Kas Sennings: A Raw, Human Author
A deeper view into the author behind A Lovers Covenant.
“I just want to be that spark that gets people to think,” Kas Sennings expressed. Reading his book of poetry, A Lovers Covenant, and speaking with him, nothing emulates who he is better than those words. At twenty-seven years old, this may be his first published book, but the deep emotional thinking that is evoked through his poetry has followed him from a very young age. His book was born out of an experience of love and heartbreak. Gracefully, Kas touches on topics of personal transformation, spirituality, and the meaning of life itself. Elements of Kas’s identity, the fact that he was born in Juventino Rosas Mexico and now lives in Dallas, Texas, give some insight into who he is. Nonetheless, there is no better way to understand someone deeply than through their art. Take the time to read Kas’s art and let this article be an additional component to that understanding.
In the first pages of his book, Kas explains that he wrote it three separate times. The first was written in the whirlwind of infatuation. The next in the despair that is heartbreak and the final time was when he found himself as the love he was always searching for.
This book is not simply made of love poems, it is one man’s unique healing experience. Kas did not intend to write a book. Poetry has always been his way of coping with intense emotions and experiences. However, writing poems throughout his experience with love did not necessarily soothe him. As he explained it to me, he can write a poem and walk away still steeped in pain. Writing many of the poems in his book was incredibly hard for him, but he noticed that he kept pushing himself to write more. At a certain point, he understood that there was a different purpose at work: others were supposed to read his poems.
Kas initially hired an editor but felt that his edited words were unrecognizable to him. He wanted the words to represent his raw human experience, so he parted ways with his editor. Reading the book, one notices misspellings and grammatical errors. These were all present when Kas first wrote his poems and he intentionally included them to ensure that he presented something completely honest to the world. “It doesn’t have to be professional to be beautiful,” he said.
Considering the poems in this book are unedited, I was curious if Kas worried that some people may not understand the messages that he meant to convey. When faced with this question, he reiterated what he said at his book release, “If you don’t see the value in what I wrote it doesn’t hurt me and I do not dislike you for it. There is nothing in it that is yearning for me to be acknowledged.” Art is highly subjective which faces many artists who are pursuing success with the hurtful truth that someone else will decide whether or not their creation is “worthy.” Being that Kas has large aspirations, such as becoming a New York Times Best Selling Author, it is very impressive that he can stay grounded in his intent to share pure, truthful art rather than gain validation from those who read his work.
Even though it is not his main goal, Kas certainly does receive validation for this book and his other poetry. He has built a very successful Instagram page and gets messages from people who have read his book telling him how deeply his words resonated with them. Instagram is, as he described it, quick and easy but lacking in meaning. He would prefer people to walk up to him and share a conversation about his book and their own personal experiences. This is a claim made by many, but I believe Kas truly meant it. When I shared my favorite excerpt from his book during our interview, he listened intently and allowed it to ignite further conversation.
As a child, this author was quiet and simply didn’t enjoy talking to others. He grew up isolated and insecure in his own potential. Writing his first poem in fourth grade, in which he described his mother as a flower, he found that poetry helped him cope. This led him to love simple things. Simple things that could take on entirely new meanings for each individual person. Kas started to see that he had creative potential before writing his first poem. His uncle mailed him small sketches that he drew during his time in prison. Kas doodled images to send back to him, and in the gloom that was his young insecurity, he found hope that he may be able to create something beautiful, too. When he was six years old, Kas’s uncle took his own life. At a very young age, he was faced with the reality that people could simply disappear. He was terrified and drowned in the idea that everyone around him would vanish. There are lines throughout A Lovers Covenant that reflect Kas’s spirituality and deep understanding that life is temporary. As he describes it, his spiritual beliefs center around being completely present in the current moment of his own experience.
Concerning how Kas views himself as a writer, he said, “I am the believer that my thoughts are not my thoughts. Everything that I think and everything that I believe comes from something beyond me. I simply am the thing that puts it into words.”
This artist, however, is not just a poet or writer of short stories. He draws. Throughout the book, two illustrations appear. Kas believes that they are a visual representation that “I am not just talking about flesh, I am not just talking about people, I am talking about the idea of what a person is.” His art experience stretches back to the drawings that he exchanged with his uncle and he is fully self taught. Jazz inspired art, with its abstraction, resonates most with him. The two characters that he depicts in the book are of this style and full of symbolism. The doodled lines within their forms represent the complexity of people and love itself. The red versus yellow coloration depicts the hot passion of love and the subtle adoration of that love. In his final drawing at the end of the book, a rose demonstrates that love comes from within.
When you read this book, you will see into the author’s deepest thoughts and feelings. If you have an ounce of my nosiness, you will also inevitably wonder if the woman who he writes about has read these words. I asked Kas if he knew whether or not she had read any of the book. He chuckled, “Yes, I do know, because I got a message.”
Kas is working now on his first novel, Lamenting Clementine. Unlike his book of poetry, this one will be written in a more classical style. The book, based in the 1950s, follows the small experiences that litter the life of a man who is coming to realize that his time on Earth is temporary. He wants people to read the story and learn more about themselves through it. For some, the small moments won’t seem important, but the author believes that others will recognize their heavy significance.
Read A Lovers Covenant and you will be faced with a multitude of thoughts, emotions, and maybe even epiphanies. No two people will read the same words, take away the same messages. If you are to gain anything, Kas would like you to understand how truly insignificant everything is. To use that knowledge as a catalyst to live your life to the fullest.
To stay informed about what Kas does next, follow him @kassennings on Instagram. You can find the link to purchase A Lovers Covenant through his Instagram, or you can search the title on Amazon.com.
Kas’s favorite poem from A Lovers Covenant:
If the fire of your existence
Ever dimmed from this earth
I would burn everything in
Sight to bring to this world your warmth again