By Why do we write?
What leads us to express ourselves through letters, words and sentences learned from childhood, which, although they seem to make no sense at that very moment, comprise the version of our lives at that precise instant? Those characters and linguistic symbols make time stand still in absolute silence and immortalize cardinal points of our passage through the world: each one takes its own voice, intonation, and even unique and indecipherable colors. What we write is what we are, what we have lived, what our pupils have seen: it is the reasons why our breath and heart goes faster, and it is also the connection between the past, the present and the future.
“I think that
poetry is like the oxygen in the atmosphere.
It only receives a small part of our overall attention,
but it is what
keeps us alive.”
The poet, artist and bestselling author, Kamilla Tolnø, recalls this phrase as the one that, in different ways, reflects her relationship with poetry. “For many years, it was a small, yet crucial part of my life. When you experience the lowest point of your days, all you need is a few precise, well-placed words to turn any situation around.”
One of the patterns that writers manifest, not only in their writings, but also in life itself, is how to bring harmony and rhythm to each line and verse of each poem. What are some of the intrinsic qualities that Kamilla believes a person should have to become a writer?
“Discipline and patience come first: to dedicate oneself to writing is a difficult job, which promises little or, in some cases, no monetary compensation. You must be in it for the sake of art, not for money or fame… If so, you are in the wrong field. Accomplishing anything, be it a poem or a draft, requires of you to put aside all distractions and feel like writing surrounded by events and the pace of day-to-day life that will not stand still. That’s hard to do, especially when you’re young and people have certain expectations about your lifestyle. It takes time and patience to build an audience of your own and for people to discover your art.”
With 282k followers to date, she remembers and tells us that the reason she opened an account on Instagram was because, on one occasion, she published some poems from her Pinterest writing profile on IG, same as it happened with personalities like Atticus and Rupi Kaur. From that moment on, she has been creating non-stop.
So, what is the message behind her work? “My work is much more positive now than when I started. It has not been due to a conscious change, but something else that has occurred in my mind as I grew up, physically and mentally; many things happen from ages 18 to 21. My desire is to give peace to others and to inspire those who need a voice with strength and character, a spiritual and hopeful message.
In other words, the message I want to deliver is this:
“Life is a miraculous adventure,
a beautiful journey of resilience and growth of our souls.
It’s a dance amid lightness and darkness,
and the blessings are always worth the pain in the end.”
Today, with so many accounts dedicated to writing, poetry and messages of all kinds on Instagram, sometimes it is difficult to figure out what is the inspiration behind each person who produces media content. These are probably not frequent questions about somebody – a writer, for instance- that we follow in this application and social network, but they are elements that constitute their process and his identity: how is the space around them, how is their routine when composing, what moments in their life have been key to their careers?
In the case of Kamilla, the inspiration comes from art, photography, music and painting, and also the writings of other people, but more specifically, in nature, and the connections fostered in it.
“Ironically, my best writings emerge when I’ve been busy doing something else, in situations like when I’m putting on my makeup, cleaning the kitchen or showering, among others. These are the moments when my most noteworthy thoughts appear, and art happens when you run and your heart beats faster, and you have to find a phone or a notebook and write down all that’s in your head before it disappears. When I’m blocked, I like to move: dance, do yoga or, my personal favorite, go for a run. I rarely write well if I sit alone with the intention of writing.”
Inspiration is an exclamation of the soul that seeks to express itself through us. This exclamation is not only limited to art, but can also manifest through various forms. It can be described as a deep feeling of joy and satisfaction; when we are inspired, we pursue our passion, time stops and we are oblivious to everything that is going on around us.
Which are moments in Kamilla’s life where she manages to write and feel the most inspired?
“I write pretty well when I’m on my way somewhere, like on a train, a bus or a car. I don’t know why, but there is something special about being still and moving at the same time. On top of that, in those moments when my emotions are running high, I manage to write phenomenal things. Whether it’s happiness or sadness, writing is always a good way to process and consider why my mental state is as it is. But I have to say that my writing comes out late at night, I suppose that’s when it feels most natural to be honest.
When addressing the subject of the past, of remembering those moments that have shaped her as a person and those that have been reflected in her writing, Kamilla shared the following lines:
“Mental illness is a tragedy
because we lose our loved ones
long before they are gone.”
She wrote it when her grandmother was diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies and adds that, through these words, she received a great deal of responsiveness from people who felt the same way and told her that it is a subject rarely addressed through art.
Another component of Kamilla’s artistic persona is that each posting on her Instagram account is paired with one of her hand-made drawings, with which she communicates and reaffirms her taste for the way simple words and lines complement each other. She believes that “there are some things that drawings can convey that words cannot and vice versa.”
Kamilla, who had produced all of her writings in Danish before 2017, began from that year on to tell stories and novels in English, at the age of 18. The versatile author shared her opinion on what it takes to succeed in this field today:
“No matter how talented you are, in these modern times, that’s not enough. It all comes down to one thing: marketing. Some might disagree with me, but I don’t think there’s a 100% correlation between talent and celebrity in our field. I think it’s a combination of successful branding, smart marketing and a little bit of time and luck. For me, personally, ‘selling myself’ isn’t natural. That’s one of the main struggles and a continuous process that I’m still discovering. I suppose that, as more and more people get into the field, it becomes more and more difficult to stand out.” Kamilla also shares another of her insights about time:
“Time changes everything.
Even what we thought would last forever.
It’s a curse, and it is also the greatest blessing.
Especially in these times, I’ve noticed
the swiftness with which everything goes and comes around, even what
we consider as a ‘normal’ and ‘ours’.”
These periods of change, of recess and isolation allow us to listen to ourselves and, by living them and extracting all the wisdom they contain, we manage to get away from the mental turmoil of our daily lives and orient everything we are as human beings to what is good for us. Kamilla endorses this idea by pointing out that her greatest reflection during this time has been that “stillness reveals everything.”
“I think many of us have noticed many things in these times, we have understood that everything that we took for granted when the world was ‘normal’ can be transformed in an instant. In the stillness of the quarantine, we have come closer to ourselves and others. On a personal level, I realized what I want my life to be like after this break, how I want to spend my time and what things don’t fit into the equation anymore. By doing this, I’ve concluded that we could use more rest and quiet in general; otherwise, we could end up running our whole life without realizing that we were going in the wrong direction before it is too late.
“I explore new places to open my mind to different thoughts,
to catch fresh emotions and come up with unique ideas.
In the landscapes I see new lines that turn into drawings.
And from people I learn new words.
And I discover new truths that make their way in my poetry.
An avid observer of complexity, particularly of the way we humans create our own world, she claims that, in the overall picture, we are just a small piece in a huge and magnificent puzzle. She adds that some of her favorite literary works are The Bookthief, All the Light we cannot see, Anna Karénina and the great works of Edward Rutherfurd such as Russka, a book that takes the reader on a thousand-year journey through Russian history.
So, how has her writership changed her way of seeing the world?
“In a way, my brain can be trained to search for specific things. After I started writing poetry, I got into the habit of trying to make connections and find broader, deeper truths in small contexts. It has definitely strengthened my belief that everything happens for a reason and that miracles do happen.”
“Be the moon
And inspire people
Even when you’re far from full.”
What do you think?