Exclusive Interview with Melissa Ferrer-Civil, Kansas City’s inaugural Poet Laureate

Melissa Ferrer-Civil performs at The Kansas City Defender’s “Young Black Writer’s Social” on September 19th, 2023. (Vaughan Harrison) Melissa Ferrer-Civil came to Kansas City by way of a miracle. At least, that’s how she sees it. In 2017, the Brooklyn-born poet made her way out of a religious cult in Warsaw, Missouri. She came to the area seeking solace from her sorrow-filled past. She thought the group would aid her in her mission of finding God and making the world a better place. But joy was the last thing she found in what turned out to be a cult.& Ferrer underwent a mental breakdown at that time, which she was still enduring when she left. She was taken to a local hospital at the peak of this breakdown. From there, she was transferred to a hospital in Kansas City.& At that time, Ferrer longed for community more than anything.& & “I wanted a home,” she said. “I had been on my own since I was 14. I was lonely and I was always someone who prioritized relationships. I wanted to be around someone who would do the same.” She remembers always feeling like the odd one out. Growing up, she...