Check Out Kim Butin’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Butin.

Hi Kim, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve always been a writer, but first I was a reader. Reading was a way to escape into other realities – stories of people that had feelings similar to my own in one way or another. Coming from a rough start (foster care), I found it difficult to relate to other people my age. I had quite a few things to deal with that I didn’t quite understand yet. I would devour hundreds of books a year until finally, I tried to make a story myself. I started with poetry around the age of nine, by eleven I won a contest that allowed one of my poems to be featured in a book.

I soon found that I enjoyed writing as much as I enjoyed reading. I continued writing for myself – refusing to share my work with others. Last year, in 2021, I decided it was time to start sharing again. After an ended engagement, I broke my ankle, and shortly later a stroke caused by Covid – Life forced me to sit down with myself. I used that time to write more than I ever had. In six months, I had over fifteen hundred poems written. I created an Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook page to share my work.

The only true positive of having lived through the negative experiences I’ve survived – foster care, sexual assaults, and abusive marriage – is the ability to share my story in my own words. To own the experience, and find a way to let others that have gone through similar situations that they are not alone.

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?
Writing in this day and age isn’t always easy. You have to have a firm marketing plan, you need to understand how to package what you’re trying to share. I definitely still struggle with how personal I want my work to be when it’s shared – I’ve ventured into sharing work on adoption, depression, anxiety, and feelings of being alone.
It’s definitely been a journey.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I mostly share poetry, long free form and haikus. I also am working on a novel – bits and pieces will be shared in the future.

I’d say to this day, what sets me apart is my willingness to be vulnerable in my work. I try my best to shed light to situations we as a society try not to speak on.

My favorite series of poetry I’ve written would be the adoption series.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Nothing worth having comes without an element of risk. Sharing your words in itself is a risk, in my opinion. I’ve definitely taken risks in my writing – style, topics, how and where I’m willing share my work. I think that to achieve anything, you need to be willing to lose something else along the way.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @kimmyfaewords