JANUARY 15 2022 INTERVIEW WITH KWANTUM PEAKZ
HOST : Kwantum Peakz, welcome and thanks for joining us!
KWANTUM PEAKZ: Pleasure’s mine and thanks for having me.
HOST: This is your first interview and it is a well-deserved one considering your years of experience as a poet as well as a slam poet. Those who know you well would say that there’s plenty to be said about you but I’m sure those who have just recently discovered you would appreciate knowing more about Kwantum, the writer. What would you like to tell them about your background?
KWANTUM PEAKZ: Well, the genesis of my story is rooted at the age 10 or 11. Even back then, I was a thinker but I was also bashful and reserved especially in large settings. Thankfully, I was somewhat committed to writing novels about my short life and puppy love mostly…You know it just felt right to me. I also participated in speech contests at my elementary school. Writing was a reliable outlet to express thoughts that as a pre-teen I didn’t bother to share with anybody. Then fast forward a few years later, I was introduced to rap music. The 1980’s and 1990’s was the golden age of rap music, I naturally gravitated towards it because the combination of wordplay, great beats and the unfiltered and uncut content was so powerful and provoking to me. Around that time, the rapper LL Cool J released a set of very original songs on his album entitled ‘’Bad’’. Some songs were sampled off Doo-Wop and Hard Rock but there was a smooth ballad, a slow jam entitled ‘’I need love’’. (Kwantum’s rendition: When I’m alone in my room sometimes I stare at the walls and in the back of my mind I hear my conscience call tell me I need a girl who’s as sweet as a dove for the first in my life I see I need love. There I was giggling about the games…). Remember now! I used to write about puppy love around that time so that song resonated with me. I believe it was one of the first songs I practically knew by heart and truly embraced. Years later, a TV show called Def Poetry presented by Russell Simmons on the HBO channel, now on YouTube, featured a long line-up of outstanding and very eclectic slam poets from the United States. The poets on the show also left their mark on me and opened my eyes even wider to the possibilities and my thoughts marinated more and more…The whole process was very incremental over several years. And here I am.
HOST: Okay that’s very interesting background information. With such an exposure and appreciation for words, I understand a lot better the sources of your inspiration, which have led you to write poetry. But what was the actual spark that actually got you to write poems?
KWANTUM PEAKZ: Ha! The short answer is a bald eagle. Seriously! I had never seen one close-up until the day I went trekking in an park about an hour from where I used to call home. The eagle just took flight from a tree top over head, it was so majestic and fabulous. When I got home, I grabbed a pen and paper to write about what I had witnessed…You know…In poetic form. I didn’t think twice about it, my time was up to start writing again…At least for fun. So, that poem about the eagle is called ‘’The Miracle of Life’’ and is in my soon to be released audiobook.
HOST: Wow! So, despite your earlier immersion in music and Def poetry, they hadn’t led to any concrete action on your part. So, an eagle created Kwantum Peakz? Is that what you’re saying to us?
KWANTUM PEAKZ: To a certain extent, yes. Little did I know that the eagle laid the groundwork for the dream and long term vision. I wrote the ‘’Miracle of Life’’ around year 2000 but bear in mind that my intent was far removed from becoming a slam poet or writing a book of poems. I was simply writing out of love of words and plain personal gratification. I didn’t really have a mission but I had a longstanding desire to scribble words and have fun with them again.
HOST: Okay, then what happened?
KWANTUM PEAKZ: Life happened. Between building a career, buying homes, relationships, getting married, having and raising children, travelling, breaking up, spiritual renewal, new opportunities and fresh outlooks and so on. All of them completely reshaped my mindset and perspective on life for the better. Everything happened because it needed to and I am grateful to be able to express my truth in every way it occurred. After ‘’The Miracle of Life’’, I wrote a couple of poems called ‘’Midnight Walker’’ and ‘’Keys to our Degrees’’ I wrote poems about girlfriends at the time as a tribute to them but also about my general trials and tribulation in both English and French languages. Then in 2017 my writing became much more purposeful and driven and in late 2018 Kwantum Peakz was born, as a slam poet.
HOST: Is it safe to assume that women have inspired you to a certain extent?
KWANTUM PEAKZ: Shhhhhh…They don’t need to know. I can blame LL Cool J for that as well as Anita Baker, Kem, Avant, Joe and the list goes on.
HOST: Oh! So I see you enjoy R&B music as well?
KWANTUM PEAKZ: Oh! Yes, most definitely.
HOST: Alright that’s good to know especially for all of the R&B fans out there. Let’s talk to the slam poet side of you now. Tell us about your first opportunity to performing your poems in front of an audience? How was that like?
KWANTUM PEAKZ: Sure. It was a spur of the moment decision actually because I had been a spectator at the slam events for a while. But that day, I reached the front door of the venue and distinctly recall thinking to myself: ‘‘Keep the $7 cover charge in your pocket, you’ll be slamming tonight.’’ The event is free for performers. So, I signed up for the slam contest on the entry form at the door. I could have eased into it by trying the open mic format, stress-free but I wanted to test the waters of competition from the outset. Then at some point, the host called up my name and I was in. My poem received several finger snaps of appreciation, my heart was thumping out of my chest from the excitement and my mouth was desert dry at the end of it, I could have sworn I wasn’t breathing for about 3 minutes but my delivery was good and I was happy. I became even more natural with time. I didn’t win the contest by the way.
HOST: Nice! Well, we’re glad you survived that experience and lived to spread the joy about it. Now, as many of us already know your audiobook will be launched on January 17th at 7:30pm (Eastern Standard Time in North America) with details to come on that date on your Kwantum Peakz Facebook page. So that’s (K-W-A-N-T-U-M / P-E-A-K-Z). People will learn what your name means by listening to the audiobook. How are you feeling 2 days before the upcoming launch of your book?
KWANTUM PEAKZ: Wow! I feel eternally indebted to a flying eagle I can tell you that much. I feel incredibly fortunate for my life’s experiences to be expressed as they were in the book. Everything just feels right and done the right way. With 2 days to go, I feel like I’m tipping my hat to 5 years ago, January 17th, 2017, when I felt something in my spirit shift and it walked me through this entire process. I never ran through it but I definitely paced myself and stayed in my lane. You know at this point, I find that it’s hardly about me anymore but more about the ways my poems will be received and perceived by people. I represent an infinitely small piece of poetry and it’s not something I’m taking lightly because I love it so much.
HOST: Well, that can partially explain what makes your poems so meaningful and rich. Can you tell us a little bit more about what people can expect from your audiobook?
KWANTUM PEAKZ: Ha! I can crack open a few things. They can expect to listen to the end result of great cooperation between myself and a few chosen ones that I care a lot about. They know who they are. I narrated the content, selected the music and one special person put it all together (https://inthacity.com/liquidsunshine/shop/). If you already have a liking for poetry, this could supplement it and if you’re fairly new to poetry, then welcome to a new kind of poetry and I hope you enjoy the music-free version or with the beats. Both versions are available on the website (January 17 *music-free version no longer available on this site ) in the shop section. I also have to extend another big thanks to my webmaster whose been instrumental in providing me with a great platform to go public.
HOST: Absolutely, teamwork makes the dream work. Finally, what can we look forward to from Kwantum Peakz in 2022?
KWANTUM PEAKZ: 2022! It should be the year of the updated and expanded Liquid Sunshine hard cover book, if all goes smoothly, it will be released in the summer. And maybe there will be more pleasant surprises. Who knows? I’m still writing and keeping busy for now.
HOST: Kwantum Peakz, it was great to hear your story. I personally will be visiting your website to purchase your audiobook. Any final thoughts? The floor is yours.
KWANTUM PEAKZ: Alright, thanks for the opportunity. I’ll say this. At the Ottawa Urban Legends Poetry Collective events, the poet is forbidden to address the audience until he or she is told to: “SPEAK!” from inside the gladiator circle. So, I have spoken and now I truly look forward to hearing from all of you online or by other means. And…you won’t need my permission to speak to me. Browse the website, buy the book and I trust your love for poetry, as a whole, will grow fonder. Peace and love.
HOST: Kwantum, thanks again and we’re all counting down the days to the 17th.