Kyle Elden Heyesen

Background

About Kyle Elden Heyesen

Kyle Leia Elden: Artistic Resume ARTIST STATEMENT: I am a poet who writes as a means to process life, the difficult and the beautiful, sacred, and awe inspiring. My intention in writing is to make sense of existence and highlight that which brings joy or is noteworthy. I then share that experience through my poems, in order to elicit a sense of connectedness with others and to offer new perspectives, inspiration and hope. EDUCATION AND TRAINING: I am not a formally trained artist, though since childhood I have written poems as my primary art form. My Bachelor of Arts and Master’s degree are in Social Work, during which I took creative writing classes as electives. My experiences in social work have deepened my understanding of life. I have had a passion for poetry since the time I was a young child. My education and practice in writing poetry is informal but persistent and on- going in nature, and has occurred within the context of weekly writer’s groups with respected local poets, such as Shelia Packa (Duluth’s current Poet Laureate). Through these opportunities I have received valuable mentorship in writing, revision, and editing from Shelia Packa, Gary Boelhower, Pamela Mittlefehldt, and Cal Benson. I have also utilized published resources to refine my work such as Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity and Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. I have been active in the Lake Superior Writers community for many years. Further, I was highly involved in Poetry Harbor’s open mic. weekly events, when it was in existence (since I was a teenager), which exposed me to the “underground” poetry scene.