Author's Note: When asked about favorite creators, Cassie Dallas identified writers whose work she regarded as tender, quality, form conscious, intentional, ugly, gross, disgusting. Perfectly not aesthetic. Satisfied by disdain and distaste, she makes her work like she bakes her cupcakes. Substituted with whisked, watered-down sour cream to restore moisture. Sprinkled with cinnamon to breathe flavor into the unfrosted ball of bread. Her work tastes like seagulls, brushed with salt on the pier; whip cream dusted with dirt; the juice of sour pickles left on the lip of her grandma. Her work: made for no one, acquired by some.
Cassie is a Belligerent Old Woman
People please, could never be.
Of those that inspire her most,
The people in her life
Friends and family
Writers, both friends and famous,
Her grandmother, she admires most
She shares her thoughts and opinions freely
No bounds to her speech.
Quite simply it's her way or the highway
And before you take the highway,
Know that it is a long, dark, icy drive
With billboards of granny’s face along the way
So you will never escape her persistence.
Some see it as mean,
But Cassie aspires to be unapologetic and firm in her purpose.
Cassie is Cancelling Rejection
Rejection is juvenile,
Living in the closet and under the bed.
As an adult,
The ghosts were busted,
struck with the splatter blaster.
Rejection has not affected my creative process
when I'm writing,
what matters to me is whether I like what I'm writing
whether I believe in what I'm saying.
Lucky to write in collaborative environments
where the people who are giving me feedback,
I trust them and value their opinion.
They're trying to make my work the best that it can be.
Their feedback is not rejection, even if there is constructive criticism.
The most important thing to me is that I like what I've made,
other people's opinions come second
or last.
Rejection does not influence my creative process at all.
Cassie Does Not Subscribe to Censorship
“I don’t know if we can print this”
Creativity can shield against the ignorant.
I've been censored before.
Even in the most welcoming spaces,
With wonderful people,
The man always has our necks under his foot.
In writing, within systems,
I've received pushback for doing things that were perceived as political.
Sure, these things are political,
but that's an easy way to write off issues that affect everyone's day to day life.
Of course it's not polite,
It’s genocide.
Yes, it is provocative,
It’s poetry.
It’s supposed to evoke emotion
And propel action to change the world.
I do not believe in censorship.
But it is alive and crippling,
I've encountered it limping through institutions.
In the face of suppression,
I pivot and adapt
To make flowers grow in darkness.
In writing,
I'm willing to edit pieces to a certain point, but if the voice is diluted too much,
then I make peace with the fact that it's not going to be published.
I do not give them the satisfaction of a fight.
I resist in other ways
trying to get these misunderstood pieces
published other places,
Somewhere my passion won’t die and
My vocal cords won’t be used to strum a tune
With an artificial melody.
I would rather bleed out for my work
Under my own volition,
Or accept that it’s not meant to be,
Before I let my tongue lick
the rotten egg seal of death.
When in doubt,
just continue to write
continue to push back
against the impulse to censor yourself,
The little voice in your head,
The patriarchy, capitalism, the university,
Don’t let that reign over your own voice.
Don’t let your voice skip a beat.
Cassie Believes Poetry Cannot Change the World
You can't change the world with a poem,
In my dreams I can change society with my work.
In a dream scenario,
There are so many things I would change:
End racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, climate change,
Just to scratch the surface.
Those are broad strokes.
My work could never achieve these feats,
I'm writing for myself anyway,
but when I think outward,
Perhaps my work could do one of those things for one person.
Then I would think that that impact would be worth it.
It is really naive to think that a poem could change any of that,
especially since we're living in a time where people don't really read poetry.
If I could dream,
I would do all of those things,
One person at a time.
Cassie is a Creator of Support and Disgust
One of the most meaningful things in life that I took part in creating
is not a physical piece of art.
The continuous contribution to sculpt a positive culture with the communities I engage in,
whether it's within friendships, personal relationships, organizations,
whether I'm working as an employee, volunteering,
whether as a member of a club or a student in a class.
Trying to create positive communities and uplift people and their voices is important to me.
This type of creation is central to my goals as a person and the kind of impact I want to leave on the world.
I hold space for communities in my work,
Reflecting them in my writing.
Writing is a space where people can explore different parts of themselves
even the parts that live in the shadows,
pieces of existence uncomfortable to explore in the real world.
Constantly carving a masterpiece,
trying my best to contribute positively, enter spaces with empathy, compassion and an open mind, working to leave things better than when I entered.
Cassie Dances in Silence
I enjoy peace and quiet.
I sit in silence when I'm home.
When I do press play,
It is the same song in a loop.
The same couple of songs,
over and over again,
because if I like a song,
I might as well just listen to it over and over until I don't like it anymore,
then dance in silence until I find a new song to listen to.
When I'm like riding the bus or doing the dishes,
Songs may play.
But a lot of the time, honestly, most times,
I'll do the dishes in silence.
Amused by the sound of the dripping sink,
Undercurrent of electricity beneath my feet,
Or the buzz of the fly above the overflowing trash.
Leave Cassie Alone
If we were to trade places,
what's one thing you should know about me?
Keep my life going.
Protect my peace.
When people meet me, they think that I'm a really big extrovert.
Don’t listen to them.
Day to day, I live a very introverted lifestyle.
I am going home after class.
I'm eating dinner by myself.
I'm gonna write and then I'm gonna read and I'm gonna do my homework.
And it's gonna be very quiet and peaceful.
I love to yap. I like to talk to people. I complete the social tasks of my day.
But if you were to be me,
Let me exist happily alone.
To read Cassie's feature on Simone, see "Simone Minor Doesn’t Care If Her Name is Remembered"
