Speaker and Session Preview: Kirsten Voris

Kirsten Voris, a first-time HippoCamp attendee, will serve on the panel, “The Writing Life After 40.” We’re excited to hear her speak! In the meantime, we asked her a few questions about her upcoming participation in our writing conference.

Photo: Mamta Popat

HM: What are you most excited to share during your panel?

KV: I was invited to speak on a panel aimed at writers over 40. I’m over 50, so bring it on! This is how long it took me to get over myself and start work on what was important to me. The process of writing has shown me that I have feelings, and it has helped me to recognize them. It has also taught me the value of communicating and taking up space that I thought was reserved for other people. Writing continues to teach me how to share and still feel safe. Imagine!

I was unable to commit to doing the work when I was a 21-year-old poetry-composing badass. I was numb, jaded and didn’t really care about connecting to others through writing. I didn’t know that I didn’t know how. And you couldn’t have convinced me that it was important. I had to figure out that feeling things wasn’t weak. Then, I had to convince myself that I was safe. Once that happened, I began connecting with people. And emerging. And writing again. And guess what? I now long for connection with people!

Writing with a writing partner has been more rewarding and healing than anti-depressants, recreational drugs or therapy. By asking multitudes of painful questions, my writing partner has taught me to locate emotions and extract them from long boring lists of things I’ve done. He has shown me that although we make different choices and have unique stories to tell, we are connected by our ability to feel the same emotions in different circumstances. We are all connected—writing can teach you to feel that.

Why do you love true stories?

I love true stories because we all have them. We all have story material. No excuses!

Share a fun fact with us—something attendees may be surprised to know:

When I wrote my HippoCamp proposal, what emerged was a pep talk to myself. What surprised me about the pep talk was that I believed every word of it! Why not write? I spent years talking myself into believing that I was not qualified. This makes me very sad. If I can convince one person that there is no time like now to start over, no reason not to believe in yourself, I will start looking forward to buying their book.

Aside from preparing for HippoCamp 2018 (of course!), what are you working on? Any recent or upcoming projects/publications you can share? 

I’m co-creating a deck of trauma informed yoga cards for children (based on Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga methodology) that is due out in mid-2019 (North Atlantic Books). My work will be featured in the forthcoming anthology: Coyotes: Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards (Imago Press). Additionally, I’m a storyteller. I told a story at Odyssey Tucson in March 2018.

Since you’ll also be attending the conference, what are you most looking forward to learning or doing when you’re not wearing your “speaker hat?”

I’m looking forward to connecting with other writers and practicing “non-comparison” and “non-competition.” We are all unique and beautiful flowers emerging at our own pace from diverse personal swamps.

We love introducing Lancaster to attendees. What are you looking forward to?

My writing partner is from rural Lancaster County, and I am looking forward to exploring the edges of his native context. I’m excited to compare and contrast what I have read over the years to what I notice with my own eyes.

Kirsten, thanks for sharing some of your journey with us. We look forward to hearing more at the panel! See you at the conference!

Register to reserve your place today.