Kelli Lage
1. What have you been up to these last couple of months? Share freely any publication news you may have, and please include any links you’d like us to include.
My poem, River Goddess Origin, appeared in Libre in September 2024. In October 2024, my prose poem, Dear Father, appeared in The Prose Poem. To end the year, Across the Margin published three of my poems! I have flash fiction forthcoming in JAKE magazine, and a creative nonfiction essay with The Fiddlehead Review. You can stay up to date on my latest poetry news through my website, www.KelliLage.com.
2. What are your long-term creative plans? Are you working on something big and secret or taking it day by day?
I have been working on my second full-length poetry collection for a little over a year. I am taking it day by day. I have learned to not rush the creative process and that one can benefit from spending as much time with their work as possible, allowing the narrative to grow to fruition. New ideas are often sprouting in my head. I have a few other small projects started that I have enjoyed diving into.
3. What’s the status of your mental health these days? It’s in all ways prosaic to say that we live in trying times. How is the zeitgeist responsible? What are some actionable ways in which you’re taking steps to quiet the void, if any? (If it’s a glass of wine and an episode of Mad Men at the day’s end, that counts, please know that).
Winter is tough on my brain. I had a mental health essay centered around the topic of SAD published by Emerge Literary Journal. Nature is healing for me. So, during cold Midwest winters I try to distract and engage my mind with fiction and poetry. I started a book blog, Body of the Book, at the beginning of this year, where I have been sharing texts I encounter. Once spring comes, my husband is good about giving me the encouragement needed to go for a walk and bask in the sun. We have a wild beagle and peaceful yellow labrador that join us on those occasions.
4. What is something you’d like readers to take away from your work in regard to mental health advocacy, discussion, or criticism?
Anxiety is more complex than being worried or nervous. It sticks to your bones, makes you physically ill. I hope through my work, readers who have anxiety feel seen and known; that is the kinship I needed as a teenager. I hope readers who are unfamiliar with mental health understand the complexity of it and how important it is to listen to those that deal with it daily. The first steps are compassion and conversation.
5. Why do you create, still, despite the climate and political current and pervasive doubt we’re made slaves to?
I don’t know anything other than writing. My mind would be a buzzing swarm if I did not get the words out. Writing, poetry specifically, creates a hope that we all can cling to. We cannot let our light be burnt out.
6. When was the last time you told your psychiatrist or therapist something you were afraid to disclose? In your own words, how do you feel about going up against the stigma?
I was often scared to tell my therapist that I did not do my “homework” or did not practice coping methods. I was worried I would be seen as lazy, when I was truly fighting a battle. Eventually, I opened up to her and it made our relationship better and more functional. Going against the stigma was about building a trusted support system and then feeling the desire to share my truth and voice. My therapist worked hard to build a healthy rapport with me, which in turn has taught me how to face conversations with others about anxiety and mental health.
7. Have you ever come up against stigma or belittling language surrounding mental health (yours or another’s) during your time in the literary community? We’d like to hear about it if you’re comfortable sharing.
I have not experienced sigma in the literary community, thankfully. I have worked with many caring editors and writers. Unfortunately, stigma is something I have faced in the educational setting. When I first started college, many of the people surrounding me did not understand anxiety. I was told to “suck it up” and that it “was not real.” I knew that their words were not true, but it was hard to believe anyone would be accepting of me. As I grew, I found that the right kind of people were either willing to learn and listen or understood from their own experiences. I would strongly encourage others to never disregard statements made by someone who has lived with mental health at the forefront of their day to day. Decency comes in forms of being an active listener and as supportive as you are able to be without also burning yourself out.
8. Anything else you’d like to share or for us to share on your behalf?
Not at this time. Thanks for having me again!
Kelli Lage is an assistant poetry editor at Bracken Magazine, and is a Best of the Net and Pushcart nominated poet. She is the author of Early Cuts, I'm Glad We Did This, and Harvest is a Chapel. Lage's work has appeared in Stanchion Zine, Maudlin House, The Lumiere Review, Welter Journal, and elsewhere. Website: www.KelliLage.com.IG | X | Facebook