K y l o  t h e  K i d

Hey Kylo! So nice to speak to you, we can’t wait to get into it today.

Quick-fire round as always. What are you watching at the moment?

The last piece of good theatre I saw was actually by Akin Wright, who I met through Anthroplay, so shout-out to him! His play I’m Not Black which was a one-person performance about his experiences of being black in a predominantly white private school. It was really, really phenomenal – it was great. And everybody should see it if they have the chance.

What I’m watching is The Last of Us, I binge-watched that. Because I really like zombie films, because I believe I would survive… not survive, thrive! I would thrive in a zombie apocalypse.

You either one of two aren’t you: first to get eaten or there till the very end.

What music serenades your commute currently?

On my commute I like to listen to Grime and UK hip hop. I particularly like Princess xixi at the moment. She’s a trans rapper and she’s phenomenal. Someone else called FLOHIO, she’s really cool. Hazey, Aitch. That crew I like to listen to, I gain lots of inspiration from them, so yeah.

Gorgeous. Last quick-fire. Any books on the go?

Yeah, I’m re-reading a couple of books. One is a book called Trans-Care by Hil Malatino. That’s all about how trans people can show up for one another and create community, during this really hostile time. And the other one is called Beyond Survival by Leah Lakshimi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Ejiris Dixon. That’s all about transformative justice and how we can work towards getting rid of the prison industrial complex and take care of each other in that way. They’re two community organising books, basically.

Amazing. Well you made it through the first round! So, tell us a bit about you and how you got into your writing?

Okay! I am just a simple trans boy who likes skateboarding and rhyme-writing and I dunno… dismantling the state. (laughs) How I got into my writing…  I guess my background is quite messy. So, growing up as a trans, queer kid, from a lone-parent family, I didn’t do great in school. I failed all my GCSE’s and entered the mental health system very, very young. So, I was really angry. I was a really angry kid who became a really angry adult. And my… aggression, let’s call it aggression instead of anger, and instead of channelling that to the systems that had consistently made me voiceless and silenced me, (which is what it’s like, I think, in those systems, throughout trans health care, psychiatric complex and all that) I basically turned that in on myself instead, so like, drugs, drinking and self-harm, all of it, is where I put this anger, which obviously made me very unwell.

So, I started writing, as like, a healing process. Somewhere to place this anger, which was also an environment where I might be heard. ‘Coz when your consistently silenced, it’s really debilitating. So when I started writing, I just did it for myself. And I just went one day, to an open-mic night, and just read my poem. It wasn’t for anybody else, it was just to get some of this out of me - and people seemed to really connect with it. So, I guess as long as I find it healing, then that’s as long as I’ll keep writing.

Was that a bit intense? Felt a bit intense.

No not at all, thank you so much for sharing! What would you say your work was about and who inspires you / what inspires you?

I guess my work, my writing, is about existing in a disruptive trans, disabled, disenfranchised, body. And I guess also, transphobia, more generally in society, so how that is experienced and embodied, individually and collectively. I write about the psychiatric, industrial complex a lot and surviving that. And then I guess, more joyously, I try to write about community care and how we can work together to build a better tomorrow. It’s not all, like… downers. (laughs).

Who inspires me, I don’t know how they would put it, musician or writer, but someone called Ren, I see lots of similarities between us. And in all honestly, who inspires me, are other trans artists. I’ve had the privilege to speak alongside really other amazing trans poets and trans speakers. I feel like when you don’t have any representation to look for or to look up to, then the next thing you turn to are to those around you, so, I owe a lot to my trans siblings.

That’s really beautiful. What would be your advice to someone who wants to do more writing / get more creative?

I guess I’m going to aim my answer to people who are existing more in the margins… but, like I said earlier about, how often people who are systematically oppressed lose their voice and are consistently silenced, but have these incredible stories. So, I think one thing I’d encourage people to do is to take up brave space, even though it’s really scary, and also, have confidence in themselves and know that they are really powerful and beautiful. I think the more you tell people this, the more likely they are to shine and thrive, it’s just not enough people are told.

That was a great answer, thank you. Okay, last question! What’s next for you and is there anything you want to shout about?

What’s next for me? I am, at the moment, trying to put some of my poetry to some beats. Get some music behind it. So I’m recording that at the moment and I’m hoping to work with another trans artist on that. Her name is Megan and she is really cool. (@freerangemegan )

So, see how that works and try to do things that way. But it's a really slow process and recording things is difficult, because you strive for perfection when recording something, which is an impossible thing to get.

I’m also speaking on a panel about mental health and mens bod image at ‘The Lovehub x Fringe’ which has been put together by The Love Tank and Fringe! Film Festival. I'm really happy to be part of something like this as a transmasc, because so often we are left out of these conversations. 

Right now, the only thing I’m hoping to do is keep writing and taking opportunities like this, and I dunno, see where it takes me.

Ride the wave! Thanks so much for talking to us today Kylo.

Thank you!