We were lucky to catch up with Kasaundra Hamilton recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kasaundra, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happy a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

When the bills are due, when the kids need something new at the last minute, when unexpected expenses arise… I find myself on Indeed.com pondering how I could rearrange my schedule to add time for a 9-5. It would make life so much easier financially to have a set and steady source of reliable income. If I knew I could clock in a set number of hours and bring in a set amount of pay weekly, my mind my be more at ease. But then reality strikes. While my finances may be more secured, my heart and mind would not. As much as I have known the benefit of hard work, from years of being a single mother and supporting two children alone, I have to be honest with myself. I was exhausted. I was mentally drained and often found myself feeling like a caged bird, staring out of my cubicle window only longing to fly freely. I have only found my freedom flight in my words. Writing and performing poetry fuels my spirit. The rewards I gain from poetry are far more valuable to me than that of any paycheck. While at times it is bit stressful, the whole ‘starving artist’ thing is oft times sadly true. My writing gives me the freedom to share, to connect, to share and heal wounds in both myself and others. No paycheck could be more valuable to me than the riches my words bring me. I have worked all of my life. At times I have carried two or three jobs at once to keep afloat. I worked myself almost to death from stress and fatigue. Writing gives me a far greater feeling. It lifts my stress, depression and has honestly saved me from the sabotages of myself. In truth, writing has saved my life and there is nothing more that I would rather do for the rest of my life. They say pursue a career that you enjoy, and you will never work a day in your life. This is the life that I choose, and I could not be happier in the decision that I have made.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

To describe myself simply, I am a happily married mother of three. I am a simple Southern girl who finds happiness in things like the love of friends and family both of blood and those that I have gained by my own choosing. I began writing as a child at the encouragement of my grandmother. While my writings were for my own release at first, once I found the courage to share them with others, I found the purpose in my passion. I was once scolded for introducing myself as a baby poet. One of my peers abruptly corrected me. “Do you write poetry? Do you perform poetry? And you have business cards already?” “Why, yes.” ” Well then don’t call yourself a baby poet, you are a poet. Period.” In that moment, I owned my power and became the artist that I am today. I consider myself an empathic poet and offer writing as a form of therapy. It has saved my life, and it is my desire to do that for others. I write poetry for myself, but upon sharing I have found them to be helpful for others. There is pain often times behind the pens, words and stories of creatives. But there is beauty in our pain and I enjoy in helping others find the beauty in their own voices. Not only do I write poetry for myself. I happily offer commissioned pieces for others. Recently, I have composed a Writing With Purpose workbook that shares my tips for learning to write first selfishly for self and begin writing from your soul and confidence rather than for the appreciation of others. I am a five time published author. My poetic fanbase has even encouraged me to design shirts that quote some of my popular lines of poetry. That has been fun .

I now hold titles of the 40th ranked international poet of the year in the Women of the World spoken word competition. as well as the 10th best Texas poet. I have won 1st, 2nd & 3rd place spots in the Killeen, Texas Grand Slam competition and taken silver in the 2016 Spoke Word Olympics. My ranking at WOWPS was my proudest accomplishment. It being my first serious competition. It made me feel so accomplished to have set out, studied, follow through with the discipline of my practicing and hard work then see it reap such an award. It reminded me, that the voice that was once deemed by others as unimportant and of no value, had both power and worth. There is something powerful enough in my words to save a life. I know, not only from the accolades, but in the proof that I they have saved my own.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Look pretty and be silent. This is lesson that has been beaten into my head since I was a child. It was relayed repeatedly in the rest of my life, from my mother, from my peers and from my romantic partners. I had been taught that my value lie in my appearance rather than my intellect. At worst, the father of my first child literally beat this mantra into me to a point that my it almost silenced me forever. But they were wrong. My mind is as beautiful as my skin, flaws and all.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There is no greater joy to me as a creative than to see the connection that my words make with others. To see the joy in them, in the spark upon the acknowledgement they are not alone. I relish in the moments that others come to me and share their intimate stories and how my words have given them comfort and courage in possibly sharing their words and shattering the silence that has plagued many of us for far too too long.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kaspoetess.wixsite.com/kaspoetess
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kas_poetess
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatchKas
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/KasSpot
• Other: TikTok @kas_poetess