Coffee with ...Kaylene Pritchett

Smallwood Academy 11th grader Kaylene Pritchett sees the world differently than your typical teenager. With a keen interest in world affairs, coupled with an artistic flare with the pen, Kaylene discovered at a young age that poetry was her escape from a world that, in all honesty, is sometimes a little less than fair.

The Gambo teen submitted her poem Death by Dusk to the National Student Poetry Contest, and was named second-place winner. Kaylene, along with Smallwood Academy, earned $70 for the achievement. More importantly, however, Kaylene's poem has been published in the poetry book, Surfacing.

Just 16, it takes very little time to recognize the Grade 11 student is a very deep person. However, it takes an entire conversation to learn a little about why Kaylene is so deep. She recently sat down with The Beacon in between final exams to discuss her poetry, her love of poetry, and her views on the world and the circumstances surrounding the world.

Q: When did you first begin to read poetry?

A: When we started English in Grade 7, poetry was my favourite part - even though I'm almost failing English (laughs). We started reading Shakespeare, and I liked that a lot. I don't really have a favourite poet because every poem has a story behind it. Depending on the poet, sometimes the wording is a little better, or the poem is put together better.

Q: When did you start writing poetry, and what was the first poem you wrote?

A: I started writing poetry when I was 12, also. I never bothered entering anything because I thought they weren't good enough. One day, I went to the public library here in Gambo, and asked the librarian if there were any poetry contests, so she recommended one for me. I entered one last year, but only finished in the top-three provincially, so it didn't go anywhere nationally. The poem I sent in was something I wrote when I was 12, so it was a little bland. The first poem I wrote was about people who live in poverty. It's about people who have a hard time in life, and how ours is so perfect, and how we never take the time to slow down and think about all we have compared to others. It talks about how the rain will wash away all our troubles, and how a rainbow will shine in the end and make everything better.

Q: What's your favourite type of poetry? Is there something you like more than others?

A: Not really. I like all different types of poetry because if you just focus on one, it gets boring after awhile. There's happy poetry, depressing, world issues, political...it's important to have a liking for everything.

Q: Do you remember the first poem you read?

A: The first poem I read was by Robert Frost, Nothing Gold Can Stay. I even know the words:

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leafs a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

It's about nature, and how although things can be so beautiful, there's always a dark part to everything that looks perfect. I just thought it was really nice.

Q: Why did you start writing poetry?

A: I started writing poetry because I liked putting myself in the position of others, to try and get a jest about what they're going through. In Death by Dusk, it's like it's by someone who's actually in the war. "The fault of others is why we're there,"...why we are there, and why we're putting our life on the line. "Rough hands and malevolent power will conquer,"...people like the Taliban are trying to conquer over everything, and the people of Afghanistan are living in poverty and don't have a powerful background, so we go over to try and help them. "What beautiful disaster this war hath searched!"...That's an oxymoron - disasters aren't beautiful. "Land cascaded by tainted blood,"...Imagery from someone who is there.

Q: Why did you submit Death by Dusk? Why that poem over the others you've written?

A: It just came from the top of my head, and just flowed so nicely. The others I have to sit down and think about, and try to relate more. I've been writing about war since I was 12, and knew exactly what to put there.

Q: You seem to have a deep opinion on things like world issues. How long have you been interested in world issues, and what was it about world issues that first caught your attention?

A: In Grade 6, everybody was friends. We all hung out with each other and everybody was chill. In Grade 7, popularity started, and people started to say things behind your back. I sat back and took a look at how good my life was compared to those already suffering. I just thought, man, there are people in the world suffering so much more than me. There are also a few families in Gambo who my mom are friends with, and they don't have a lot. That's when I started to think about everything. I stopped asking for things for Christmas when I was 12...Christmas isn't supposed to be about getting gifts. It's all Hollywood-ized.

Q: How does it feel to be a published poet at 16?

A: I don't know (laughs)...it hasn't sunk into my head that my poem is in a book. I never really thought that I could do anything because I've been bullied since Kindergarten. This shows that I can actually do something with my life. It's not what I want to do when I graduate from school, but it's something I love doing as a pastime, so maybe I'll be able to get more published.

Q: What inspires you as a poet? Do you read certain poetry to find inspiration?

A: I like anything that deals with world issues, but I also like nature poetry, too. I don't like it as much as poetry about world issues, but I think it's fun to read.

Q: That's all that we wanted to discuss with you today. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?

A: If there's someone out there who likes to write, keep writing. If you think what you write isn't good enough, never think that, because you never know. You can always get somewhere doing something you love doing.

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