A Refreshing Point of View with KennyFresh
This week, Crystal met with Spoken Word artist Kenneth Woods, chemist- turned-poet. Kenneth wrote his first poem out of heartbreak. Although he hated writing when he was a kid in school, he always had a love for words. His work explores themes of identity, belonging, mental health and empowerment. His themes are universal, but he draws much inspiration from his faith. Here’s a snapshot of the heart-felt conversation they had.
Crystal:
What does the name of your LLC, Refresherpoint mean?
Kenneth:
Refresherpoint was the brainchild of myself and my wife, Marlesha. People kept saying that my poetry was refreshing and was helping them see things in a new perspective. And that’s what I’m trying to do – help point people in a positive direction. I’m trying to inject light, life, and hope in my poetry. Even when I talk about the darker side of things, I still try to have a glimmer of hope.
Crystal:
Why is injecting light and hope into your work so important to you?
Kenneth:
I think it’s just a part of who I am. People will say they always see me smiling. No matter where I am, I try to make the people around me feel better or make the situation better.
I believe a person’s art flows out of who they are.
When it comes to the writing, whatever is in you, comes out of you. I generally feel full of hope.
A lot of that comes from my faith practice. I practice Christianity and the crux of the belief system is light and being a light in the world and being kind to people — being kind with words and being exact in how we use them; being purposeful and intentional with our words.
“Greatly exaggerated were the rumors of your demise, and if they ask me, I’ll tell ‘em that you multiplied”
The first time I recited a poem publicly was at my grandfather’s funeral in 2010. I wanted to write something about the legacy he left. I wanted to uplift the people that were still behind and help them work through their pain. I wanted to uplift the work that he had done. He was a preacher and had been such a positive force in my life and for my family. So I talked about that in the poem. I realize that it’s not always easy or natural for people to bring hope to hard situations. I feel like one of my roles is to speak to hope – speak light and bring some hope, even when things get tough.
Crystal:
Is there an area where you feel like that light is particularly needed?
Kenneth:
That’s a good question. I feel like light is needed in the school systems. There are a lot of hurting children. Many feel they’re not heard and not seen.
KennyFresh Performing at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
I also feel light is needed wherever people feel marginalized, and a lot of children and elders feel marginalized or left behind.
That’s why I like doing what I do. My poetry connects with people across ages; it’s intergenerational. And I’m grateful to bring light to places where people bring their families. Just recently, I performed a spoken word event at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. At the end of the show, a family came up to me and told me how the poems touched them. Then we took photos together – two parents, two kids, me and everybody’s all cheesing and grinning. I’m grateful to know my words and story can inspire others.
I want to be a person who’s congruent – to be the same person in my private life, in my artistic work and professional life. I want to be the same Kenneth Woods everywhere. And I hope that inspires people to think, “If Kenneth can do it, I can do it. If he’s living this way, maybe it’s possible for me to live this way. He’s positive, maybe it’s possible for me to be positive.”
Crystal:
Could you tell me about a time when you needed a little light and compassion in your life and what helped you the most?
Kenneth Woods (far left) with Grandparents (far right), Shirley Hawkins and William Joseph Hawkins (aka “Joe Buddy”.
Kenneth:
Hmm. There was a period between 2010 and 2016 when all four of my grandfathers passed away. Both of my parents had biological fathers as well as stepfathers. When my mother’s stepfather passed, it hit me really hard because he was my favorite. I was very close to him. He was my encourager. He was always telling me how proud he was of me.
His passing was really tough for me. He died on Halloween in 2016, and by St. Patrick’s Day of 2018, my grandmother passed away, too. And shortly after that, their dog died. Just like that, the whole household was gone. It was as if my grandmother said, “Well, he’s gone. What’s the point of being here?” And she passed. And maybe the dog felt the loneliness, too, because shortly after that, he died.
At first, I wasn’t reaching out to people. I did the obligatory telling people, “my grandparent passed, please keep my family in your prayers” kind-of-thing. But, actually, I was trying to retreat inward and deal on my own.
I wanted time to myself to think. I was also called upon to write a poem for my grandfather’s funeral, and I was really struggling. My wife knew, and she came into the room and just turned on some jazz music. That really helped. Jazz was my grandfather’s favorite genre. She turned on some jazz, and I sat there. I cried and I wrote, and then I reached out.
It was tough because the weekend we buried my grandfather, I had to perform at four church services. It was one of my earliest big looks. I was on tap to perform at a huge church in Louisville, with the first show being the same day we buried him. I had to cry, read the poem at my grandfather’s funeral and then go perform like nothing happened. We pushed through it, and it worked. I was grateful to have my wife there with me.
And in retrospect, I’m grateful I had thrown it out on Facebook, too. Even though I needed to grieve inwardly, I also needed others. I was grateful for the notes, and calls from friends, cards from people at work and people from my church family showing up at the funeral.
Crystal:
We’ve been asking the community about their greatest hopes and fears. I’m curious, what are your greatest fears right now? D
Kenneth:
One of my fears as a writer is that I’m not as good as I think I am or I’m not as good as people tell me. Yeah, I have doubts.
Imposter syndrome starts to come, and I think “Maybe I’m not as good as I think. Maybe this book isn’t any good. Can I keep doing this? Are people going to get burnt out on this poetry?”
Crystal:
What do you do when you feel that way?
Kenneth:
I have to combat those thoughts. I have to remind myself that I‘m here for a reason. I started off in chemistry, but changed directions because I love words and people and people told me how my poems made them feel. I have to remember that these opportunities are the things I’ve been praying for. I just have to walk through the doors when they open and leave the rest up to God.
Of course, it’s a lot easier said than done because the doubts come.
There’s an artist named KB who said he learned to “doubt his doubts.” So that’s what I’m trying to do.
I’m trying to doubt my doubts.
I love a post I saw that said, “Dear creative: You feel like an imposter. There is no evidence to support that. There IS evidence of how you have impacted people, how people’s work and their lives have been changed and impacted by your work. There is evidence of that.” When I start doubting, I think of this.
The truth is, if you spend time learning your craft (whatever it is) and you’re working on it, then you are doing good.
You are good enough at the level you are right now.
And if you keep pursuing it, you can only get better.
“Never underestimate the power of your words.
We live in the age of word count. Every syllable is tallied and held in record so you best make your words count.”
– Excerpt from Meticulous, by Kenneth Woods
