What keeps you motivated to create? Do you have any big dreams or goals for your work?
Honestly, there are many things that keep me motivated to create. Writing has been an outlet for me since I could hold a pencil, so the simple act of being able to get my dreams, opinions, and feelings out into the world keeps me going, but it’s also the idea that I could possibly touch someone with my words the way I’ve been touched by others’ words that really drives me forward. I mean that in every possible way – whether that’s through laughter and smiles, tears, or even the heebie-jeebies. That’s also my big dream, but as a poet, to be considered the 21st Century Emily Dickinson would allow me to die happy.
How do you push through creative blocks?
I’ll get back to you when I master the art of wrangling writer’s block. For now, I like to give myself a change of scenery, whether that means moving to another project, moving where I’m working, or stopping altogether and taking a break to do something else. I think allowing yourself to rest or express yourself in other ways (for example with me, music) is totally valid and awesome!
Who are you hoping to reach with your work? Do you have a target audience? Who would you like to inspire?
My target audience is whoever the universe thinks needs my writing the most at this moment. Ideally, I would love to reach a large audience – who wouldn’t? – and build a community of like-minded, eccentric, queer writers, but I am grateful for every reader I have and always will be.
Anything else?
My name is Anna Kolczynska and I am an aspiring writer and political organizer. I attended New York University and am currently figuring out the next chapter of my life. I am admittedly more of a poet than a short story writer, but I have been dabbling in the art of fiction lately. I’ve always loved pieces that place you right in the middle of some type of action or event and pieces that leave you feeling unsettled or disturbed. Sometimes, confusion can be fun when done right. Coupling that with my love of storms, the state in which I grew up, and the various areas I traveled over the years, 2:22 was born. It draws on real places, but in a way that is so mangled together that it feels like you, the reader, have also been driving around all day for distances long enough to muddle the map. The people are somewhat based in reality as well – from the coppertone tourists to the wise locals who know how to handle a storm. My late uncle also gets a special shoutout in this piece. 2:22 is meant to make you go through a range of emotions, but ultimately end up feeling a little deferred, like when the meteorologists predict a fully drizzly day, only for it to storm like hell for an hour followed by clear blue skies.
If you enjoyed my writing, you can find more of my writing in Roi Fainéant Press, Exist Otherwise, and Messy Misfits Club to name a few.
Anna Kolczynska is a poet and writer from the East Coast of the United States. She has always been told she has too busy a mind, but has channeled that energy into eccentric poems and stories about moments and feelings that matter.