Kristan Anderson

Kristan Anderson
Originally uploaded by random acts of poetry

Kristan Anderson is a “Newbie” to the public world of poetry but has been writing in his proverbial closet since he could hold one of those big red pencils. Having ‘out-ed’ himself now he fully embraces poetry and the arts in general as a way to both participate and collaborate in developing the local community culture.
Recently appointed poet laureate of Owen Sound, Kristan Anderson is interested in promoting the practice of spoken word and performance poetry. He specifically is interested in working with the youth of the region to recognize emerging poets, help them to develop their voice, collaborate together and showcase their work.
Kristan has also been, for the last three years, the poetry slam coordinator for the Words Aloud festival held in Durham, Ontario. Kristan’s poetry has been influenced very heavily from the slam scene and it is the intensity and unapologetic nature of slam that he tries to capture in his own work. He feels that poetry should be made as accessible to people as possible. He sees his poetry as raw meat, clawed from the heart and sewn together with silk. His poetry focuses mainly on the relations and dynamics between himself and others. He explores his own personal ideas and interactions as to how they relate to a more universal experience.

“Poetry is my therapy. It’s the spiritual vehicle that helps me get from A to B when there’s nobody to listen to what I’m saying or once again, I’m just not getting it.”