I’ve always done half-ass things and I never committed to being a full-time writer until last year. I tried getting my MFA, I could not deal with college and I quit several times, although I recently have started classes again.

What I’ve learned while deep diving through my life recently is that you can’t give up and you can’t compare yourself to other people. When I committed to this, it was an easy transition although I thought about giving up several times; I knew that I couldn’t and because I persevered I’m more proud of my accomplishments. I stood on the stage recently for the first time in 13 years in front of people that I knew I was going to fall flat on my face in front of, but I did it anyway. It was about coming a full circle. From being the junkie poet who couldn’t memorize her own work, who was the butt of everybody’s joke, to being someone of substance who has been given a second chance to make things right.

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?
I spent many years in Detroit, probably in some places that I never want to see again. I left Detroit in 2012 and moved as far north as I could vowing never to come back. Last year I found myself moving back to Detroit to be closer to my family. So coming back and bringing my son who’s never seen the city before, it’s been exciting for me! I’m seeing things for the first time through not only sober eyes but through his eyes; the excitement of seeing skyscrapers and tasting his first Lafayette Coney Dog.

This city is not the Detroit I left behind! There are good changes and some that I don’t like to see, but I am proud to be a Detroiter. We go to Belle Isle regularly as well as the DIA and we try to hit a new restaurant every week that we’ve never had before. Downtown is blooming, it’s not even blooming – it’s bloomed and I’m still a bit culture shocked by it. A couple of months ago I went to the Old Miami which I loved hanging out at back in the day. Nobody broke into my car, nobody propositioned me, I didn’t have to chase anyway with mace.

I am excited to see the Stone House reopen, they say it’s happening finally. I grew up there, the first time I set foot in there in was 17! I know it will not be the same as it was but there’s still nostalgia there.

There’s a lot of museums now, the Museum of Death in Mount Clemens and I know there’s one I think in Monroe. I love all that odd dark stuff!

My son loves Mum’s Arcade in Grosse Pointe. It’s fun to play the old games there.

…and Louie’s in Hazel Park. No pizza comes close!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First, my son Lanegan, because I wouldn’t be who I am without him. Also, Johnny Indovina. I know he doesn’t like recognition but I’ve got to give him his flowers. Less than a year ago he was just someone that I knew of and was a fan of his music for decades. I had taken a shot at asking him if he would review my new book. In return I got an amazing gift. Not only friendship, but having someone believe in me when I didn’t believe in myself; it wasn’t just me that he believed in, Johnny saw my potential as a writer and my ability of being able to create beautiful pieces of poetry from some very ugly times in my life. Not only did he review my book but he wrote the forward to it. The greatest gift you can offer someone is your time and he gave me that gift. It is something I will always treasure.

Website: https://lisavicious.com

Instagram: lisavicious313

Facebook: lisavicious313

Other: https://patreon.com/LisaVicious

Image Credits
Michael Spleet
Peter Schorn