Always Becominging

Always Becominging (born 1990) is a New Zealand poet, editor and co-founder of the publishing house We Are Babies. Her 2021 publication I Am a Human Being won the best first book award (poetry) at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Jay Nieuwland
Born1990 (age 32–33)[1]
New Zealand
OccupationPoet
AwardsMitoQ Best First Book Awards: Jessie Mackay Prize for Poetry

Biography

Becominging was born and raised in Wellington.[2] She first seriously began writing poetry in high school, after developing a passion for New Zealand hip hop artists such as Frontline and the Breakin Wreckwordz hip-hop collective, eventually realising that she was drawn to the process of writing, instead of hip-hop performance.[3] Becominging studied creative writing at Whitireia New Zealand.[3]

Together with American poet Carolyn DeCarlo, Becominging co-founded the independent publishing house We Are Babies.[3] Becominging and DeCarlo worked on a number of projects, including the eBook Twilight Zone (2013)[4] and Bound: an Ode to Falling in Love (2014), a fictionalised chapbook telling the story of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's relationship.[5] In 2015, We Are Babies released the poetry anthology Left: a Book of Words and Pictures, which featured Becominging as the work's editor.[2][6] Becominging and DeCarlo also founded the zine/poetry reading collective Food Court, which eventually expanded to become a physical store in Newtown, Wellington.[3] The store shut down in 2022.[7]

In the early 2010s, Becominging began writing the poetry collection I Am a Human Being. Halfway through the writing process, Becominging realised that she was genderqueer.[8] I Am a Human Being was eventually published by Compound Press in 2020,[9] winning the MitoQ Best First Book Award for Poetry at the 2021 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards,[10][11] and was longlisted for the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry.[12]

As of 2022, Becominging is completing a PhD in poetics.[13]

Personal life

Becominging previously identified as genderqueer.[14] In 2021, Becominging came out as a trans woman, and started using she/her pronouns.[15][16]

Becominging met Carolyn DeCarlo online in 2011, on the literary website HTMLGIANT. After the pair developed a long-distance relationship, DeCarlo moved to New Zealand from Maryland.[3] Becominging and DeCarlo separated in 2022.[17]

Bibliography
  • DeCarlo, Carolyn; Nieuwland, Jackson (2014). Bound: an Ode to Falling in Love. Auckland: Compound Press. ISBN 9780994112323. OCLC 1003123254.
  • Nieuwland, Jackson, ed. (2015). Left: a Book of Words and Pictures. Wellington: Compound Press. ISBN 9780473316518. OCLC 934111390.
  • Nieuwland, Jackson (2020). I Am a Human Being. Auckland: Compound Press. ISBN 9780995125148. OCLC 1241570294.

References
  1. "Bound : an ode to falling in love / by Carolyn DeCarlo & Jackson Nieuwland ; illustrations by Josephine Jelicich". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  2. "I Am a Human Being". The Women's Bookshop. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  3. "A Conversation with Carolyn DeCarlo & Jackson Nieuwland: Passing into Another Dimension". Starling Magazine. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  4. "What are ways to take your night?". Sweet Mammalian. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  5. "BOUND: an ode to falling in love". Compound Press. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  6. "Journals: From Start to Finish". The Big Idea. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  7. "Food Court Books Closing Down Sale". Instagram. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  8. "Meet Jackson Nieuwland, author of the award-winning poetry collection I Am A Human Being". Kete Books. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  9. Crofskey, Vanessa Mei (30 September 2020). "I Am A Reader Reading: A Review of I Am A Human Being". Pantograph Punch. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  10. "How I write: Award-winning poet Jackson Nieuwland on 'finding community'". Stuff. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  11. "I Am a Human Being". The Women's Bookshop. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  12. "The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending February 19". The Spinoff. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  13. "Mermaid Metaphors & Other Tales". The Big Idea. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  14. "Celebrating Our Ockham Poets: Q & A with Jackson Nieuwland, Winner of the Mitoq Best First Book Award". New Zealand Book Awards Trust. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  15. @becominging (12 December 2021). "Hi everyone. Recently admitted to myself that I'm a woman. She/her pronouns from now on please 💋" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. Ward, Louise (11 August 2022). "A Progression of Poets comes to Napier on August 23 to entertain and inspire". Hawke's Bay Today. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  17. @becominging (25 May 2022). "UPDATES: In case you missed it, Carolyn DeCarlo and I are no longer an item. If you want to know more about why, you can ask privately. I may or may not tell you my side of the story" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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