Creating when the world is heavy

Why creatives should keep contributing their art

None of what I’m about to write is new to the world, nor am I the first to say this. But it could be new to someone reading this. This is also a lightly edited transcript of a video I posted to TikTok a few days ago that appears to be getting suppressed.

Photo from when I was writing recently — for the sake of a photo.

For creatives, it can feel challenging to keep creating when the world is so heavy. When your heart is reaching out to your neighbors. When you want to do so much, but not everybody can do everything. We need to keep creating what we create and contributing the the world what we contribute.

Remember that life keeps going despite what’s happening. What you are contributing is likely helping people with the parts of life that are still moving. My poems, workshops, posts, and videos are hopefully helping people be able to navigate regular life alongside the heavy world. This way they can then show to up to help their communities.

All this to say that your content can be a breath of fresh air for your audiences. They are just as bombarded by the news as you are. You know they’re seeing it because you see them reposting and commenting on it. You’re seeing it all too. You know that they are not coming to your page for reports. It’s okay to keep creating what you create.

What’s not okay is to act like nothing is going on. You can acknowledge that shit’s going down and that you are showing up elsewhere in the ways that you can. There’s nothing wrong with still creating what you are compelled to create.

There are common phrases that are borderline cliche, but they’re real: Art is inherently political. Joy is resistance (this is specifically for the identities that are being harmed because their joy is trying to be stifled). Creating art can celebrate those identities. But none of this can be ignorant. There is no excuse for people who are moving as if nothing is happening.

There is plenty of art from different eras that are critical for our understanding of what life was like during historical events. We are simply now the people creating as witness to what we’re experiencing today. We are the people showing up, documenting what’s happening, expressing humanity in all its forms. Everything we are creating today will be studied later on. We are giving future generations a glimpse of how we continued building the world we want to build while fighting the one that exists.

Keep creating. It’s needed. You are needed. Everybody is needed. Except ICE.

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Instead of sharing my own poem, I would like to direct you to a couple of Minneapolis poets writing about what’s currently happening:

Danez Smith is a phenomenal poet and writer. They wrote “An Elegy for Renee Nicole Good” on January 9 in Harper’s Bazaar.

Zach Goldberg is another incredible poet, and he wrote a poem on January 25 about what’s happening to his neighbors.

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These views are my own, and not reflective of any organizations I collaborate with, including IWC.

“There’s a Poem In That” is honored to be a part of the Iowa Writers Collaborative (IWC) alongside some of my favorite writers of all genres in Iowa. Please be sure to check out the Roundup of columns and subscribe to these brilliant creatives.

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