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

Kathrine , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful projects have been my various workshops over the years through LakeSide Poets & Writers, especially Writing Your Way to Work (& Purpose) held through America Works and UW-Milwaukee as well as Better Together through Food for Thought Society held at Kuumba.

Writing Your Way to Work (& Purpose) is a workshop of reflective poetry alongside work documentation creation to discover vocation. The first was held at UWM with Dana Kaleta from Quest Project. W-2 participants, vets, non-traditional students, and community members were invited. The poets not only discovered career paths, but rather, purpose (thus adding to title). Second round was held at America Works. I watched these women grow into themselves more, building their confidence and changing their lives. My heart still sings considering.

Better Together is collaboration with Food for Thought Society: A free community poetry workshop held every Sunday at Kuumba (originally at Coffee Makes You Black) for over a year. Poets and spoken word artists from all walks come in. We do prompts, critique, and performance practice. A few poets from Better Together have done larger performances, such as Kenosha Creative Arts Festival and Woodland Pattern Poetry Marathon. This labor of love has transformed me and challenged me. Within, I am fully myself as a poet and educator.

While it’s hard to choose which workshops are my favorites, all have merit, these two hold a special space in my heart.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

As Alison Townsend always says, “the path of a writer is never linear.” I’ve lived many lives, at times within the same breathe, but always, there’s been poetry, ever since I could speak. Now, education, that has not always been within me. I was once as shy as a crocus crouched and hiding in the grass, overcome by social anxiety. I popped out, though, over time with much force. Today, I’m proud to say, I’m the founder and facilitator of LakeSide Poets & Writers.

LakeSide offers poetry workshop series and personal poetics sessions such as edits, critique, publication assistance, author website development tutorials, and all that jazz as well as the free workshop Better Together in collaboration with Food for Thought. If you’re ready to grow, let’s go, poet. I’ve helped authors publish, spoken word artists improve performance and craft, and regular people turn into poets. This is my vocation.

Of course, there’s the accolades. Today, you can’t seem to make claims or be cool without them, so here’s some of what I’ve accomplished: 4 chapbooks traditionally published (holding out on a full collection for contests), dozens of poems in lits mags, anthologies, and projects, and awards, including UW-Whitewaters first-time creative to win the University Writing Award and WWA’s Jade Ring Award. That’s a nutshell, so if more is needed, just google me.

What’s more important is that I care. I actually care. I’m not interested in my own success, I’m invested in other’s.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

While there are many stories on my journey that illustrate resilience, I believe this thread of stories is most telling.

Once I was 7 years old. I was pulled from language arts to be in a quote-unquote special class. I was told I would likely never read or write well in my lifetime.

Once I was 16. A teacher told me a career teaching wasn’t for me. That wasn’t it obvious with my performance in school that education wasn’t in my future?

Once I was 20 years old. The college advisor told me near the end of my studies that my career choice was a crapshoot. It was unlikely I would ever reach my goal of teaching in universities.

Once I was 25 and in grad school. I told myself I was incapable. I spiraled into a depression and almost didn’t make it out. I tried to commit suicide twice.

Once I was in my 30s. I had been in the field of education for over a decade, teaching the subject I was told I’d never be able to be good at in the career I was told I’d not succeed in. I’ve taught a variety of classes, mostly based in the subject of language arts, at various schools, colleges, universities, and organizations to ages 6 through 60. I’ve received various awards for my writing. I’ve published a plethora of works and assisted others on their writing journeys through LakeSide Poets & Writers. I’m the definition of success in my field.

Now, what if I gave up? What if I listened to the haters, including myself, my own self doubt? Would I be where I am? Would it matter if I wasn’t where I am?

I said earlier I’m the definition of success in my field. Wow. That’s a bold statement. I say this not because of the accolades, but rather because of the choice to give back to others. I’ve taught over 1,000 students. Ask them if it would have mattered if I had given up. Ask Jayden if he would have passed the 7th grade with how much other teachers had kicked him out of class and would not advocate for him. Ask Lal if she’d be able to write in English such stellar essays. Ask Danielle if she could write an A+ 30 page research paper if she hadn’t first taken my ENG101 class in college and continue to be provided support and encouragement long after. Ask any student of mine where they’d be today and who they give thanks to. They’ll say Ms. Kathrine/Prof. Yets. There isn’t a doubt in my mind. And I’m grateful, honored, and proud that I was a part of their journey. A positive voice that said, “You can do this.”

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I did not choose my passion based on wealth, recognition, or any sort of personal gain. While this is great to have, this does not drive me. I would still write poetry if I was the sole survivor in an apocalypse, recording in lyrical language every moment, memory, etc.

When I ask others if they would do their art if the world ended, answers are very telling. To each their own, I suppose, but honestly, if the answer is no, I do grapple with the question if they really are an artist. Rude, maybe, but I do. Untrue, possibly, but if a life can be lived without the art, then, well, how can a person say it’s their life and passion?

Anyway, that doesn’t exactly answer the question directly, so I’ll try to expand and explain. People can’t seem to relate to having passion about an art form unless monetary or social value can be placed. This isn’t only believed by non-creatives, though. An artists is judged based on their portfolio not always for the quality, but rather for what they do with that quality quite often.

What is done with the quality holding importance is also based on elitist bs standards. These elitist bs standards depend primarily on being privileged and/or privy to the elitist bs standards enough to crack the code. Needless to say, doors open and close depending on factors mostly out of one’s control. This is completely ridiculous and awful, yet continues on.

So as far as my journey in relation, I’ve been met by many doors. I’ve been welcomed. I’ve been turned away. I’ve been paid and applauded. I’ve been charged and ignored. None of this matters, though, because I will write poetry anyway.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sites.google.com/view/authorkathrineyets/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_kathrine/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/p/Author-Kathrine-Yets-100063705210830/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathrine-yets-0035ab198