Check Out Morgan Hoog’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Hoog.

Hi Morgan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am an author and spoken word artist based out of Boulder, Colorado. I was raised on the stage, dancing before I could walk. I grew up training at Michelle Latimer Dance Academy in Cherry Creek, CO — a creative space that fueled me throughout my formative years. Dancing was the only way I knew to move through the world, it was the way I processed, experienced, and understood the world around me.

While attending Pepperdine University for classical music and dance, I began exploring poetry both as a form of expression and personal meditative practice. Poetry opened up a new world for me — one that was intimate, soft, and honest. In an act of faith and rebellion, I traded my dancing shoes for a pen and have never looked back.

In 2016, I shared a poem (the first poem I ever shared publicly) in response to the global #metoo movement on Facebook about my experience with sexual harassment and assault. At the time, I shared because I felt compelled to be a small voice in this huge, powerful movement that was happening around me.

I never expected I would receive a response, and definitely did not anticipate receiving such an overwhelming response. Women from all corners of the US started flooding my inbox — sharing personal stories and connecting over shared experiences. A true testament to the power of standing shoulder to shoulder with others and saying “Me too!” in unison. It’s the most empowering feeling of community and connection that I can imagine.

This experience prompted me to create an online campaign titled: Stories: Connection is Medicine. The campaign invited women to share their stories in a private online forum and receive a personalized and handwritten poem in response. The goal was to create a safe space for women to share their stories, hopes, dreams, traumas, and heartbreaks without the fear of being judged or shamed. The community created through this experience was what really inspired me to write my first book, Revolution Song.

Revolution Song is my debut work of poetry and prose. It was written in a time of stillness and rest brought on (forced upon me) by a Lyme disease diagnosis. The book explores the winding journey of entering womanhood. Words, strung together with equal parts hope and heartbreak, explore all the emotions and moments that make us human: grief, loss, elation, joy, love, and anxiety.

The book is divided into three sections — rivers, oceans, and air — and winds fluidly through the precious cycles of our lives, with the ultimate goal of helping us all arrive back at ourselves with love and compassion. Between each section, there is a reflective essay that invites the reader to pause and look back on their own experiences.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I can’t think of any artist that would look at their journey and think to themselves “That was easy!” If that was the case there would be more artists — and certainly more artists who stand in their power and don’t relegate their work to the sidelines of their lives.

When I graduated from college I was extremely ill but no doctor could figure out what was going on. A story that anyone with chronic illness can relate to — I was passed from doctor to doctor, very few taking me seriously, while my list of symptoms continued to grow. It became so severe that I had to stop working for a while and was essentially bedridden. It was during this time that Revolution Song came together.

Looking back I credit this quiet pause in my life for so much. It was the first chance I had ever really had to be bored — to have an endless expanse of house stretch before me with nothing to do but sit with myself. I journaled, I cried, I painted, I processed. And in the end, I had this beautiful piece of work. The book is my life spilled onto pages. It’s honest and raw and I am so proud of it.

It is not lost on me that the darkest time of my life birthed the most beautiful thing I’ve ever created. I can’t say that I am thankful I went through what I went through, but I am thankful that time period showed me how to be with myself and draw on an inner well of strength.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an author and spoken word artist. My writing is straightforward, personal, and honest. Reflective of memoir-style poetry, my book Revolution Song shares stories of love and loss that have shaped my life.

With my background in acting and singing, I have found spoken word poetry to be a special marriage of poetry and performance. I do local spoken word events where I do live readings from the book accompanied by a musical performance and also post spoken word pieces on TikTok and Instagram.

Additionally, I am passionate about sustainability and knew if I was going to bring a physical item into the world it had to be supportive of the earth and the people who made it — each book is sustainably printed and bound by hand with love in Los Angeles. Each copy is unique and made with the earth in mind — printed with FSC-certified paper and vegetable-based ink — she is made to last a lifetime.

The cover is made from premium American linen and the bindery is meticulously hand-sewn. Each and every copy of Revolution Song is entirely made by hand and supports fair and ethical wages along each step of the printing and production process.

Last year, my editor and I launched M—HAUS Creative which is a self—publishing house for the modern author. We help women artists navigate the self-publishing world. Like so many, we felt completely daunted by the publishing process and industry. It felt like a world of far-off aspiration, not inclusion. At its core M—HAUS is our response — and shift — to a publishing world that is transparent and inclusive, one where there is room at the table for every story, every artist, every path.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
The best way to get in contact with me and connect with my work is by visiting my website: https://www.morganhoog.com/

You can also find me on Instagram: @morganhoog/ and @revolutionsongthebook

My TikTok is @morganhoogauthor

If you are interested in self-publishing you can visit: https://www.mhauscreative.com/

Pricing:

• $45.00 cost of book

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.morganhoog.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morganhoog/
• Facebook: @morganhoog

Image Credits
Claire Fagin Michelle and Logan DeLaCastro