We recently connected with Magnus Mateo and have shared our conversation below.

Magnus, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I never expected my return to my local poetry scene in the Lehigh Valley to lead me down a path of hosting and organizing poetry events, but I’m immensely grateful for the opportunities that have been presented to me. For example, I was suggested by a former local organizer, Cleveland Wall, to organize and host a new poetry event series with IceHouse Tonight, a performance arts center in Bethlehem, PA. This led to the birth of IceHouse Literary Arts Committee, a poetry workshop series that allows me to partner with various Lehigh Valley businesses to curate a theme for the workshop. Across six different dates this year, we’ll be able to engage with our local community and remind the Lehigh Valley that poetry has its finger in every pie, so to speak.

This project means so much to me, because it pushes me to aim above and beyond in spreading the love of poetry. It also scratches the itch in my brain and satisfies my passion of connecting with people of all walks. I’m expanding my skillset as I learn how to communicate with local businesses at face value, budget and organize community events, and expand on my public speaking skills. I hope this workshop event series is successful enough to launch future annual events and put me on the radar of other incredible opportunities.

Magnus, 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?

My name is Magnus Mateo, a neurodivergent, gender fluid poet from the Lehigh Valley, PA. I’ve been writing creatively since I was 8 years old, as a means to make sense of what’s happening in my life and t learn more about myself. I shifted my focus to poetry specifically in 2019, around the time I started performing live. I got my start at IceHouse Tonight, through an open mic series called Tuesday Muse, which was run by Cleveland Wall and E Lynn Alexander. Since I always loved theater in high school, I embraced the stage and mic as if it were my second home.

However, the pandemic struck in 2020, halting my poetry journey in its tracks. And as it turns out, the pandemic and life itself had different plans for me. After a long break away from reading, writing, or hearing poetry, I returned to the mic at the start of 2023. I never expected where my poetry journey would lead, but it has been glorious. I’ve learned I’m filled with infinite potential and I aim to smash each glass ceiling rushing my way.

In over a year, I have attended numerous open mics in the Lehigh Valley and in New Jersey, featured in 9 poetry events, and hosted 18 events. Additionally, I’ve been published by Stick Figure Poetry Quarterly, Poetry as Promised Magazine, Pennsylvania Bard’s Eastern PA Poetry Review 2023, and Uteri eZine. One of my proudest and heartwarming moments in this journey is getting my debut poetry chapbook, ‘She’s Jealous of My Purple Sky,’ has been published by AlienBuddha Press. This love letter to the ghost of my devil’s advocate is available for purchase through Amazon.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is growing my community and skillset. With every open mic and feature and publishing opportunity, I meet more creatives. I expose myself to different writing and performing styles, which influences my future content. I believe every artist has a story to tell, and craves to be heard and accepted. Community is the core value that fuels the spirit of our local poetry scene.

I briefly stepped away from the workforce as I shifted focus to my mental and physical health. In this gap, I’ve leaned deeply into the forefront and background of the Lehigh Valley’s creative arts community. As I expand my poetry network, I’ve learned valuable transferable skills, such as social media design and marketing, event planning and staging, and talent scouting. Fully immersing myself into the community gave me perspective on where I want to take my career path, and I look forward to the next steps in this journey.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My creative journey has many driving forces behind it. First and foremost, my mission has always felt clear to me. Poetry allows me to take an introspective dive into the inner machinations of my mind, chasing a clarity to the trauma and mental mishaps I’ve endured. And in learning more about myself, I hope my work inspires anyone who relates to embrace themselves for who they are and creating a close-knit group of those that just get it.

Aside from that, I hope to curate a safe space for creatives from all walks to drop their walls and make genuine connections. Poetry can be as silly or as serious as you’d like, and I want to teach the local community that anyone can do it. Anyone can listen to the creative spirit burning through them and make art out of any experience.

The true legacy I want to leave behind is being known for always feeling every feeling. For never shying away from the nitty gritty depths of me. For embracing my authentic self with no apology. I want to love and be loved, and that’s what it’s all about.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: magsthetic
• Facebook: Magnus Mateo
• Other: TikTok: magsthetic Email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Florence-Susanne Reppert AlienBuddha Press