"Sometimes I feel like it's a safer space for me to go the paper." - a conversation with Kai Kelly - a podcast by Liz Gold
from 2020-09-14T17:00:04
In this episode, I'm talking about writing with author and poet Kai Kelly. We touch upon a wide variety of subjects including the gifts sharing your work with other people bring, the process of self-publishing a book, Issa Rae, Chadwick Boseman, and the joy of a good pen on paper. Kai also reads the poem, "Sycamore Fantasies," from her book of poetry, Love Kai. Join us!
"I was actually a dancer first. I started dancing when I was three. I loved dancing, loved movement but my dad thought I was really too emotional. He'd be like 'nobody wants to hear that, write that down.'" So I started to learn at a very early age that writing and paper was just a place that would never betray me. It was always there, it was always a sanctuary for me. "
"With writing I always had it. Whether I was journaling or writing poems that I didn't share with anyone, it was always kind of happening in the background and that's how the process started."
"I never thought that my writing was shareable. I always thought my writing was decent for me. It was like clothes you wear around the house. That's how I looked at my writing. I did not think that it would resonate or make sense to people outside of me. Or that it was as good as say the Nikki Giovannis."
"My writing process is extremely organic."
"Sometimes I feel like it's a safer space for me to go the paper."
"When something comes into my brain, I want a nice pen and some paper."
"Sex is good but have you ever had a really good pen?"
"If you can't get a good slide as a writer, it's like useless. You don't know where this poem is going to take you, it could be one page, it could be eight pages. You don't want a pen that's going to cut out on you."
"My brain is constantly moving. I get inspired by things that are happening outside of me. I get inspired by things inside of me."
"The distrust we are experiencing in our society right now, the high level of distrust from government and entities and the disrespect that people of color are being shown just has a lot of people on paranoia, has a lot of people on 10."
"If you're in an energy exchange that is not healthy, that's not inspirational, that's not positive, that's not uplifting, that doesn't pour into your soul - why are you doing it?"
Bio
Born and raised in Westchester County, NY, Kiana (Kai) Kelly is a passionate empath, that loves words and how they can tell a story. Writing since the age of seven, Kai began sharing her writing humbly through open mics and blogs. She has authored a book of poetry called, Love Kai and is currently a contributor for Born Brown: All Rights Reserved.
Link to all things Kai:
https://linktr.ee/author_kai_kelly
Email: bookingkaikelly@gmail.com
Born Brown: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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