We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kalen Dion. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kalen below.
Hi Kalen, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
It was probably COVID and the subsequent lock down that drove me to pursue my writing full-time. I worked dead-end jobs at restaurants and on construction sites for most of my life. And it was a living, but nothing about it excited my soul. I had been meticulously building my brand for a few years before the pandemic, investing thirty to forty hours a week, and when the world ground to a halt, it freed up my time and afforded me the opportunity to really pour all my focus into my creative pursuits. Getting the economic wheels turning was a slow process. Trying to capture every revenue stream so I could continue to dedicate my self entirely to my craft. It’s an unbelievable amount of work. Trying to run a platform, manage a small business, sell and ship books, and still maintain a creative flow. The market is always changing. Your audience is always changing. And hopefully, you are always changing. The whole thing has been an evolution.
Kalen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I feel like I’m using my creative faculties to challenge conventions. I explore all aspects of my personal experience, but there is a heavy focus on mental health, the after effects of trauma, and coping strategies and management techniques. I often find myself attempting to normalize experiences and emotions that are commonly stigmatized. Some days I’m writing to the person I would like to become about the hope that I have for the future. Most days I’m writing to the person who I used to be, trying to be the kind of friend I needed when life was dark.
My work touches on the oppression of women, the interplay of social systems economic systems and prevalent cultural naratives, my own experiences as a survivor of abuse, the mal-adopted coping strategies that I developed in response to abuse and how I personally manage them now, the value of journaling as a method of self exploration, my sobriety and the ways that my alcoholism was damaging to myself and others when I was in active addiction, cultural and philosophical paradigms that I believe reinforce trauma cycles, the pitfalls of group-think and mob mentality, the balance between individualism and collectivism, and many more aspects of this experience that I struggle with.
I also write about nature, hope, change, spirituality, the power of believing in yourself, the value of critical thinking, the importance of self care routines, how we can intentionally engineer habital behaviors to impact our neuro-tendencies, and the importance of compassion; of operating from a place of love.
I am exploring my humanity through creative writing. Openly sharing my healing process. And publicly taking inventory of my shortcomings and struggles.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I think the most rewarding aspect of creativity is self exploration. Art is a sounding board from which you can hear the echo of your own beliefs, biases, virtues and vices. Art is a teacher. It can be a therapist, a good friend, a confidant, an enemy, an angel, a ghost. Art is always a dialogue. There are so many stories between every line. Both the creator and the audience fill in the gaps with their own personal experience. It is always translated in so many different ways. It is an incredibly powerful therapeutic tool. I really don’t think you can emphasize that enough.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I started off writing love poems. And I had built an audience of about twenty thousand. I felt that it was rewarding. I was exploring my gentler side. And I wound up being bullied by other writers. It was a bit of a smear campaign. And I started exploring the way that these people were treating me. This open the floodgates. I began to explore the abuse that I endured in my childhood home. I began to explore the way that culture and philosophy contribute to mankind’s destructive tendencies. I began to explore the trauma cycle and all of its peripheral implications.
But here’s the thing, I was horrified at first. I wanted to hide. I wanted to defend myself. Come to the rescue of my character. But instead I armed myself with counterspeech; I used my platform to publicly denounce abusive behaviors and oppressive paradigms. And that’s when my popularity skyrocketed.
So here’s the thing… if you want to write in a way that both impacts others and promotes personal growth, explore the subject that you are struggling to deal with. Look for the thing that you are afraid to write about… and write about that. It will lend you insight into your own process. I promise you, there are other people out there who are also going through the same struggle. There are many people who are working through similar things. And that common experience is powerful. Solidarity. Knowing that you aren’t alone. Giving your pain a voice. That’s one of the most healing things you can do.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kalendionpoetry.com
- Instagram: @kalendionpoetry
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/artbykalen
- Twitter: @kalendionpoetry
Image Credits
Me