Meet Devon Fulford of Fort Collins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Devon Fulford.

Hi Devon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve had a love affair with words for as long as my memory will allow me to explore. As a young girl growing up in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina, I occupied so many hours filling bubblegum-colored paper with stories, poetry, and dreams. Although to this day I struggle to be a good planner of my own future, I dreamed my entire life of becoming a traditionally published author. As of today, with the publication of three poetry collections, I can confidently say this is my reality: I am living my dream!

We moved to Estes Park, Colorado one week before my freshman year in high school began. Living in a tiny, wealthy mountain town as a southern transplant wearing thrift store clothes years decades before it became fashionable to do so, I struggled with the changes. I found punk rock and fell in love with the raw emotive nature of the music and the people involved with the music–especially at live shows.

Leaving Estes, I did my undergrad at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, where I continued living, writing, loving, and struggling for the next 14 years. Since then, I’ve traveled and moved around quite a bit before eventually coming back to northern Colorado to settle (for now). Two masters and a doctoral degree later, I teach in the English department at CSU, go to live shows, and write as much as I possibly can.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Is anyone’s road truly smooth? Mine certainly has not been. I was in my 20s when I gave up on entertaining regret. Heartbreaks, illness, loss, tragedy–all of these painful yet inevitable life occurrences shape who we are. My life has never been what I would call “smooth” or “easy,” but it’s mine, and I am deeply grateful for it.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a poet/teacher of writing. Both occupations shape my identity in ways I could not escape if I wanted to! I have a tendency to tackle tough subjects–both in my poetry and my pedagogy. I like challenging conventional ideologies, pushing boundaries, seeing what I can get away with before someone tells me otherwise.

In my classrooms, I am deeply immersed in experiential learning: leaning beyond the traditional classroom walls. I teach writing, which most students think they hate, and strive to do so in creative ways that demonstrate the breadth of possibility words have when we open our minds and hearts to the opportunity.

My poetry is both an exploration of self and a challenge to the world in which we live. I’ve recently spent quite a lot of time writing about egregious acts of human destruction, the ways we hurt and change one another for our own benefit. Sometimes, this means I live in constant nightmares. But there are so many stories to be told and without the people to share them, untold stories fester. They break us from the inside out. Tragedy needs a platform and poetry is the best means of exploring our deepest pains and fears.

What matters most to you?
Kindness. In a digital world plagued with furious keyboard warriors spewing vitriol through their screens, we need simple kindness more than ever. The evolving world often moves in terrifying ways, and just getting through the day can be an act of survival for so many of us.

I recently saw something that said, “I’ve never once regretted a time I was kind; I’ve regretted every time I was cruel.” Choosing kindness doesn’t seem that it should be revolutionary but when we’re all desperately trying to make it through the days, showing others even an iota of care can change the world.

Pricing:

• southern atheist: oh, honey: $10
• gulp: $10

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.definwords.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdevonf/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devon.fulford
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-devon-fulford/

Image Credits
Faith Danielle, 2024