Meet Lefty Blondie Intern: Graham Kelly!
Graham Kelly is a senior at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is double majoring in English and History as well as earning a minor in Women and Gender Studies. He is currently the vice president of Duquesne’s Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, and he will be an intern for Lefty Blondie Press for the fall 2026 semester.
LBP: How has your relationship to writing changed throughout your life?
Graham Kelly: Ever since I was a kid, I loved writing stories. Whether they were about characters I made up going on mythical adventures or superheroes fighting crime, I’ve had an active imagination. Poetry was always something I was excited to learn about in school, too. It wasn’t until college when poetry and fiction came back into my life, though. I never thought it was going to blossom into something I do for fun. Now, I mainly write poetry about my life or the things I’m interested in, but I’ve taken fiction workshop classes during my college career to keep my imagination flowing.
LBP: How do you approach a new poem?
GK: Usually, it takes me a bit to get the inspiration for poetry. When inspiration strikes, I have to write down words I find interesting or phrases I hear out loud that would work great for a poem. I once wrote a poem entirely made up of things I heard while riding the T here in Pittsburgh. I ended up presenting it within a larger collection this year at the Sigma Tau Delta national convention in New Orleans!
When writing, it all depends on the mood and how I feel. I can’t force anything out, so I have to play the waiting game. It can take months or it can take minutes.
LBP: Longhand? Typed?
GK: I tend to type everything since it’s easier and more convenient for me when on the go. I’ll jot down ideas or words in my notebook if I’m in class or if I’m out with a notebook. My notes app is probably my best friend, at this point, and I have hundreds of notes open with little words here and there. Sometimes, I’ll go back to read what I wrote down and completely forget why I did or what it meant. Still funny to see my previous trains of thought!
LBP: What do you do in your non-generative times?
GK: I love collecting vinyl. There has been an uptick of people around my age collecting records or CDs, but I’ve been doing it since I was little. You can find me skimming around Jerry’s Records or The Attic here in Pittsburgh. I watch Formula One, and I’ve been a Ferrari fan since I was a kid collecting toy cars. I also enjoy spending time with my friends and playing my electric bass guitar and electric guitar!
LBP: Any recommendations for us?
GK: I have a lot of music recommendations, so for the sake of everyone, I won’t bog you down with them. Here's three of my favorite songs at the moment, though!
Andrew Gold - That’s How I'll Remember You
Lindsey Buckingham - Slow Dancing
Falco - Garbo
Lefty Blondie Press Editors' Choice Broadside Series
Self-identifying women or non-binary poets
of any age & any publishing history:
we want your short poems of 20 lines or less
Pay-what-you-can reading fee via Duosuma tip jar through November 15th!
All tip jar donations support LBP's mission
to promote the poetry of self-identifying women and non-binary people.
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