We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Silent Quill a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Silent, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ve always known I wanted to be a professional creative. Early on, I just didn’t know what that looked like. I was raised by hard working folks who believed that as long as we went to school and did well, we’d find a good job and everything would work itself out. I’ve worked many different jobs in many different fields. Some great, most not so great. The one thing they all had in common was none of them held my interest beyond a few years. Even now, I currently work full time with a local non-profit doing homeless outreach. It’s good, meaningful work but I’d rather be focusing on my craft.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

For folks who may not have read about you before, can you please tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry, what type of creative works you provide. What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential fans to know about you?

I’m a Bridgeport, CT-born, Creative Writer and Performing/Recording Artist. My music and poetry focuses on self-expression, openness, and vulnerability. My intention is to resonate, provide space, and support for those carrying the weight of similar experiences. Attending open mic events is where I found my passion for performance. I started taking acting and voice acting lessons to improve my stage presence and delivery. My consistency with showcasing my art in performance spaces opened doors of opportunity where I started getting booked to perform in associated events and venues. My goal is to continue to create new work and get booked to perform in more and larger spaces where I can share my stories and connect with more people.

I’m proud of how far I’ve come. It took a lot to get to this point. I had life experiences that pulled me away from my art for a good while. I almost gave up on it completely. During one of my worst experiences, all I physically could do was think and create. That’s when I realized no matter what happens in life you will always be directed back to what you are meant to be doing. So from now until forever, I will continue to tell my stories through poetry and music.

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

An experience that I openly speak about in my music and poetry is the times that I spent homeless and living in my car. The first time was about seven months. I kept my head down, worked way too much, and eventually was able to rent a space to rest my head. Not long after, just as I was beginning to stabilize myself an old unaddressed basketball injury demanded my attention. I had emergency spine surgery. My recovery took three months which ultimately caused me to lose my rental space as I was too far behind on payments. This time I was living in my car for one month short of a year before I was able to find another space to rent.

The experiences were much harsher and more dangerous than I give them credit for. I think I minimize their impact in my mind to help me make it through. I recognized the experiences as temporary as I do most of my hardships. I focused on my goals and the necessary tasks to achieve them. With time, patience, and effort I eventually moved into my own apartment. The next goal is to purchase a property.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to become a full time working artist and creative. As creatives, we understand that we have to get it in more ways than one. My vision is to be writing, recording, and performing my poetry and music. I’m also trained in Commercial Voice Over. I would very much love to transition to Animation. I want to be able to rely on my creative abilities to support and sustain all aspects of my life. I appreciate the work that I do and the organization I do it for. I’m just no longer in a space where I want to continue to wake up every morning to punch someone else’s clock.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://untd.io/silent-quill
• Instagram: @silentthewriter
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/silentthewriter/
• Twitter: @silentthewriter
• Other: Email: [email protected]

Image Credits
CenterPoint Visuals Belcher Digital LLC