Karina Zimmer
Karina, what are you up to lately?
I am working on a commissioned project, writing poetry and continuously working on projects of my own. Besides work I am taking care of my three year old daughter from home, together with my partner.
We recently lost a close family member, that has made me reconsider a lot, and I am planning some big changes.
What is moving you at this moment?
Life and death, change of body and mind.
What is your relationship to poetry?
I cannot not write poetry, poetry is a part of my daily life, it is a way of expressing myself, it helps me let go of things and makes me see things in another perspective. Poetry is a way for me to research life, ways of living
The same goes for reading poetry.
Can you remember the first words (ie. poem, story, lyric) you fell in love with?
I don’t remember falling in love with something specific, I just think I fell in love with words in general from a very young age. Before I could read myself I loved when my father made up stories or when my mother read
us tales.
What is your earliest memory of writing?
I started writing before I could actually write. I remember sitting alone scribbling down imaginative words in a little notebook. When I learned writing my first words, I put them together in any possible constellation.
Can you describe your current writing process?
Poems either comes to me spontaneously at any given moment, or I sit down and start writing, it oftens takes me a bit to get into a flow, and it doesn’t happen every time. When I am writing I do an effort to let go of all judgements of what I’m writing. I am getting better and better at letting go, I believe the more I let go the better it gets, and that doesn't just go for poetry but for life in general.
Do you have a favorite space to write in?
A space where no one knows me, a space where no one disturbs me.
How does poetry play into your art?
Sometimes I have this urge to create something else than words on paper, to create something using objects or/and my body. I feel that my art and my poetry is deeply connected, through both mediums I wish to express myself, to challenge my own routines, to challenge my view on life, on everything.
How does poetry connect us as human beings?
It can make us feel understood, no matter where in the world we are.
What is the path of love?
Following your truth.
What is the path of fear?
Following someone else's truth.
Who would you like to see interviewed on We The Tender Hearted?
Alejandra Smits
