I have found the edge of the bell curve is where the essence of humanity rests. Paradoxically, people seem to find experiences at the extreme to be fundamentally “relatable” in their detail.
Content advisory: This interview includes references to sexual assault.
What motivated / motivates you to write?
As a college student, I wrote poetry in secret and shared it with no one. It’s fair to say that I sublimated my love of creative expression into becoming a First Amendment and media lawyer. My stable career concealed the challenging circumstances of my personal life, which included raising a child with autism (as a single parent!) and a difficult childhood imprinted with traumas such as sexual assault.
Decades later during the pandemic, I returned to writing poetry to help process traumas haunting my sleep. Previously, words seemed inadequate to describe what happened to me as a child, much less understand it myself. Poetry provided the language. Writing traumatic experiences in imagistic, sensory-laden, detailed descriptions turns out to be the gold standard for evidence-based treatment of PTSD. The process reawakened the poet in me and quieted my severe nightmares.
Poetry helped me in another realm as well: communicating with my son while he was suffering from an incapacitating, multi-year medical flare and other frustrations as a neurodiverse individual. Mere words were not enough to reach him; I turned to the power of imagery and metaphor in poetry I wrote for him.
One of my earliest published poems, Come Back, marked an example of this.
While I lost my initial collection of secret poems, fragments continued to play in my memory like song lyrics. Often they became starting points for my later work, now enriched by more life experience and a longer arc of time for understanding it. All these factors motivated me to retrieve my once-buried dream of becoming a writer and poet.
What is the best piece of advice you have received? Or, what is the best piece of advice you would offer an aspiring writer?
The best piece of advice I ever received: free myself from the expectation that a writer should write every day on a prescribed schedule. My energy and focus can be irregular due to some of my own health challenges, similar to chronic fatigue. It’s important for me to feel free to create when inspiration strikes and otherwise to honor my need for rest or need to focus on other matters. Fortunately, the compact nature of poetry allows me to do this. It helped me so much when my mentor assured me that my sporadic approach is acceptable and no reason for guilt.
What do you believe is the function of your art?
The purpose of my art is reflection and connection. Art reflects the world around us, and, like a mirror, helps reveal things as they really are. It also offers a point of connection with others. I used to worry, too much, that some of my art could make people feel uncomfortable. Or people might be put off confronting experiences far outside the norm. Instead, I have found the edge of the bell curve is where the essence of humanity rests. Paradoxically, people seem to find experiences at the extreme to be fundamentally “relatable” in their detail.
Do you enjoy writing?
I do love writing. And if I’m not feeling that way, I take it as an important sign to take a break––now!
What are the most important steps an amateur writer can take?
Realize that, as with other things, you’ll get better with practice. Try to suspend your own judgment. At the same time, share your work as often as possible with other writers, so you can learn what is working and what could be more effective.
Who would you say are your literary forebears?
Lucille Clifton and Sylvia Plath top the list of GOAT poets who have influenced me: Clifton for her themes of resilience and Plath for introducing me to poetry in high school. I notice and admire much from other contemporary poets––such as Katie Condon’s use of humor in Praying Naked, Louise Glück’s punch with understatement in Wild Iris, and Terrance Hayes’ subversion of forms in American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin. In terms of novelists, my two contemporary favorites are Jhumpa Lahiri and Barbara Kingsolver for how their work embodies complex social dynamics. Last but not least, I draw inspiration from Emily Dickinson and Laura Hillendbrand (author of Seabiscuit), who produced literary gems despite their health challenges!
Who have you learned the most from?
While I’ve encountered many wonderful teachers, Allison Pitinii Davis (from Stanford’s Continuing Education Program) stands out as the most influential. She’s the mentor who freed me from unrealistic expectations about schedule (see answer #2 above). She also encouraged me to dip more often into autobiography at a time when I preferred the safer distance of metaphor and a universal voice. Impressing the relationship between form and content, she inspired me to follow my intuition experimenting with formal structures. Her teaching showed me the full range of tools available to me as a writer.
Where are the best places to live / visit as a writer?
I feel most at home in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bay Area foothills ground me with their constancy. Their heights offer endless perspective, both literally and figuratively. I get most of my ideas while out in nature––which can happen even while walking the dog!
KM Kramer is your pen name, why did you decide to use one?
I needed some separation between my professional identity as an attorney and my creative pursuits. Additionally, choosing my own name, my own first impression on readers, imparted me with a sense of freedom.
Can you share the details of any current projects?
I have a chapbook Remaking, forthcoming in February 2026, about the art of resilience. It contains many collaborations with artist Joanna Baker. Recently I completed a much larger manuscript, Selected Heirlooms. That collection examines impacts of narcissistic behaviors in society through use of myth, metaphor, and memoir in many playful forms—with relevance to the personal and political realms. The poem “Icarus (Revised)” appears in both Remaking and Selected Heirlooms. I’ve also started a new project focused on nature and experimental forms, tentatively titled Nature’s Guide.
KM Kramer is a writer, previously a First Amendment attorney, who feels most at home in California. She earned her undergraduate and law degrees at Stanford. Her creative works can be found in Action Spectacle, Rogue Agent, Free the Verse, Last Stanza Poetry Journal, and other places. Her debut poetry chapbook, Remaking, was longlisted by Frontier Poetry under a different title and is forthcoming by Finishing Line Press in 2026. Currently she is completing a manuscript, Selected Heirlooms, that explores intergenerational trauma.