We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cissy Stag. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cissy below.

Alright, Cissy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Truthfully? No. I am not happier as a creative.

I’m a self-published author—the living, breathing manifestation of The Tortured Poets Department, but with a staff of one. While I love writing, that doesn’t mean my job is easy. It’s a lot harder than my old insurance job—the one with benefits, a 401(k), and predictable paychecks. Back then, my biggest stressors were call metrics and underwriting guidelines. Now, my biggest stressor is survival.

In 2023, I quit my corporate job to start a business making glitter heels. I thought I needed change. What I actually needed was rest. Instead, I burned myself out, lost everything, and spiraled into the worst crisis of my life.

I had medical care. I was in treatment. But I wasn’t given the peace to stabilize. Instead, I was harassed, surveilled, and dragged into court hearings while my mental health was in freefall. My psychosis got so bad I started praying to the FBI like I was praying to God—and, in my paranoia, I mirrored the very behaviors that had traumatized me. By early 2024, I was jailed for contempt of court.

And call me crazy, but for those thirty hours? It was the most peaceful I’d been in months. No texts. No legal threats. Just me, a hard cot, and the best-fitting bra I’ve ever received in my life. Like, seriously. It was perfect.

Then breakfast came at 4:30 AM: cornflakes and a single slice of bologna. And that’s when I knew: I am not made for jail.

After that, reality hit hard. I had to rebuild my life from nothing. I haven’t made a glitter heel since summer, and honestly? I don’t know if I ever will again.

Instead, I found poetry. Or maybe poetry found me.

I started writing in March 2024, drowning in PTSD symptoms—flashbacks, paranoia, memory loss, chronic pain. The suffering felt endless. Writing became my lifeline. I put my pain out in the open, sharing every. single. poem. on Instagram. I let people watch me fall apart in real time. And somewhere in that mess of trauma and words—people started listening.

That’s how my debut poetry collection, Stripped, was born. It came out of the wreckage, the aftermath, the raw, unfiltered grief of survival.

I won’t lie and say I’m happier. I won’t pretend choosing art over security is some romantic fairytale. But I will say this: Poetry gave me a reason to stay.

I don’t have a corporate safety net anymore. I don’t have a predictable future. But I do have words. And those words have power.

So, am I happier as a creative? No.

But am I still here because of it?

Absolutely.

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?

I’m Cissy Stag, the author of Stripped: A Collection of Poems Written in Recovery and Tethered: A Collection of Intimate Poems. My poetry is visceral, unapologetic, and deeply immersive—the kind that lingers in your mind long after you’ve read it. I also write custom poems for $20, whether it’s for a Valentine’s Day gift, a birthday, wedding vows, an anniversary, a eulogy, or just to say something that feels impossible to put into words.

Beyond poetry, I write satire, blog posts, and occasionally get on stage as an amateur stand-up comedian. My humor, much like my poetry, is dark and rooted in real experiences. Some people find my work provocative, but I always say: If you find it provocative, it’s because you don’t know what the f*ck is going on. I don’t create for shock value—I create because I’ve lived it.

My blog covers my special interests—stalking prevention, Cluster B personalities, poetry analysis, and film critique—with a mix of deep dives and personal reflection. I recently launched Stagtire, a satirical section on cissystag.com, where I write about current events (and occasionally my own life) through a sharp, self-aware lens. Satire gives me the space to critique things in a way that’s sometimes ridiculous, sometimes biting, but always rooted in truth.

Before I was a writer, I was a designer. Now, my focus is on apparel, translating poetry into wearable art instead of glitter heels. My designs are available at Prose & Thread (https://www.etsy.com/shop/proseandthread).

At the core of everything I do—whether it’s poetry, satire, or stand-up—is the need to say what others won’t. My work isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for people who feel deeply, think critically, and aren’t afraid to sit with their discomfort.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Honestly, I think I’m the creative for non-creatives. I don’t exist in some isolated artist bubble—I’ve worked corporate jobs, built businesses, and collaborated with people who wouldn’t consider themselves creative at all. And in doing that, I’ve learned something important: most non-creatives don’t realize how much they rely on creatives.

Every business, every team, every major project needs creativity, but non-creatives tend to see it as an “extra” rather than the foundation of problem-solving, innovation, and communication. They see art as separate from logic when, in reality, creativity is what translates ideas into something that makes people care. It’s not just about making things look pretty—it’s about making things work.

The biggest struggle? Collaboration. Creatives and non-creatives often speak completely different languages. Non-creatives focus on systems and structure; creatives focus on vision and execution. When these two worlds don’t understand each other, you get frustrating feedback cycles, unclear expectations, and ideas that die before they even get started. But when you build trust, mutual respect, and clear roles, creative teams thrive.

I’ve worked in both environments—strictly corporate and purely artistic—and I know that the best results happen when both sides meet in the middle. Creatives need the structure and accountability of a team, and non-creatives need the flexibility and big-picture thinking that artists bring. The people who understand this dynamic? They build the most powerful, lasting, and innovative work.

At the end of the day, creative work isn’t just a solo pursuit. It’s about taking ideas and making them real with the right people around you. That’s where the magic happens.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I don’t create for the sake of creating. My work has always been about translating the human experience into something tangible—something that lingers, something that makes people feel seen. Whether it’s through poetry, satire, or even stand-up, my goal is the same: to say what others won’t.

I write for the people who feel like they exist in a space between “too much” and “not enough.” The overthinkers, the ones who love too hard, the ones who can’t let go of the past because it shaped them into something they don’t fully understand yet. My poetry is for them. My satire is for the people who see the absurdity in everything but still have to live in it. My work as a whole is for those who crave depth, honesty, and the kind of truth that isn’t always easy to swallow.

At the core of it all, my mission is legacy. Words last. Stories last. And if something I’ve written sticks with someone—if it makes them feel understood, or even just makes them laugh when they needed it—that’s what matters to me.

But let’s be real: I’d also love to sell some books. Making a living as a self-published author is already hard, and for poets? It’s exceptionally hard. I’m under no illusions about that. But if I can carve out a space where my work resonates and sustains me financially, that would be the real dream.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cissystag.com
• Instagram: @strippedwithcissy & @cissystagcomedy
• Facebook: Cissy Stag
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cissystag/
• Other: TikTok: @strippedwithcissy and @cissystagcomedy

Image Credits

Both portraits of Cissy are from https://www.instagram.com/katlynwrightphoto/