Meet Zane Frederick

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Zane Frederick. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Zane, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

My resilience is rooted in my both my parents, and the lemons that life has given me. As nature has shown us, our caregivers are our default role models, and I’ve been lucky enough to have supportive, resilient ones. My parents have both been through their fair share of life’s ups and downs. Through their strength and perseverance, I’ve been able to model and manage my life around that. To look at them and think if they survived the worst of their days up until now, then I can survive my own worst days. It inspires me to keep going and to be the version of myself that not only younger me needed but also who the future me will need. I find great resilience and comfort in my friends, family, and community, but nothing is more empowering than having that strength in yourself.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m a local poet in Phoenix, Arizona. I first learned about poetry in the fourth grade, but didn’t truly pick up the craft until high school and college. During that development of my life is where I turned to poetry as a way to make sense of my emotions and the world around me. If I couldn’t articulate it logically, at least I could do it poetically.

The most special part of being a poet is connecting with our writers, readers, and community. It makes me think of all the decades worth of art that have translated to so many lives. How there truly is an artist in all of us, and we are all experiencing this humanistic life together, and what better way to connect and figure it out than through something as expressive as art!

I’m really looking forward to this fall because my new poetry collection, Tough & Tender, comes out October 22nd. This work highlights to polar opposites that Love causes us to feel. How one end, it can be tough, experiencing grief, loss, rejection, and other whirlwind emotions. While on the other, love can be so incredibly tender, showing us the softer edges and calmness that love brings us.

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

For my personal writing career journey, I found 3 main skills helpful: First, I have done quite a bit of research in the self publishing industry. Figuring out different platforms, weighing pros and cons, and networking with other self published authors on their journey. In turn, networking with the community and building friendships with other writers and artists has been a life saver. It’s been so liberating and joyful to connect with other artists, share ideas and cheer for each other’s triumphs. The other crucial skill I picked up was reading and writing even when I didn’t “feel” like it. I had to write out the bad poetry and I pushed myself to read work that I didn’t fully connect with because it exposed me to other styles of writing, approaches and perspectives.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

When I feel overwhelmed, it’s easy for me to shut down and abandon ship. I am quite an anxious person, so my strategies and skills to combat it and any overwhelming situations have broadened greatly. If I feel overwhelmed, I tend to do simple breathing techniques and grab a pen and my journal, then list out the thoughts that are overwhelming me. What’s on my to do list? What am I worried about? What are my “what ifs”? Part of overcoming any overwhelming sensations is understanding what I have control over in the moment and how to proceed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zanefrederickwrites.wixsite.com/poem
• Instagram: zanefrederickwrites
• Twitter: zane_frederick

Image Credits

Cole Seefus