Cat Blackard
(1999 & 2002-2003)
How would you characterize the influence of your YWW experience in your life?
My years at YWW challenged me to responsibly grow into myself as both a person and an artist. Experiencing an environment of peers exploring their craft and identities together was like living in a movie. There were so many different walks of life; so many opportunities to see from a new vantage point. Being a teenager can be pretty awful, especially when you’re a trans person who doesn’t know themselves. At YWW I made some of my biggest artistic and interpersonal mistakes of my teen years and critically, when my immaturity got the best of me, I caught the static I so desperately needed to evolve into a better, truer person. These beautiful and difficult sessions were each as critically important to me as entire years of high school. What’s more, YWW is where I met my partner of 16 years. It’s a transformative place; nurturing lasting growth and friendships.
What’s the best advice you can give a Young Writer (in general or in your specific genre)?
Look carefully at the art you love, the work you really connect with, and consider what draws you to it. Beyond genre, beyond the set dressing – deconstruct it. When you’ve got all the pieces spread out, what parts of yourself do you see reflected there? These are your core themes; at least for this moment in time. Remember them, use them, because tapping into these themes will yield your most powerful work.
All that’s left is to be bold enough to put your art out into the world. Trust that it’s valid. If you’re connecting to the act of creating it, others will connect to the act of interfacing with it. Creation and celebration of art is a nurturing cycle. Be aware of your role in one to better know yourself through the other.
What do you find yourself most often reading or listening to lately and why?
My reading time is 50/50 research and pleasure. For research I take in a lot of history – especially regarding queer and otherwise marginalized people in the early 20th century, as well as books on esoteric spiritual practices. For pleasure I turn to hardboiled 1960s paperbacks and indie comics.
Music fuels everything I do. I always turn to artists who defy genre, like Kate Bush or Peter Gabriel. Anyone who uses sound to explore emotional spaces beyond what words alone can do is wielding powerful magic.