Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Butin.
Hi Kim, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been writing since I was about nine years old. By the time I was eleven I won a contest that allowed one of my poems to get published in a book. From the age of eleven until the age of twenty-eight, I kept writing poems and stories, but I mostly kept them to myself. I wasn’t quite ready to be vulnerable to share my stories with others. At twenty-eight years old, I had quite a year. I had an engagement with someone incredibly toxic end, I had broken every bone in my ankle and was unable to walk most of the year, and then, to top it all off, I ended up contracting COVID, which led to me having a stroke that it took doctors multiple months to figure out. During this year, I had too much time on my hands. This is when “Kimmy Fae” was born on social media. I took the time that I was forced to sit down and decided that it was now or never. I started sharing my poetry on social media – primarily Instagram. I started by sharing haikus, which weren’t my natural form of writing. I thought of it as a challenge to condense my words to a 5-7-5 structure.
After about a year of this, I started sharing my free-form poetry, which I still share almost daily.
Three years in and my following continues to grow. I’ve also managed to finish my first manuscript of poetry.
It’s been a long journey home.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would definitely say that there’s no path to being a writer that I would consider smooth. Especially if you’re choosing to share your words on social media.
I’d say the most challenging aspect is keeping up with the algorithms. If you don’t keep up to date on these, your work isn’t going to get many views.
Another challenge, I would say, is coming up with new inspiration. I make it a goal to write at least one poem a day, but there are definitely some days that I struggle to either find the words or I struggle to come up with a new way to share a story.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a writer – mostly a poet. I would say that my specialty is finding words for situations that tear you apart.
My favorite series that I’ve done to this day is called “Kids without a Home”. This poem series is basically a long tangent on the long-term effects that the foster system in America has on the kids that survive it. Coming from the foster care system myself, I’m always shocked that this isn’t a topic that’s openly discussed more.
I would say what sets me apart from some other writers is my vulnerability – there’s almost no topic that I wouldn’t write about rather it be something that’s happy, sad, or enraging.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up I was definitely that kid in class that picked the seat furthest from the teacher so that I could spend the time in class writing or reading.
Two things that you would always find on me, regardless of the time, would be a notebook and a book.
If I wasn’t reading, I was outside with my friends, making terrible decisions that led to us getting lost in the woods or too muddy to go home without getting in trouble.
I was very quiet naturally, always watching the people around me as they moved through the world.
Being late diagnoses ADHD and late diagnosed Autistic, childhood was a little different for me. I developed a curiosity towards psychology, body language, and handwriting analysis early on in an attempt to try to better understand the world around me and how I fit into it.
I’d say that this is probably where my inquisitive nature came from. Even at a young age, I remember constantly asking why things worked the way they did (think televisions, microwaves, light switches) or why something occurs the way it does.
Growing up, we moved quite a bit, which added to my wanderlust – we spent time in South Miami, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Georgia.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/kimmyfaewords
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/kimmyfaewords
