The Obelisk Questionnaire: Ryan Kent
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Ryan Kent (ex-Gritter, ex-Rube)
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I guess it’s easier to say that I am a writer. I write mostly poetry and perform poetry sometimes in a live setting, but I don’t stand on the corner telling people I am a poet. Poetry is just what I do, mostly. If someone asks, I tell them I am a writer. When it comes to Dying Comes With Age, it’s not really an album I can categorize. It’s not simply a spoken word record and it’s not a typical record by an independent solo artist. It’s got elements of different styles in the orbit of rock and blues but it’s not really so cut and dry. It’s certainly nothing like LuLu and it’s nothing like An American Prayer which seems to be a knee-jerk reaction for some, which is fair. I think those are just easy records to gravitate towards because people don’t have a real point of reference which, again, makes it hard to categorize.
Describe your first musical memory.
Playing Thriller on my parents’ record player. CDs were the newest technology so their record player made it into my room. I would play the title track over and over again because I really enjoyed Vincent price’s voice, or it was jumping up and down on my bed listening to Sports by Huey Lewis & the News. That’s absolutely still one of my favorite records.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
There certainly have been a lot. I played the microphone in a heavy metal band in Richmond, VA, for 10 years. Played some big local shows and toured the US some with Gritter, but I guess, my favorite musical memory is how this entire record came together. I worked with folks I’ve admired for years. It’s ludicrous really.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Probably when I first took a philosophy course in high school. I grew up in small town Virginia and Christianity was the drink of choice for most people around there. I went to a Catholic church and pretty much believed what I was told. I never questioned anything. God is real. America is good. So on. However, when I first learned to start questioning the unquestionable, well, I fell down that rabbit hole and have continued falling down it and that’s been at times to my own detriment, but whatever.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Sometimes it leads to bad records. People tend to overintellectualize things which should be simple. On the other hand, you can’t make the same record a bunch of times unless you have a formula like Slayer or another band or artist parallel to that trajectory. In a perfect world, I guess, artistic progression would lead to better and more diversity and depth in art – but this isn’t a perfect world, and we have what we have.
How do you define success?
Being a person of their own means who is content with who they are and the place they’ve carved out for themselves in the world. Not being worried about falling out of last place is always key.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I guess, Donald Trump being elected to the Presidency. The walking back of Roe vs. Wade. The rise of fascism. The Pandora’s box which social media obviously became.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I do not have children and maybe if I was a different person or was living a different life that maybe would be a goal.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
I read this once somewhere: An artist’s intent is to invoke an emotion in another individual. That’s, I think, the best answer.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I failed out of college during my senior year in 2008. That was 14 years ago. I decided to go back to VCU this last fall to finish my BA in English. Potentially, I’ll complete this by the end of Summer 2023. After that I’m going to enroll in their MFA program so that I can work towards getting an MFA in Creative Writing. The goal is to teach creative writing in a college setting. Dave Smalley from Dag Nasty and ALL and Down By Law was randomly my editor at a newspaper in Fredericksburg, VA. He was an incredible mentor and I’d like to hopefully help guide college students in their quest. Plus, I think it would be fucking amazing to be a professor at the college I failed out of TWICE. I’m really looking forward to the completion of that.
https://instagram.com/poemsfordeadpeople
https://instagram.com/deadbookspublishing
https://instagram.com/rarebirdlit
