Kelly Kurt doesn't refer to himself as a poet or anything else other than a father of six children. During his life he has explored many avocations. He has been a competitive athlete, singer, gardener, woodworker, ravenous reader, experimenter and philosopher. He will beam, and prattle on when asked about his personal high energy accelerator lab, his time as a bodybuilder, his green thumb, days in his band or the buildings he helped to restore, but gets the most joy from talking about his children.
Divorced for many years, he now lives in a 160 year old church building that he helped friends restore nearly a decade ago. Taking care of the church and its grounds is his daily occupation now and he draws from this passion for much of his current poetry.
In his early teens, his mother instilled a love of writing in him. Unfortunately, in his senior year of high school, his beloved mother died. But Kelly continued to write and his words often portrayed the unfairness and pain of life. But the wonder of nature, the beauty of friendship and mystery of life in general, would alter his poetic direction. Some universal themes would still work their way into his writing, but the day to day, seemingly mundane aspects of existence began to be explored as in depth topics. The spider, trapped in a sink by slippery, stainless steel walls, fruit, falling over-ripe to the ground and rotting and even just observations of the back of his own hand.
Until 2015, he had written almost exclusively for his own eyes. But with some encouragement he sought out a publisher for a humor book, inspired by his children. After many rejections, a contract was obtained. The thought of being published for humor alone sparked a desire to have his poetry seen as well, and he became a member of an online poetry site. This renewed his enthusiasm for verse and led to a new burst of creativity.
Kelly promotes the joys and benefits of writing to almost everyone he meets and encourages new poets to find their voice. He still wishes to be remembered as a loving father above everything else, even a poet.
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