“If I had to choose one thing that’s my job or that pays my bills that’s being a poet.”
Kyle Tran Myhre aka Guante is an MC, two-time National Poetry Slam champion, activist, educator and writer. He and/or his work has appeared on Upworthy, MSNBC, Welcome to Night Vale, Racialicious, Feministing, MPR, Everyday Feminism, the Progressive, City Pages’ “Artists of the Year” list and URB Magazine’s “Next 1000” list, and he has performed everywhere from the United Nations to the Soundset hip hop festival to hundreds of colleges, clubs, and theaters across the country.
In this episode of the podcast, Kyle talks about having a High School nickname become his public face. He also talks about using different names in different contexts and the strengths and weaknesses of being known by different names. Kyle talks about making the bulk of his living traveling to colleges and high schools to work as a poet and teaching artist and how he can leverage being brought in as a poet and then create space for dialogue on the content of his work.
Kyle talks opens about race, gender, identity, positionality, power and activism and the role all of these things play in his work. He also talks about completing graduate school and being a thoughtful media activist.