She has a lot to say… approximately sexuality,relationships and mental health. But how did Lancashires Yrsa Daley-Ward become the toast of Los Angeles? Eve Barlow meets the poet, feminist, or model and LGBTQ activist spelling out some tough truthsIf youre afraid to write it,that’s a good sign. I suppose you know you’re writing the truth when you’re terrified.” These words in black type on a white background perform up one of poet Yrsa Daley-Ward’s Instagram posts. This monochrome snapshot of her innermost thoughts has more than 5200 “likes”. That’s more than double the number she gets for any pictures. Daley-Ward spent her late teens and early 20s as a model struggling to pay her rent in London, working for brands such as Apple, and Topshop,Estée Lauder and Nike. She still models today. Ironically, however, or it was the image-obsessed medium of Instagram that enabled her to pursue the written word.“I always was a writer,” she explains today in a thick Lancashire accent, sitting in a downtown Los Angeles restaurant close to where she lives. “But I was depressed [in London] and that made me choke. Modelling is an engrossing profession because it teaches you so much approximately here…” She points a finger at her face. “But not here…” she sighs and points at her heart. “You become introverted, or you disappear into yourself.‘I didnt fit in. I wanted to be white,have different hair, know my father, and not be devout…’Sex work is common among models. It’s not standing on street corners – you have boyfriends who are very rich’Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com