Meet a Staff Member: Kait Quinn
Yellow Arrow Publishing would like to introduce editorial associate Kait Quinn (she/her). Kait is a poet and professional shower singer born and raised in Texas. She earned her BA in English writing from St. Edward’s University. She is the author of four poetry collections, and her work has appeared in Reed Magazine, Watershed Review, Olney Magazine, Chestnut Review, and elsewhere. She received first place in the League of MN Poets’ 2022 John Calvin Rezmerski Memorial Grand Prize and honorable mention in the 2023 Stephen A. DiBiase Poetry Prize. She enjoys repetition, coffee shops, tattoos, and vegan breakfast foods. Kait currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her partner, their regal cat (Spart), and their very polite Aussie mix (Jesse). Find her at kaitquinn.com and on Instagram @kaitquinnpoetry.
Kait says, “As a reader first and a writer second, I’m excited for the opportunity to read submissions to Yellow Arrow Journal. It’s always fun to read other writers’ creations, especially for themed open calls that every writer interprets in a different way. I’m also looking forward to practicing and growing my copyediting and proofreading skills in a professional environment. I love immersing myself in the details and while I have experience proofreading legal documents and web content, I haven’t had much opportunity to proofread creative writing beyond my own work.”
Tell us a little something about yourself.
I’m a Texas-born poet currently living in Minneapolis. I’ve self-published four poetry collections, including a book in which all the poems were inspired by Taylor Swift’s folklore album. Yes, there is a manuscript inspired by evermore in the works. I love October, mermaids, marine life, tattoos, and oat milk lattes.
What do you love most about where you live?
Growing up in two-season southeast Texas, I love experiencing four seasons in Minneapolis, especially fall. There are also so many parks and lakes in and around the Twin Cities—so much nature to explore! There’s a creek with walking/bike trails just a block away from my house, and sometimes I forget that I’m in the middle of a city.
How did you get involved with Yellow Arrow and what do you do?
I first came across Yellow Arrow when I was looking for poetry classes. I was surprised to find out that Yellow Arrow is both a press and a resource for women-identifying writers AND publishes print and online journals. I love sharing resources and what I’ve learned about writing, self-publishing, and submitting to journals with other writers, and it’s cool to see a press that’s kind of doing it all. As an editorial associate, I’ll be reading submissions for Yellow Arrow Journal as well as copyediting/proofreading for publication.
What are you working on currently?
I’m currently working with an editor on a poetry manuscript inspired by the television series Twin Peaks. I’m also gathering potential poems for my next full-length collection, which will feature mostly narrative poems I’ve written over the past two years.
I’m also learning Spanish! My goal is to eventually translate poems and other written work from English to Spanish and vice versa
What genre do you write (or read) the most and why?
I mostly write poetry because I love to write lyrically and play with words/sounds. Poetry also allows for a unique blend of creative freedom and restraint, and it’s fun to push the boundary between those two qualities.
My favorite genres to read are poetry and memoir, especially memoirs that read a little like poetic prose. I’m fascinated by other people’s experiences and love the connection between reader and writer that poetry and memoir foster. I’ve also been really into young adult fantasy lately.
What book is on the top of your to-be-read pile?
My friend Emily Perkovich is a brilliant and creative poet, and she has two books coming out later this year that I’m excited to read. One is a chapbook of poems on the traumas that cause eating disorders and body dysmorphia and their effects. The cover, which Emily designed herself, is a Barbie doll with replicas of her tattoos. Her creativity never ceases to amaze me!
Who is your favorite writer and why?
Mary Karr. I love how painfully honest her memoirs are and how her poet voice often slithers into them. She uses such visceral, vivid imagery (usually reserved for poetry) in her prose that really brings you into her memories and experiences in a way that makes you feel both her aches and joys as if they’re your own. She also writes the kind of lines that tattoo themselves to your brain. One such line from her memoir Lit still sticks with me: “It’s seven-thirty a.m., and I can feel the corpse tint of my face: Frankenstein-monster green.”
Who has inspired and/or supported you most in your writing journey?
My partner, Carlos, is my biggest supporter. He even formatted my first self-published book and helped me learn the software to format the next three on my own.
My wonderful friend and fellow poet Amy Kay has inspired and supported me in so many ways, I can never quite thank her enough. I first met her via Instagram during National Poetry Writing Month in 2019. She had the most inspiring prompts—not just words or phrases but in-depth prompts, many of which were inspired by poems. That month, I wrote in styles and on topics I never thought I would. I had so much fun growing as a writer that month, I ended up writing a poem a day for a year. She still regularly shares prompts via Instagram and her Patreon, and they continue to inspire. I absolutely would not be the poet I am today without her challenging me with prompts I’m always so sure I can’t respond to until I do.
What do you love most about writing?
I have so much fun playing with sounds and words, making up words, and finding fresh ways to write about the same experience/emotion/image.
What advice do you have for new writers?
Write a poem or freewrite for 10–15 minutes every day for a set number of days. This could be seven days, 30 days, 90 days, or a whole year. The biggest thing I learned from challenging myself to write a poem a day for a year is that there’s no such thing as writer’s block. What feels like writer’s block is often just self-censorship or our good ol’ friend perfectionism. Other things I learned: I don’t HAVE to write a poem every day, but I CAN write a poem every day; I can write a poem about anything; there’s no such thing as a perfect first draft and most of my creativity comes during the editing process.
What’s your vision for Yellow Arrow in 2023?
Coincidentally, the word of the year in my household is “action,” which relates a lot to Yellow Arrow’s 2023 value SPARK. We’ve taken time to rest, recover, toss around ideas. Now it’s time to take flint to steel and watch those ideas grow into flame. I envision a similar expansion for Yellow Arrow: more resources for writers, the sense of community sparked by in-person events, and feeding wood and oxygen to Yellow Arrow Vignette.
*****
Kait, we are so excited to continue to work with you this year. Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. You can support us as we SPARK and sparkle this year: purchase one of our publications from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, join our newsletter, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 65185, Baltimore, Maryland 21209). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.