An Interview with Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre

Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre visited the Pitt Greensburg campus on Tuesday September 25th and Wednesday September 26th. Kyle known by his stage name as Guante, is a two-time National Poetry Slam champion. He is also a well-known spoken word poet, activist, and educator.

1.) What inspired you to become a poet?

The relationships I had with my friends really helped me to realized that I wanted to do spoken word poetry. Most of my friends did spoken word poetry and I would go to their shows, and that’s when I realized how much I wanted to do something like that. I did not feel as if I had to do spoken poetry as a career but I chose to do it because I fell in love with it when I saw my friends doing it.

2.) What are your poems mostly about?

Most of poems would consist of themes of power, activism, and a relationship between larger and little things. I want to make a lasting impact on the world, and writing about those themes helps me to do just that. It also helps me to bring awareness to issues within society.

3.) Why do you write about those themes?

I believe art brings an opportunity to speak about such topics as those. Writing about those topics have given me a chance to bring these issues to light. Art presents us with many opportunities to speak about issues that we face in today’s society.

4.) Who are some of the people that have inspired you?

Some of the people that have inspired me are Patricia Smith and Bao Phi. Patricia Smith is an activist and I learned a lot from seeing her perform her works of poetry. Same goes for Bao Phi. They both helped me to realize that I wanted to do spoken poetry as a career.