Meet Marshall Pampkin | Spoken Word Artist, Filmmaker, Army Veteran

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marshall Pampkin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marshall, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
It’s been mostly a chaotic drive of blending artistic expression, a desire to connect and uplift, and a general sense of there being something “more” on the horizon begging to be discovered. Not just for myself, but in the hopes that I can make a positive, lasting impact on those around me. In my early years as a spoken word artist and event emcee, I just wanted people to believe in themselves. I couldn’t stand seeing people, friends & total strangers alike, succumbing to the same self-doubt, confusion, insecurity, and sense of loneliness that I often struggled with. Putting my own spin on something that a friend & mentor once told me, I often profess that we are all mentors; by virtue of (if nothing else) the fact that you never know who’s watching & learning from your example. I took that to heart and started to run with it. I was revisiting the works of Henry David Thoreau and Jack Kerouac, simultaneously getting acquainted with the writings of Marcus Aurelius. I chose to start living deliberately and began to find more satisfaction in life, even amongst the conflict & curve balls that we often encounter. I do not claim to be any kind of paragon. I wanted people to learn & understand that if I can learn to navigate the perplexities in such a way as to find & create my own meaning, and happiness, and balance of fulfillment in this life, they can too. They, too, can turn pain into art & poetry. They, too, can be a mirror for the happiness & peace of mind that lay on the other side of sadness & dissonance. They, too, can uplift themselves. In turn, inspiring others to do the same and collectively creating the proverbial rising tide that raises all ships. Someone once said that one person may or may not change THE WORLD, but they can change A WORLD, one world at a time. I’ve heard many versions of this notion over the years, that’s the one that resonates most with me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
While I can easily spend 3 or 4 days conversing on poetry and artistic expression, I’ve always struggled with discussing my own art, outside of specific context. So I hope you’ll forgive me my words meander. I am a poet & spoken word artist, although I’m also in school for digital cinematography now, and have been doing video work to one degree or another for several years now. Building a career as any stripe of poet is, honestly, a labor of love. You can, and to some extent should, quantify & work for your worth. In my experience, however, the poets who get the furthest are business-minded, but ultimately in it for the art & human connection. I’ve done far more free events than paid, and when I was paid it was often through bartering. But I seldom mind that. While bartering isn’t always well-balanced, I think that in some situations it far more honest and mutually beneficial. These days I’m more discerning: there are some types of events where I’ll charge a flat or hourly rate, then others where I’ll ask only enough for gas money and to cover a meal. Then, of course, there are things that I will volunteer for. If I get something on the back-end, great! If not, well…I was there for the love of writing & performing poetry, not money. In addition to the different dynamics that go into understanding your worth and effective value, two other lessons that have helped me along the way are: – Stay humble, but stay hungry. Stay hungry, but stay humble! *I’m just going to leave that to marinate in the mind a bit.*

– All your dreams, desires, and intentions don’t amount to squat if you’re not putting in the work and putting pen to paper. That’s both writing and learning from & through other writers. Poetry writer, prose writers, songwriters, academic authors, and fiction novelists. Like any other creative, a poet’s inspiration (whether directly or indirectly) is the world in which they live. So live in it and learn from it. There are plenty of people who can & will help you hone your craft, but no one is actually going to do it for you. One of the greatest tools that I’ve ever picked up, and still have to this very day, is a dictionary/thesaurus. Not just dictionary.com or a mobile app (of course I use those too) but a physical, practical dictionary and/or thesaurus. In fact, it’s only been in the past couple years that I no longer carry a pocket-edition. But when I’m writing or leading a group in exercises, that’s what I use.

Again, I could do a 3-day seminar on my answers to this question and still barely scratch the surface.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, of course I’d take them to the event that I currently host on Wednesday evenings at Jives Coffee Lounge in Old Colorado City. Film school honestly does take up most of my time, so I’m a little more out of touch these days than I was before the pandemic. However, a significant portion of that time would actually be spent in nature. Let’s assume that they flew-in Sunday morning, and out on Saturday afternoon:

– Sunday – Lunch at Wade’s Cafe and then time to settle & relax from the trip.

– Monday – Start off with a 2 or 3-hour morning hike through Red Rock Canyon Open Space. Possibly longer if we stop for writing & meditation. Then maybe an easy afternoon around downtown.

– Tuesday – Open day, but possibly with dinner out at Jake and Telly’s Greek Taverna.

– Wednesday – A short trek up the Paul Intemann trail, probably just to the “prayer wheel” and back. A couple hours touring the shops in Manitou Springs. Then home, lunch, and a walk around Old Colorado City before open mic.

– Thursday – Open day, but possibly with dinner out at DAT’s Italian.

– Friday – Weather/roads permitting, start with a morning drive up to Devil’s Playground & Pikes Peak. Donuts & coffee at the peak. Then back down and do some running around. Visit places that might have piqued my friend’s interest but we hadn’t hit yet. Most likely end the night at Trail’s End Taproom or over fondue at The Melting Pot or Mona Lisa.

– Saturday – Get up early, make sure that everything is packed-up, then take a morning stroll through Garden of the Gods. Have brunch at Jives Coffee Lounge. Then off to the airport.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
On the occasion that I run poetry workshops, I typically open by saying, “It is we, the dreamers, who breathe life into that which so many quietly hold dear in their hearts and minds, and are often unsure or seemingly unable to effectively express. So, if the human soul has no boundaries except those by which we discipline ourselves, why shouldn’t the same be true of our creativity? Particularly when one word from you can & will speak volumes to someone else?” I firmly believe in this. So, first I want to give a shoutout to my 8th grade reading & literature teacher, Fern C. Waskovich, who first encouraged me to write poetry. To Neil D. Ray, friend & mentor who took a chance on encouraging me to step out of the shadows. To Al Black for reminding that sometimes I just need to stop and breathe. To LeJuane “El’Ja” Bowens, who is living proof that the smallest honest deed has greater impact than the grandest of intentions. To Richard “aka Dick” Ostrander for reminding me by his own example to get out of my comfort zone, to learn, grow, and test myself. To Nicholas Lyle “Nikolai” Brodeur (R.I.P.) for calling me out in front of crowd…I never had a chance to properly thank you before you died. But, in challenging me, you gave me one of the greatest gifts that could ever receive. And to every other artist that I’ve encountered in my travels. Whether directly or indirectly, you each contributed to all that I am.

Website: https://mpampkin.myportfolio.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poetnorthstar/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/poetnorthstar/

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-VECNOpTZek699TnDcjuyg

Image Credits
Jason Asselanis