Meet Dana Lockhart

 

We were lucky to catch up with Dana Lockhart recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dana, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I didn’t encounter imposter syndrome until I was already deep into my career as a writer. I’ve always been a loud and bold creative, even from an early age, eager to put anything I drew or wrote in front of people. Maybe I was being a show off, or maybe I just thrived on compliments. Regardless, I was rarely afraid to put myself out there. I began post stories online as young as 12, and made my first leaps into seeking publication by 16. I wanted to share my stories and my voice no matter the odds.

Funny, then, how when I set about to start a poetry collection I suddenly hit a mental roadblock. It wasn’t that I hadn’t written poems before, nor that I hadn’t shared them. I won a top ten spot in a national poetry competition when I was 15. Sharing poems wasn’t really the issue. The issue was calling myself a poet.

I don’t have a problem calling myself a writer or an author. Those labels feel right and close to my identity. I also don’t have a problem calling myself an artist, even when I rarely dabble in visual arts these days. But for a long time I could not call myself a poet. I was just a person who wrote poems. Somehow, a poet and a personal writing poems did not mean the same thing to me. One was true, and one was not. I went out of my way sometimes to just call myself a writer, lumping poetry in with the things that I write as though it was an afterthought.

Pin-pointing the reason I struggled to call myself a poet, even after I published the poetry collection, isn’t too hard. If writers were ranked by tiers, then my mind put poets somewhere in S tier, far above the lofty clouds where angels sing and everything is bathed in light and song. They are the most honest truth-tellers, those who speak out when other do not, the closest prophets of the muses, and people who breathe life and death into words. Their power is extraordinary, moving hearts and souls with something as simple as a few written or spoken lines.

At least, the good ones are lofty. There are mediocre poets, and probably even bad ones. But I never strived for mediocrity. If I am going to tackle a task, I jump into it with everything I have, with every intention to achieve greatness or bust. So to call myself a poet, to put myself in such a lofty position as a silvertongued poet, seemed like trying to make a deity out of a mortal. I did not feel worthy of the moniker despite my devotion to the cause, like a faithful sinner feeling unworthy of Heaven.

Poetry itself is such a varied art, ranging from strictly structured stanzas to seemingly random freestyling. When you have nearly infinite possibilities of ways in which to format your poems, finding a voice can be difficult; moreover, finding a consistence voice can be even harder. A poet is nothing without a voice.

My voice was another roadblock in my journey towards identifying as a poet. My voice was so different in comparison to the voices that were around me. In the early stages of preparing my poetry collection, I started regularly attending a poetry open mic near me. Right off the bat I was an outlier. A vast majority of the crowd was over 50, while I was in my late 20s. A lot of them wrote about love, humor, and history; meanwhile, I wrote about darkness, yearning, and anguish. Despite these differences, I was welcomed wholeheartedly to the group. Even though they didn’t seem to be my target audience, I still found encouragement and appreciation for what I had to offer with my words.

The breaking point for me started at this poetry group. After two years of attending, one of the organizers made a comment about the deep darkness of my poetry that still managed to find a way to shine brightly. In that explanation, she called me the group’s “dark poet”. That moment changed me as I pondered how to feel about the moniker, and what I thought about it. After all, if poets are these lofty muses resting on clouds made of sunlight that I perceived them to be, then what did it mean to be a “dark poet”? I found that I liked the phrase, and that it fit with my writing. It was just the push I needed.

I decided to challenge myself to write a poem about these complicated feelings I had about being a poet, and being a “dark poet”. I wrote it stream-of-consciousness, in a slam-style, with my intention for it to be spoken instead of read quietly. My poetry voice is usually short and punchy, with some beats and rhymes for emphasis. But this dark poet poem, it was wild and winding like a forest path. It was untamed. It was black as pitch and sharp as knives, with flurries of punches not holding back, only truths and no apologies. And when I was done, I could finally call myself a poet.

Maybe I’m not a beacon of light on throne on high. Maybe my name will never be spoken in the same way as Dickinson or Seuss, or Frost or Silverstein. But I am a poet, and I confidently know it, and I can proudly say it.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

At my day job, I am currently a legal assistant. My passions lie elsewhere, though, as I consider myself a writer first and foremost. I primarily write urban fantasy and poetry, though I am dabbling in other genres. I have served as the President of the Hannibal Writers Guild for nearly five years. The Hannibal Writers Guild is dedicated to empowering and educating area writers and other creatives to pursue their goals, whether they just want to quietly improve their writing for their personal enjoyment or want to seek publication with a big publishing house. We just recently became non-profit and are hoping to be able to expand the help that we can provide our members.

I currently have two books published. My latest is a poetry collection centered around themes of overcoming emotional floods, In the Deluge. My debut novel, The Un-Life of William Moore, is a dark but lighthearted look at what it might be like to be a fairytale monster in the modern age as college student Kaylah Rhodes befriends a friendly and socially awkward vampire, William. The Un-Life is available as an audiobook, and signed copies of both are available on my website.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

If you’re seeking to become more confident in yourself and your voice, or having trouble getting out there and making friends, I highly recommend joining a community of some sort that you’re interested in. Whether that’s a club, activity, church, or other group, having a like-minded community to support you does wonders. It is no understatement to say that I might not be the writer I am today if not for the St. Louis Writers Guild, Hannibal Writers Guild, and River Poets Society encouraging me to keep going. There is a potential to learn a lot and make friends at these sorts of community groups. You can often find them on Facebook or in your local newspaper events pages.

If you struggle with dark thoughts and depression, finding a creative outlet helps to brighten things up. It doesn’t matter if you’re good at it right away, or if you end up being good at it at all. Treat art, writing, and other creative outlets as you-time, ways for you to enjoy yourself and your time. The only thing that matters is how you feel about yourself and what you create. Who knows, you might even discover a new hobby this way.

Words are powerful, and the words you use to describe yourself are the most powerful. You become who you think you are. Choose powerful, positive words to describe yourself, and only accept labels if you yourself choose to use them. Also be conscious of your words and how they may impact others. There is no stronger magic than words spoken.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

I have been blessed, or perhaps cursed, to be taught by both positive and negative situations.

My parents were very opposite people. My dad was a rock: reliable, trustworthy, and would do anything to help you. My mother, on the other hand, could be self-centered, untrustworthy, and irresponsible. My dad taught me practical things, like managing my money and strong work ethic, and my mother showed me what would happen if squandered my money and indulged in bad habits like she did.

On the other hand, my mother was a dreamer, and she fostered my love for art and my passion for reading. But while my mom liked to live in a fantasy, my dad was a hard opposite and only liked things that were “real”. My mother kept her heart on her sleeve, and my dad kept it close to the chest. I learned a lot from both of them – sometimes what to do right, and sometimes the consequences of doing things wrong. Both positive and negative experiences can be learning experiences if you keep your mind open.

From my mother I utilize my imagination and heart to weave stories and art; and because of my dad I know how to practically utilize these talents in a responsible way, such as making a business out of it. I am a product of both of them, good and bad, and I aspire to be the best of both their worlds.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Main (profile) profile image taken by Margarita Oguilve

All other photos by me. Original poetry by Dana Lockhart.

Faceless woman art is titled “Mirror III”, artist K. Surls

Eye art is titled “Eye Love Hue”, artist K. Surls

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is often the x-factor that differentiates between mild and wild success. The stories of

Mental Health
Mental Health: Inspiring Stories of Perseverance and Resilience

As the prevalence of mental health issues increases and affects an ever larger number of

Leadership Development
Finding & Living with Purpose

Over the years we’ve had the good fortunate of speaking with thousands of successful entrepreneurs,