An interview by Robin Bissett, Writing Barn Intern
I recently had the chance to interview the extraordinary Austin-based Poet, Founder & Lead Organizer of Interfaces, Program Coordinator, and Educator, KB! They were kind enough to give us a closer look at their experience as a writer and the history behind Interfaces.
Tell us about yourself! How did you first become interested in writing?
My name is KB, pronouns are they/them, and I’m a poet-educator-organizer-student affairs professional based in ATX. I became interested in writing after hearing a poem in 7th grade, but didn’t actually start writing until 2 years later haha. I got my first group of friends in 9th grade & they all happened to go to this after school poetry society & I wanted to hang out with them, so I went…& the rest is history I guess.
What inspired you to create Interfaces?
When I moved to Austin almost two years ago, I knew that I wanted to plug into the local arts scene so I went to every single open mic, art gallery, reading series, etc that I could find & I found the scene to be very fragmented…
If you did slam, then you went to one place. If you were an academic poet, you went to a certain place. If you were non-academia & non-slam, you went to a specific place. If you were BIPOC, or Queer, & so on & so forth. There was no place that catered to the intersections of those interests or identities.
There was no place that I felt I could show up as my whole Black, Queer, Nonbinary, Neurodivergent self, and I have quite an open relationship with academia and I felt out of place with those fragmented places! So I wanted to create something that was cognizant of Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility. And I did, and we try & learn as we go.
What books have inspired you? What about them have inspired you?
In the past couple months: Homie by Danez Smith, Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong, and Sana Sana by Ariana Brown. I think those books in particular have shown me the vastness of what poetry can be, and reaffirmed, for me, a commitment to writing in a way that makes sense for your target audience. For instance, Danez is very much invested in Black folks reading their work, and it shows in line breaks, in language, in the love shining through the jokes & heartbreak.
What is your writing process like? Do you start with an outline before you begin writing?
I don’t think that I have one way of writing, per se. Different personal feelings & different ideas lend to different ways of birthing poetry, I think. In the past, though, I’ve gotten to a poem by free writing first. I’ve also gotten to a poem by doing an exercise first. And also, very rarely, a poem just falls out of me. Like, I have the intent to write & it just kind of happens. It’s magical either way, and I think it’s important to make room for multiple processes for writing.
What do you think the most important aspects of a story are?
Err, I struggle with assigning important to things. I struggle with absolutes, so I guess I wanna disclaim before I answer that whatever you think is important to your story is important. But to me, intention, honesty, and clarity are important aspects to the stories I want to share with others. Stories are still stories even if they’re journal entries, so I want to make space for that, but when I think of my audience, I think I like to prioritize it being able to be understood by them, being able to answer questions about it if they are asked of me, and being the most true to myself and to the story that I can possibly be. I don’t ever want to read a poem of mine & it feel like it came from someone else, yunno?
What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve received?
Write what I want and/or need to write; don’t let ideas of popularity or prowess dictate how you birth a poem.
Where are your favorite writing spots in Austin?
Right now, my house! We’re in a global pandemic & I care about the safety of others/myself. Pre-pandemic, though, I liked coffee shops. Doesn’t really matter which one.
Do you prefer to write by hand or on a computer? Why?
When journaling, by hand. When converting to a poem, computer. My mind moves a mile a minute when I’m poem-ing something because I’m thinking about editing & etc, but when journaling, I can kind of let my writing & thoughts get as messy as they want.
If you could have dinner with any author (living or dead), who would you choose? Why?
Haha, I don’t know. After a couple years at AWP & other places, I think it’s cool to not expect people to be as pleasant as their pages. Or they do not live up to our assumptions of them (which is v v fair/pedestals are off). Maybe Audre Lorde?
Will you tell us a bit about what’s coming up next for Interfaces?
Right now we have submissions open for our first ever zine “Do you want a revolution? ATX Artists on the Carceral State”. Very excited to read folks’ art on police, prisons, and institutionalization. Folks can submit here.
Every 2nd Wednesday we have an Artist Showcase/Open Mic that features 2 ATX-based artists from marginalized backgrounds (with no attention to social or financial capital), and an open mic where anyone can come on the (digital) mic and do anything. All events are virtual for the time being, and folks can RSVP & learn more here.
Every Sunday from 12-2 pm, we have efrens, a low-stakes art making zoom where anyone can come & work on whatever art they’d like. Think of it as art coworking, but at the end we have the option to share what we make. Folks can RSVP & learn more here.