Today we introduce you to the dynamic and inspired Kai Coggin, a full-time poet and freelance writer from Hot Springs, Arkansas, who delivers powerful messages through her poetry.
When and how did you first begin writing poetry?
I first began writing poetry
in high school, but don’t really recall specifically important poems
until college. I was in an
emotionally hostile environment as a member of the Corps of Cadets at Texas
A&M. My spirit and identity were
stifled, and my femininity and sexuality became a target for hazing and
abuse. Poetry became the only life
raft that I had; a way to keep my sanity when it felt as though my soul and
light were slipping further and further away.
I
changed my major from Biomedical Science to Poetry and Creative Writing and met
my mentor and creative writing professor, Dr. Chuck Taylor, who told me that my
work reminded him of Mary Oliver and Anais Nin. He called me a Neo-Beatnik Poet, and I felt like someone
finally COULD SEE ME. I put
everything into my writing, and removed myself from the negative situations
that were trying to get the best of me.
Poetry
became a constant touchstone, a friend through growing pains, a lover when my
lovers failed me, poetry was and is always there. Poetry is one of the most important pieces of my life.
Which subjects are easiest for you to write poems on?
It is easiest for me to write
about Love, in its myriad forms. I write a lot about my love for women. There
is this ongoing love letter that I have in my mind, writing itself over and
over again in poems. These poems are to my beloved, to strangers, to a lover I
haven’t met yet, to a child, to the Cosmos, but the common thread is always
there; my heart.
Which subjects are the hardest for you to write about?
It is hardest for me to write
about issues of justice, but on occasion, my soul gets pulled to do that work,
to shine light on issues such as female genital mutilation in Africa, the
plight of sea creatures, fascism, war, genocide, racism, political
manipulation, women’s rights, gay rights, the list goes on. Humanity is suffering right now, and it
is the responsibility of the poets and the artists to acknowledge that
suffering, but also to provide a beacon of hope, a light at the end of a
desolate tunnel. That can be the
most difficult part for me, finding that light in a seemingly hopeless
situation. I do not like to leave
my readers/listeners without hope, or in the dark.
When are some of your sources of inspiration in writing poetry?
Beauty. Beauty is the biggest catalyst for my
poems. There could be a moment
that I share only with nature, or with my family, my dogs, a solitary bird, a
passing cloud, digging for crystals that are millions of years old, or just
silence. Silence brings the
Divine, opens my eyes to the Oneness.
Besides Beauty calling me to write, I am most inspired by when a phrase
pops into my head from some higher source, or from some passing thought. Usually, I will build an entire poem
from one phrase that keeps on pulsating in my head until I write it out. When I sit down to write, the words
pour out without edit, without blockage.
I am very lucky in that aspect of writing.
What is your biggest fear or hesitation when deciding to share a poem
with the public, and how do you move beyond it?
I don’t really
have any hesitation with sharing my poems with the public. I feel like I am bringing my light to
the table by sharing. Some people
may not care for my spiritual poems, or my conscious/aware/cosmic subject
matter, but I am not going to hide my work to appease anyone. People have told me how much my poems
have helped them, or made them believe in love, or made them want to hug their
children, or made them strive towards their higher selves. I will not silence my Art. Not ever.
What is the most profound, meaningful or enlightening discovery you
have made while writing poems?
While writing poems, I have
been able to tap into (what feels like) a Cosmic pulse that I cannot really
achieve by other means. I do not
meditate or practice yoga. I write
poems. I look at the world around
me with a microscope or magnifying glass, and freeze moments with my mind in
order to dive face-first into the beauty of it, unpack it so that it may live forever.
I will sit down to write sometimes, and this energy, this flow comes THROUGH
me. It is something that I hope to
always be able to touch.
How is writing poetry a spiritual process for you?
I have been documenting the
literal journey of MY heart in poems for a while now, documenting the
striving of my soul as it burns through attachments and instances of trauma
that shaped me into the numbed and broken person that I was just six years
ago. My poetry had new fire
breathed into it when I met my Teacher and dearest friend, Joann, who has
helped me break out of the subconscious patterns and chains of my painful
past. My past was not all bad, of
course, but there were some painful moments that shaped me into a woman that I
did not really want to become.
Over the past six years of knowing Joann, and learning to see myself as
my Self, my SOUL, my poetry has been evolving infinitely. I am embracing the transcending nature
of my being, and writing from a level that I had never achieved before, with
eyes and heart more open to the world.
What function or role has writing poems played for you in your life?
Early on in my adolescent
life, writing was more of a release for me, a therapeutic exercise, a diary of
secrets, a collection of words that I wrote but could never say. Now, writing is still those things for me,
but I share my work with anyone willing to read/hear it. I know that my feelings, my
experiences, my doubts, my fears, my joys, my struggles are not solely mine,
are not exclusive to my human experience.
I know that when I overcome a great struggle in my personality, or have
a renewed purpose in love, and I can write that into a poem, I am helping the
collective consciousness in some way.
We are all connected. My waking up is your waking up. Your overcoming is
my overcoming.
Name some of your favorite poems, poets or poetry books.
I love anything by Rumi
(especially The Book of Love), Rabindranath Tagore, Kahlil Gibran,
Torkom Saraydarian, Mary Oliver, Sappho, Adrienne Rich, Nikki Giovanni, Maya
Angelou, Hafiz, Ai, Shakespeare, e. e. cummings, Ani Difranco. I love the writing of Anais Nin and
Jeanette Winterson (my absolute favorite); their writing touches me as poetry
does.
Some
contemporary poets that have spoken to my heart with Beauty and Fire include
Andrea Gibson, Jamaal May, Jeremy Radin, Rachel McKibbens, Airea D. Matthews,
Dominique Christina, Muggs Fogarty, Natalie E. Illum, Ashlee Haze, Siaara
Freeman, Sarah Myles Spencer, Katie Wirsing and Tarfia Faizullah.
What effect does reading the poems of others have on you?
Reading the poems of others
puts me into their body almost, like I can see through their eyes, feel with
their hands, experience with they heart. It is necessary, as a poet, to read
what other poets are writing, and to see where your words sit among other
words, how they float in the ocean of poems that are written every day all over
the world.
How did you first discover Journey of The Heart?
I discovered Journey of The
Heart, through the updates of the Women’s Spiritual Poetry page on Facebook, and then
moving over and checking out the blog.
It is a wellspring of pure Beauty.
I am so honored that the amazing Catherine Ghosh requested that I send
her a poem to be included in this remarkable anthology. It is like joining
hands with a circle of artists, and servers, and seekers, and knowers. I feel
so seen in this space, and I am so filled with gratitude for that.
Have you publicly shared your poetry before doing so via this project?
Yes, I share my poetry online
through my blog and I
occasionally share poems on my Facebook page. I love to share my work, and to hear whether people love it
or hate it, whether it strikes a chord in them, or makes them think, or they
just appreciate the beauty.
I
also share my work almost every week at a local Open Mic here in Hot Springs,
Arkansas, where I live. It is a
poetry series called Wednesday Night Poetry and it is the longest
running poetry open mic in the country; it has been going strong for over 25
years WITHOUT EVER MISSING A SINGLE WEDNESDAY. I try to write a new poem every week to share, and that is a
challenge that I gave myself when I started attending the open mic a year
ago. The people who attend WNP are
like my creative family, especially Chuck Dodson, the host. He has been this constant source of
encouragement and support for me.
Hot Springs, as a community, has been a tremendous source of creative
support for me this year, and I think that living in such a welcoming and
nurturing artistic community has allowed me to have all of the successes that I
have had over the past few months (getting invited to a writing retreat in New
York, getting featured in a statewide newspaper, and the upcoming publication
of my book, PERISCOPE HEART). I am
truly blessed to be where I am in this moment.
What has been your general experience of sharing your poetry on Journey
of The Heart?
Journey of The Heart is a
confirmation of my work as a (striving to be) conscious poet. It is a
validation from the Universe that my poems and my heart are being heard. Being included in this anthology is of
tremendous importance for me, because I can see the healing and the beauty and
the power that a collection of this kind is going to be when it is released on
this upcoming Full Moon. Thinking about it makes my hair stand on end. The pages are charged with the energy
of 65 women and their WIDE OPEN HEARTS.
I cannot wait to fully immerse myself in this magic.
Any last words you’d like to share about poetry?
Poetry is something that means
a great deal to me, and I hope to continue working on this craft with all of
the awareness, the openness, the honesty, the healing, the surviving, the
breaking open that I can muster. My personal poetic journey thus far will be
released at the end of this year, in my first full-length collection, PERISCOPE
HEART, published by Swimming With Elephants Publications. I am so excited to
see what my next steps will be in this vast world of words.
Kai Coggin is a full-time poet and
freelance writer born in Bangkok, Thailand, raised in Southwest Houston, and
currently a blip in the 3 million acre Ouachita National Forest in Hot Springs,
AR. She holds a
Bachelor of Arts in Poetry and Creative Writing from Texas A&M University. She writes
poems of feminism, love, spirituality, injustice, metaphysics, and beauty. Kai has
been published in Elephant Journal, Cliterature, The Manila
Envelope, [empath], Catching Calliope and an anthology to be released this summer
called Journey to the Heart. She released her first chapbook, In Other
Words, in August 2013. Her first full-length book of poetry PERISCOPE
HEART will be published by Swimming with Elephants Publications at the end of
2014. Kai knows that words hold the potential to create monumental and
global change, and she uses her words like a sword of Beauty. She can be
found most Wednesdays at a local venue, reading her poems into an open mic,
hoping the wind carries her words out to the world. Connect with Kai on her blog here, or on Facebook.
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~If you are one of the poetesses from 'Journey of the Heart', and would like to appear in this blog, just click here to request an interview. We are excited to learn more about you!~
~If you write poetry and would like to share it on 'Journey of The Heart', click here for submission guidelines. And thank you for your interest!~
