KIM ANN CALLAN

Artists Bio

Kim Ann Callan is an activist, community organizer, journalist, creative writer and poet. She has lived in Florida for many years but still considers New Jersey “home.” She loves cows and believes they are the secret cure for depression and a source of smiles. She holds trees in high regard as well. As a Buddhist-Catholic lesbian with a warped sense of humor, she laughs a lot and finds plenty of time for family and friends, in search of the full adventures life has to offer. Her formative years were spent at conservative law firms which explains much of the above. These days, she finds fulfillment as the Executive Director of Crescendo: The Tampa Bay Women’s Chorus, working as a PR and Marketing Consultant, volunteering and playing… a lot! 

“I’ve always enjoyed writing. From the time I was a young child, I loved to write letters…the words flowed easily. Throughout my legal career, it was easy to put pen to paper and say with confidence exactly what I needed and wanted to say. Writing legal briefs, pleadings and appeals came naturally. (Now, there’s a scary statement!) Rarely did I edit my work. I knew what I wanted to say. My secretaries loved me for this fact alone! 

Keeping a diary as a kid and journaling later on provided an outlet for my feelings. Writing poetry fulfils that same need. Often, I find a piece writing itself in my head. Trying to ignore the formation of the words is useless. I lose sleep, toss and turn and generally, become incapable of moving forward. When that happens, I stop. I find a scrap of paper, the border of a magazine, a spare ATM envelope in my glove compartment or a napkin…whatever is in reach…so that the words can come out, and life can go on! 

In adolescence, I wrote sappy musings about talking to plants, prose of awkward teenage angst, righteous indignation and political commentary. Didn’t everyone do that in the 60’s and 70’s? Sporadically, I continued to write throughout the years. Thinking of myself as an artist or even defining myself creative, however, was an alien concept. A legal or historical dissertation was one thing, but surely art, it was not. (Or at least I did not dare to deem it so.) I viewed my process as very structured and organized…fitting neatly with the image I held of myself, and the core which is my personality. 

Creative writing frees me from my box. Bringing me joy of expression or the satisfaction, which comes from purging that which often traps and tortures me.  I still don’t edit much. I know what I want to say. And, I like saying it my way, often in a simple Zen sort of way…or not. I find it okay to be my own contradiction. That is a good thing. Maybe, just maybe, I am an artist after all.  

Reading my words aloud and sharing with others has been a bit more difficult. This seems odd to those who know me well and even to myself. These are the rare public moments, when fear envelops me and the outgoing, outrageous me retreats. It feels like exposing my most sacred and vulnerable self. And in this place, I understand exactly what other artists’ feel when they let others in. But… the process is addictive and I have more to say…So, I keep in writing.”
 

Bridge Down Under

My quiver full of arrows emptied slowly with each breath
Handed to me gently from two women by my side
Expelled with strength, urgency, and a fervor unbeknownst ‘til now
Power swelling with each inhalation ... Freedom: exhale’s cry
Anger piercing mountainous peaks, impenetrable no more
Followed by fear, abandonment and other stuff I hide
Into freezing glacial waters, forever from this day
Yet, gather broken arrows now, on muddy floor below
Building a visionary walkway, opposite red billowing sky
Step firmly on this glorious path, laid from adversity shot down
Create only goodness to manifest my dreams
Motivate, exhilarate, and propel through rings that bind
The beauty and the guidance…the love I need to fly


September 23, 2000

More pieces by Kim:

Vision Volume

Reflections

Pondering the Possibilities of Tomorrow

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