Sierra DeMulder Supports TWLOHA With Release of “Today Means Amen”

Sierra DeMulder is an internationally touring spoken word poet. She is a two-time National Poetry Slam champion, a thrice-published author, and one of the founders of Button Poetry. This past September, DeMulder partnered with poet Tonya Ingram to write a piece for To Write Love on Her Arms in honor of National Suicide Prevention Week. Her most recent book, “Today Means Amen“, is forthcoming this February. Andrews McMeel Publishing has generously agreed to donate $1 per book purchased between now and February 9th to TWLOHA.

For our readers who aren’t familiar with you or your work, can you please tell us a little about yourself?

Well, I am a professional poet. I perform across the country but I also teach locally and run a summer writing camp for high school students. I live in Minneapolis and am 29 years old. I love to cook and can occasionally be found running but only if it’s nice out or there is some sort of animal chasing me. I am also a proud feminist and dog mom.

Why did you choose to support TWLOHA? 

Due to my own history and the struggles of my loved ones, I have always been incredibly passionate about mental health advocacy. You can read a little more of my story here.

I asked my publisher to donate to To Write Love on Her Arms because, to put it simply, I believe in the power of sharing stories. Across time and cultures, humans have always been drawn to storytelling, whether through novels, film, blog posts, or poems. We find ourselves in the voices of others and through this discovery become more sure of our own. I believe my job as a poet is to be a sort of two-way mirror. When I reveal my own story–my suffering and my truths–I am reflecting the fears and triumphs of others.

If stories are what connect us, I believe TWLOHA, as an organization, is what brings us together. It’s the common thread, the warm fireplace we gather around, a safe space to unwrap some of life’s thorniest gifts. We need platforms like TWLOHA to find others and ourselves.

How has writing poetry helped in your recovery?

For me, writing is all about the empowerment that comes from articulation. I write to better understand my own thoughts, to untangle whatever is knotted in my head. Whether a free-write or a poem or a journal entry, the process of applying words to an experience or emotion is cathartic. It doesn’t matter if you share it with someone else or rip it up and throw it away–writing is a form of exhale. Its practice allows you say, “This is what I know and this is what I don’t know. I felt this. I was here.”

What does the word “healing” mean to you?

I think healing is something that is ongoing. Every day, I am recovering from myself and the things that happen to me. Every day, I am learning more about myself. Healing is both sacred and ordinary. It’s about creating sustainable, holistic changes in your life that pave the way towards wellness, but it’s also about forgiving yourself for not being perfect and making mistakes. Healing, to me, is being gentle with yourself no matter where you are on your journey.

You can preorder Sierra’s book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or from your local independent bookstore.