Creativity makes the world spin, that much is certain. It also drives the voices of tomorrow to continue working on their craft, as is the case with Kyra Horton.
Hailing from Chicago, Kyra Horton is a young creative who currently attends the University of Southern California. With her move to California for college, it’s no surprise that her creative skills have only gotten sharper. Not only is she a poet, but she’s also a painter, clothing designer, and has other skills under her belt.
With everything that drives Horton, we figured she was the perfect person to sit down with and talk to about the reality of being creative. A sit down between Horton and myself was initially in the works, but after a few weeks of scheduling conflicts, we were happy to conduct an online interview with her.
Marcus Pruitt: Who are you? Where are you from? Can you give me a brief bio about yourself?
Kyra Horton: My name is Kyra Horton, and I’m a creator. I’m a multidisciplinary artist from Chicago. My primary medium is spoken word poetry but I also write, paint, and design clothing. Art is an integral part of my life, it influences everything that I do, it’s who I am.
MP: What led to you exploring writing, music and your other creative endeavors? Have you always been creative, or was it something you got into later in life?
KH: I started creating, in the way that I do now, pretty late in life. When I was younger, I had a very limited view of what an artist was, and I didn’t think I fit into that category. It wasn’t until high school that I started to truly explore my creativity. I started writing poetry after being inspired by Chicago’s Louder Than A Bomb poetry competition. I was always good with words but that experience really showed me how to use them. I’ve loved poetry ever since, venturing into written poetry, and now melodic poetry, poetry over music. It’s really the love for the craft that keeps me finding different ways to deliver it.
MP: You recently launched Early Metamorphosis. Can you tell me about how that came to life?
KH: Early Metamorphosis is the manifestation of the common theme in all of my creative work, which is evolution. It comes from my deep connection to butterflies and the process of change that they undergo. I believe it signifies an evolution we all experience. It’s in the starting phases, but it really will be a hub for all my creative ideas and endeavors. I plan to birth a podcast from it, sell custom clothing pieces, and so much more.
MP: Can you talk to me about your book Cries of a Butterfly and how it has shaped your recent creative endeavors?
KH: Cries Of A Butterfly is my heart. It’s the accomplishment that showed me that I can do anything. Creating that book, start to finish, on my own, made me fearless in my pursuit towards creative expression. I published a book at 18-years-old and set the bar extremely high for myself. Now in all my creative endeavors, I’m trying to be better than I was yesterday.
MP: What do you hope to accomplish, in the long term, as a creative?
KH: In the long term, I want to accomplish a creative life that is prosperous while still being completely authentic to my own visions and ideas. I want to make money from my art. I want to be able to do what I love full-time and have the resources to have my work reach as many people as possible. I see a future full of collaboration and community. In the long term, I want creativity to be a bridge; for me and for my community.
MP: How do you remain hopeful with the ever-changing state of the world, especially as a black person?
KH: Hope is embedded in my ancestry. A lot of the time it was all our people had. I believe hope was passed down to us. This world is brutal to black people, if not deadly, and in spite of that we grow, build, love, and thrive. My people give me hope. They give me strength. My comrades working towards liberation beside me, help me believe in a future brighter than our present.
MP: Is there anything that you have coming up in the future that I didn’t touch on?
KH: My full-length album of poetry, The Silencer, was released on February 11, 2022, and I’m so excited for people to share this art with me. I poured out my heart for this project, and I feel so lucky to share this vulnerable space with all my listeners.
If you want to check out Kyra Horton’s work, you can find her Instagram @kyratheecreator. You can also check out her new poetry album, The Silencer, here. To dive deeper into the rest of her creative endeavors, head over to her Linktree here.
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