Interview With Kiernan Antares

Welcome to our second interview with one of the poetesses from 'Journey of The Heart: Women's Spiritual Poetry'!  

Today we introduce you to visionary artist Kiernan Antares who writes a poem as an accompanying message to every goddess painting she creates. 

When did your relationship with writing poetry begin?

My earliest memory of writing poetry is in High School for an English assignment. Once I started I couldn’t seem to stop! It got into my blood and I wrote book after book of poems. 

I struggled to fit into any particular groups and was often a loner. Poetry became my escape and my best friend, though it seemed to cast me further into the weird category, it was a balm and outlet for my strange meanderings into my soul.

How would you compare the poems you write now to the ones you wrote then?

The poems I write now are vastly different than when I began as a teenager. Then, it was a lot of angst and yearning, now I love to celebrate the Divine Feminine Spirit in her many aspects.

When do you feel most inspired to write poetry?

Always after I finish a painting. I sit and gaze and listen… for what wants to be spoken from the Goddess who has emerged in the piece. It usually doesn’t take very long because we’ve been spending much time together in Her emerging, in Her coming alive on the canvas. 

I am also very inspired when I take long slow walks in nature, with my feet on the ground and all the elements stirring around me, I hear the whispers of my heart or the love and wisdom of the universe.

What is your biggest fear or hesitation when deciding to share a poem with the public?

I used to worry about sharing myself in such an intimate way and the strangeness of my connection to the Unseen realms in the beginning. But the response has been so wonderful and appreciative that I just release them to the world now, in faith of their finding the hearts that are open to receive them. Not once have I received a negative, critical or derogatory comment and this has helped tremendously in sending them out with gratitude instead of fear.

What is the most profound lesson you have learned from writing poems?

I would say the most profound lesson I have learned is that it’s really not very difficult to access a deeper wisdom when you enter a space of receiving a poem. Rather than trying to conjure something up, in the opening to receive the words just come.

How is writing poetry a spiritual process for you?

Much like with my painting, when writing poetry I am transported into a space of connection to the Divine Feminine, to my heart, my soul, and to the world and this makes me feel vital and alive. It makes me feel like I am fulfilling my purpose and making a difference in the world, and to me this is spiritual, because at the root of all that I am, I am spiritual.

Name some of your favorite poetesses.

Mary Oliver, Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Carolyn Riker, RuthCalder Murphy, Maya Angelou, and Hildegard von Bingen are among my favorite poetesses.

What effect does reading the poems of others have on you?

I sink into my heart and I am inspired. It creates a lovely eternal and limitless sigh of love, spirit, and gratitude.

Have you publicly shared your poetry before doing so via this project?

Yes, I have publicly shared my poetry before becoming a contributing poetess for Journey of The Heart, but always with its accompanying painting. To be honest, I’m not sure actually that I would have done so otherwise because releasing your inner most feelings and desires to the world is most daunting. I guess I must feel a measure of safety in releasing the two together.

What has been your general experience of sharing your poetry on Journey of The Heart?

My experience with Journey of The Heart has been immensely gratifying – to see my poetry exposed to a wider audience and especially among spiritually minded women who are passionate about living fully is such a blessing.

Any last words you’d like to share about poetry?

Poetry is truly nourishment for the whole of us – our body, mind, and heart. It’s a wonderful escape from life while also filling us with life. Sinking into a poem, feeling it, drinking it, being with it is such a delicious experience. Our world would be unbearably barren without it. I give thanks for all the poet hearts in the world.

❤

Kiernan Antares is a visionary artist, poet, and teacher based in Toronto, Ontario whose paintings and writings tell deep and rich stories through contemporary symbolism that offer healing, hope, and empowerment for the feminine soul ~ the heart of the world that has been suppressed in each of us, but is now re-awakening and emerging as a powerful force of love and wisdom. "It is my hope that something in my art will create a tiny explosion in your heart and that you will see that something, that Sacred Feminine Soul you’ve hungered for all along as a woman. She lives within you, She calls to you ~ to remember and awaken." You may connect with Kiernan via her website here, or find her 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!~