Kaitlyn Wierzchowski is a poet living in Racine, Wisconsin whose publications include: Offerings, Children Churches & Daddies, Blackwidow’s Web of Poetry, Inklings, FEED and Straylight.
1asked by william secombe
Who are you most inspired by?
Spoken word artists (almost anyone), Nikki Giovanni, Shel Silverstein, Dr. Seuss, most bizarre modern art, so many things inspire me…its hard to name them.
2
What do you want to most convey in your work?
Emotion, I’m all about bringing out people’s character either my own or adapting a persona or character to bring to life, trying to get people to feel something when they read or listen to my writing.
3
When did you first realize you are an artist?
I’ve always been a writer, almost as long as I’ve been a reader, but I think I started to get more “artistic” about it after high school when I started realising there were other weirdos like me.
4
Why do you choose the subject matter you work with?
I A string of can’ts? I can’t draw, I can’t really paint, I don’t sing well enough? I choose poetry though because it is rhythmic, musical and engaging - more so than longer pieces of writing can be.
5
Where do you go when your well of inspiration is running low?
I try to interact with other artists somehow - sometimes an open mic, going to an art gallery, surfing the web, reading an interesting book or magazine…all good things.
6asked by michael anthony lynch
What is your greatest artistic weakness?
As a performer, I sometimes allow the audience to affect what I write about or how I perform it - case in point is how I had a fixation on sexual or sexually suggestive poems because I got a strong reaction from them - as well as my infamous stripping piece about nudity.
7
How would your life change if you were no longer allowed to create art?
I would probably go crazy literally, because I use my art to keep me afloat. I have struggled with depression and panic-type anxiety but have stopped taking medication for it. Without writing I would still be taking it, and I would be a much less happy person.
8asked by dayvin hallman
What situations in life have left their deepest impressions on you?
Relationships. People seem to come and go from my life, but every single one of them has had an imprint “on my soul” so to speak. Even if they are no longer part of my life, the memories and the moments, both good and bad, remain with me. Sadly, it is more of the bad that sticks in your memory - but you learn from it and it is oh so bittersweet.
9asked by kathy berg
What/who gave you the extra push to “go public” with your work?
I heard about a cool little group of poets who were reading and they called themselves I’d(entity): Poetics. It was the first group of writers and performers I got to know very well and it was the first time I started reading my stuff out loud. I had actually published a few poems already at that point but these guys made me feel like an amateur!
10asked by alex sheehan
Do you make a choice and then justify it? Or do you visualize something and then create it?
I usually just go with the flow. People read too much into what I write. That’s why I say I write from the unconscious or the subconscious because a lot of it starts as freewrite and then eventually molds into a poem. I don’t know where its going or where it will end. Usually there is an emotion involved, but it sometimes shifts and transforms into something entirely different and unexpected. Did I answer the question?
11
What ways do you find your life influences your work?
My experiences are my work. Sometimes these experiences are dreams or random thoughts that pop up, but almost all of it is just me, naked (hah ha) on the page.
12asked by david geisler
How do you know when you are finished with a work?
When I reach the end of the page. I used to have this complex that I would stop writing a poem when I got to the end of the page. Seriously. Is that strange or what? But the process of editing and revising seriously…I usually go through about one or two drafts before I get a final version and it just feels right when its done.
13
What new artists or works excite you?
I feel like I’m not as up to date as I should be about new and up-and-coming people. But a lot of the artists that have come through 716 in one way or another are amazing. They really inspire me.
14asked by 716
Who do you think you are?
I am me. I think that’s the shortest answer I have on here. There is no other explanation.
15
If you could ask another artist anything, what would it be?
What greases your gears and gets you in motion?
