Getting to Know Poet + Cyclist Mackenzie Myatt
The 'In Defense of Big Dreams' author is sharing some great advice!
Hey hey!
Two quick announcements before we get into our chat with Mackenzie Myatt.
First, have you checked out our webshop yet? If you haven’t, give it a look—and remember, a % of profits go to support orgs that get girls in sport, while the rest of profits from merch and books by Molly Hurford go directly back into the biz so we can get more young women athletes writing and more young girls seeing themselves in sport!
Second—if you have a great story, essay, or piece of advice that you wish you’d known when you were a young woman athlete (or you know someone else with a great story), Anthology Submissions Are Open!
ICYMI, we just announced Mackenzie Myatt as our first author putting out a book with Strong Girl Publishing. Her book of poetry, In Defense of Big Dreams, will be out this fall. If you’re already subscribed here, you’ll find out the day it launches. If you’re not subscribed yet, what are you waiting for?!
Here, we wanted to chat with Mackenzie all about her writing process… and get a few cycling tips too!
Do you remember when you started writing poetry? How old were you and what got you into it?
I was very young when I first started writing poetry, I think I was about 10 or 12. I was writing little poems about nature in little notebooks. I think it even started with short songs. I have one vivid memory of jumping on the trampoline that I BEGGED FOREVER FOR singing a song that I came up with. I also remember bringing notebooks to family dinner in case I came up with any ideas.
Which came first, riding or writing?
Oooh, good question. My dad got me into mountain biking ASAP so I think it’s a tie! I learned to ride a bike about 5 or 6 years old in the basketball court of my high school. I also remember very early doing kids MTB short track races.
Do you remember the first athlete-related poem you did? When you did write that first one, was there a 'click,' like 'ahh, this is what I should be doing!'?
I may have written one or two athletic poems in my teens but mostly not. The two things were always very separate sides of me, the sporty, competitive side and the part of me that loved books and writing, playing with language. I always enjoyed being outside and being active, but it was rarely creative. I was a gymnast for a long time and there’s not much creativity there, it’s extremely structured. And being active, whether it was cycling or whatever we were doing in gym class was always just - how hard can you go? There wasn’t much thinking there. It was only very recently when I took ownership of my training that I really started digging into the mental side of sport and trying to figure out what was working for me and what wasn’t and why on a very personal level. But after that, for sure I felt a click. I didn’t know for sure until I showed my husband and asked if he thought it was good or not. I always look for a smile or a laugh, that’s what I want my poetry to produce.
You write about riding a lot, but do you get ideas while on the bike or do they come to you after? (If you do get them on the bike, do you write them down or just try to remember?)
Nowadays I get a lot of ideas on the bike, especially solo rides. I try my best to remember them, but sometimes I do make a note on my phone if it’s more than one line.
Has writing poetry about biking changed anything for you on the bike?
It’s interesting because I started writing about cycling less than a year ago and it was a time of great joy but also of great frustration. I found myself noticing joy on the bike a lot more than I used to; I wrote about the act of writing and how joyful that can be. I was also frustrated that it took me that long to 1) start writing again. 2) To feel really strong on the bike again, and 3) to put both of those things together when now it seems obvious to combine my two favourite things. I used to think it would be too mechanical to write about cycling. There’s a fine line there. But what has writing poetry about cycling changed for me? It has made me more mindful of joy and therefore more likely to feel joy. It has made me a happier person. I also like to turn frustration into humour and be able to laugh at things. After all, it’s just bikes!
OK, because you are a cyclist, we have to put it in here... Best couple of tips for new cyclists?
It’s not new and it’s definitely not unique, but have fun! And try a whole bunch of different things. There are so many different ways to ride a bike, people to ride with, surfaces - ‘disciplines’. I raced mountain bike, cyclocross and road in college and I loved it, but I still didn’t take cyclocross or road seriously. I didn’t really give either of them a chance. I thought I wanted to be a mountain biker and that I would always be one, that there was a clear path to a future there. I was wrong and I closed doors because I was ignorant. Be open to every opportunity! If something excites you, try it. That’s what is currently guiding all of my decisions about cycling and it makes me feel like a kid again.
You can read the rest of Mackenzie’s interview on the blog here!