top of page
IMG_6218.jpeg

kate burns

poet | survivor | advocate | philosopher

I am only a survivor because I am also a poet. It’s not so much that I found the words after my third failed suicide attempt, but that they found me. I knew from my very first poem that something far greater than I could comprehend wanted me to live. But in order to live I needed somewhere outside myself to hold all the pain, and hurt, and trauma I’d experienced over the years. And so, blank pages became the solace I'd been searching for my whole life.

 

When I first started writing I never intended to share any of it. How could I? It contained all my shame, all the worst moments of my life. But that’s exactly what made it so healing. I was free to write EVERYTHING exactly as I felt it and remembered it and experienced it without fear or judgement or the desire to write “good”.

That’s why I leave every other page in my books blank. It’s why I host trauma-healing poetry workshops.
And it’s why I advocate for writing as an incredibly powerful trauma-healing tool.

Because I've experienced first-hand just how powerfully being honest with yourself about what’s happened to you and how it affected you can change your life.
And I want that for every woman who’s experienced sexual trauma.

That's why I decided to publish my poetry and start sharing my story, because I want to help other women heal from what never should have happened to any of us.

the community

a group of incredible survivors who come together to work through our pain and trauma and write poetry

women's circle.jpg

the poetry

my first three books of poetry are a trilogy of healing from the pain of sexual assault, rape, and betrayal at the hands of men i knew and trusted.

sexual trauma healing collection

84770f_ab56ff2a5af943339f7dc9091e4ae27d~mv2_d_1988_2666_s_2 copy.png
MenareGarbage.png

coming fall 2025

hu(men).png

coming 2026

childhood trauma healing collection

ThingWithFeathers.png

also coming soon!

coming soon!

WhichWeathers.png

coming soon!

i breathe again

as i have never breathed before

who knew my lungs

could hold so much more?

who knew that i -

still a child in this life -

could find such peace,

could create within myself 

such light 

IMG_5676.HEIC

do right by your life

do right by you

 

do right

 

or simply,

 

do

©2022 by Kate Burns 

bottom of page