Amelia Kladnig
What are you currently doing for study/work?
I am currently in uni for a bachelor degree in primary school teaching. I’m in my third year and have one more year after this before I graduate. I am currently working at a before and after school care with primary-aged children which aligns perfectly with my degree.
When did you start doing poetry?
I started doing poetry when I was around 12 or 13 in early high school. At that point it was mostly just for fun and then developed into a hobby and passion.
What do you like about poetry (writing/reading)?
I like how abstract you can be with poetry whilst still exploring your thoughts in a personal and honest way. Some poetry is black and white whilst some requires analysis from the author to grasp what their intentions are. I think poetry is the form of art that is able to do this the best.
What do you dislike about poetry (writing/reading)?
I dislike how easily exploited poetry is in order to get attention or money etc. For example, I dislike influencers using poetry to sell books and make money off their fans when they have no real understanding or passion for poetry. I don’t think poetry should be limited to any one group of people or for any one reason, but it does frustrate me when it’s used in a trivial way purely for personal profit.
Who are your poetic inspirations?
My grandma is my number one inspiration. She first introduced me to poetry as she is a published poet herself, and I used to love spending time with her just reading poems from her endless collection of books. I’m also inspired by Sylvia Plath, who had an incredibly traumatic and difficult life, but was still able to produce beautiful poetry to help express her trauma.
Why do you think poetry is an important form of art?
I think poetry is an important form of art because I think anyone can write it and engage with it especially by how personal poetry often is. It reminds me of music in a way, where there is an intended rhythm, tone, and message for the audience to engage with. I think it can help individuals express their personal thoughts whilst also producing intricate and interesting forms of art.
Do you find it hard to share/show your poetry to others?
Absolutely, especially because a lot of my earlier poems from highschool are very dark and delved into some difficult topics that were incredibly personal to me. If people weren’t aware of my struggles with mental health at the time, my poems could be quite shocking and I would therefore often only share them with a few select people. I also find it hard to show people my poems because art is subjective, and even I find it difficult to objectively look at my poetry and say whether it is good or not, but when you show someone your art they often feel obliged to tell you that it’s good.
Do you find it hard, to be honest in your poetry or is it the most honest you have been?
Yes and no. It can be hard to be honest when you are already struggling to be honest with yourself about something, however sometimes poetry actually brings out things I didn’t even know I thought or believed. I do think I am more honest with my poetry than I am even with myself sometimes, but I don’t always realise at first.
What is your first poem called? What is it about?
My first poem is called Plastic Me. It is about myself in high school when I was struggling with depression and anxiety and I had difficulty sharing my problems with friends and family around me. I describe myself as being plastic, which represents the facade I was maintaining of being happy and carefree. However through the poem I explore my discovery of how releasing that armour and facade is actually positive, and there are good things that can come of being honest with those around you. The poem ends with me completely shedding that facade and realising the benefits to honesty.
Do you feel this poem captures a moment in time or how you feel right now?
A little bit of both I suppose. It definitely captures a moment in time where I first made those discoveries, however I still empathise with my conclusions made in the poem. I don’t regret finally opening up to people, I still struggle with it to this day, but I know it’s always for a good reason and will have good outcomes.
Plastic Me
Tactfully quiet,
Save for the space within my skull;
Overfull, obnoxious, defiant;
Cross-eyed and dull-mouthed, teeth made for gnawing not tearing
And plastic hands, plastic feet,
My plastic heart clogged:
Full to the brim.
Sometimes the chains break,
Friends torn and gums bleeding.
But my plastic hands rub them clean,
a splash of scarlet on an otherwise pale screen.
But my false hands have no grip,
And the red is slip-slipping through my webbed fingers,
Collecting like small rock pools,
‘Fore the tide washes in and makes a small ocean at my feet.
My mum told me to wear my favourite,
The one sewn red, bathing suit ready for a red ocean,
Instead
There are colours in my eyes —
Greens and golds and living things.
I hack at my arms,
Wrists bending from the strain
–Off-off!
The living things yell in alarm,
Catch her plastic, glue it back on!
But now my plastic feet are obsolete,
My arms are lobbed at the wrists,Trauma as disabling as stump limbs.
And an empty hole where my plastic heart used to–
Used to be.
Plastic Me is about the author’s struggle with depression and anxiety through high school, and the facade she maintained to appear happy and carefree. However, she could not always maintain this ‘plastic’ armour and eventually had to share her struggles with those around her. She was then able to realise that being open and honest was actually a beneficial and positive thing, and came to completely reject that facade she had maintained for so long. The poem ends with her complete acceptance of herself without the plastic facade.
Welcome back, Amelia!
Did you enjoy your first showcase and being part of Artists and Alice?
I did! I love Alice, she’s one of my best friends and watching her pursue her own passions whilst wanting to showcase mine has been a great experience for both of us. I look forward to our future in Artists and Alice as well as all of Alice’s future projects through C Monster Productions.
So glad to be showcasing the amazing poet Amelia! She is a dear friend and a true inspiration.
Do you think being creative will always be a part of your life even if you don’t pursue it as your career?
I hope so. I think for myself it is difficult being creative consistently as a lot of my poetry is fed by emotions and passion, so in times where I feel quite stable and at peace I am not motivated to write. I hope maybe my poetry can morph with my life and I can find passion in writing in different ways.
Did you ever consider sharing your poetry to your peers?
I have shared some of my poetry with friends throughout the years and Ablaze in particular I wrote with the intent of giving to my partner as a gift, which I did. Since a lot of my poetry is on the more depressing side (whoops) it’s not something I share too readily, however with friends I trust or are genuinely interested in my writing I do enjoy sharing it in those instances.
What is your second poem called?
My second poem is titled Ablaze.
When did you write your poem? What is it about?
I wrote this poem sometime last year. I can’t quite remember if I wrote it and gave it to my partner for his birthday or for Valentine’s Day, but it would have been sometime in the first half of 2020.
The poem is about relationships in general but focuses on the positive and negative aspects which are represented as the warmth from a fireplace and the coldness of a hardwood floor. I discuss through this imagery how in my previous relationships we struggled to feel the warmth from the fire in negative moments, whilst with my current partner even during those negative times the trust and care and warmth is still present. The poem overall represents a comparison of all of my relationships.
Ablaze
It is quiet in this place,
Where you reside
And I have found my space –
My place between a roaring hearth
And a frigid hardwood floor;
Much like those previous before.
My skin glows golden;
Orange, brown, pink and red,
Just as yours where our hands fold in.
I can feel the cold pressed beneath us,
Left unwarmed by the blaze
And yet we remain oblivious;
As two rocks in a snowstorm
Drowning in white.
Though we are quite at peace;
Where those before
Stood with sockless feet
Stuck
Frozen to the floor.
And we relax all snug,
In a cavern made of fleece
Before this humming hearth
And my new favourite place
On earth.
Ablaze explores the author’s current relationship compared with her previous ones. She uses a fireplace to represent the comforting and peaceful moments in a relationship, and the cold hardwood floor to represent the feelings of unhappiness or discomfort. The author explains how in her current relationship they only feel the warmth from the fire or the comforting feelings in the relationship, even though there is the presence of the cold. They always feel the trust and comfort even when there are moments of unsureness or unhappiness. She compares this with her previous relationships where the warmth of the fire was unreachable almost and they could only feel the overwhelming cold. The poem concludes with the author’s complete tranquillity in her current place with her partner.
Interview
Awareness Project: Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Below is the interview I did with our second artist Amelia Kladnig where we discussed her art and the prohibition of nuclear weapons.
Acid Lake Collaboration
100% of the profits from the Artists x Alice x Awareness collection are donated to charity! Check the product description of each design to find out which charity it supports. To buy a shirt click here!
