Why Publish?
On the magic of sharing your insides with the outside world
Let me start by saying that publishing or sharing your art publicly is not a prerequisite for being an artist. I believe we all are artist in our own rights and anything you create is art to somebody, even if its only you. It's the art of your life. The art of you. And that's enough. No one ever has to know about it or see it, but even an outfit is art to me and a form of expression that shares a piece of you with anyone who sees you. And I think thats the root. The foundational why to creating. Expression.
Letting it be known what you think and how you feel. That's bold. And brave. Even if you just say it. Naming your truth ain't always easy. Especially in a society that teaches you to lie to sustain affection from a young age. Just saying your truth is a courageous, beautiful, inspirational act. But- if you go and make it spicy by adding texture through your craft it is a whole other power play. A world bending act of archival alchemy. Taking something simple and true and turning it into pure gold. Like no other thing in the world and uniquely you. And when you share it with the world you take up space and leave room for someone else to get in behind you. To see so they can feel and soon believe that there is power in expressing yourself. In standing proudly and shouting "hello world, I am here" in a way that only you can. Sending out your energetic frequency like magic fairy dust in the atoms that make up whatever it is you create.
And it landing in other people's mental space. Allowing them to see you and maybe even feel you. To relate. To empathize. To reflect. To learn more about themselves by learning more about you. Bringing you all together if only for that moment. For that learning. For that pause. But possibly for a lifetime. Even if you never meet in real life. The ever lasting power of art is that it can live with you. Octavia Butler says "whatever you touch you change, whatever you change changes you." And you change people when you express yourself and exercise your agency and choice creatively.
And that's powerful. Having the ability to shift people's perspectives by sharing your own. From storytelling to poetry to plays to films, art has a way of opening up our minds to new possibilities. I can remember walking out of a action movie and immediately getting into character with my little brother, embodying the art as a sign that I too could have this strength and power. I too could make an impact that makes someone believe they can fly or sing or make people laugh or think harder than they've ever had to before. Art is power. Art cultivates and curates new worlds and ways of being by reflecting life and making people face truths they may not have otherwise.
This is why I wrote Pushing Forward. One, to shift my own perspective at a time when many of us were rethinking EVERYTHING about what's considered normal and natural in these systems. To not fall into despair or panic, but also not believe that a system that didn't care about me yesterday would care about me today. To recognize that we all do things to survive- like me publishing a book, starting a blog and a podcast, all while part-time community organizing, and full time going to law school while getting my masters. Needing to keep my mind so busy that I couldn't overreact to the isolation, frustration, confusion, and absolute condemnation of a government that cared more about profit than the health of it's citizens. I began to write again as a way to process what I found out through my writing is a normal human reaction to a societal collapse preview. It was therapeutic to just express. To say what I mean and maybe switch somethings around, but still be able to come back to my own understanding and find grounding. Find possibility. Find a will to live and fight and keep living and fighting and writing.
Pushing Forward is a poetry collection for the resilient. It was written in the first two years of this ongoing covid pandemic and was my security practice when I didn't know what else to do. I'm launching a Kickstarter campaign to support bringing her back outside and sharing her with the world. For more details and to support the campaign join our Book 2 Crew at un2rewb.kit.com/book2crew today!
Remember that the difference is already made when you express, but publishing allows for you to connect and create change in a way that only your touch could. Either way, do you boo.
