Life & Work with Kemi “Moon” Balogun

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kemi “Moon” Balogun.

Hi Kemi, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am a writer, poet, and entrepreneur. I started my journey as a creative writer when I was in the 5th grade.

I joined my first creative writing club at Dreaming Summit Elementary School. We started with writing short stories based on a general prompt the teacher gave us. I loved it, it felt comfortable for me, especially because my upbringing was supercharged with the art of storytelling.

My dad was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria & my mom’s side of the family is from the South. I was always surrounded with oral storytelling from African Folklore & Proverbs to Folktales and stories of our deep family history.

These influences sparked my interest in being among the ranks of admirable storytellers like the ones I grew up with. In middle school, my interest in writing creatively grew as I read and studied the works of Edgar Allen Poe. I could see how he drew influence from this life to create these poetic stories full of mystery and an emotional draw that will put you in the shoes of the main character. I aspired to do the same.

By high school, I had begun transitioning from primarily writing short stories to writing poetry. My Honors Freshman English teacher really opened my eyes to the world of literary arts by way of poetry and he encouraged me to write poetry outside of class assignments. I was always really shy about getting up in front of people to share my work, but I would do poetry readings at my church on youth Sundays and at conferences.

I started college at GCU, deciding to take the route of Law as a career, but I was still writing and sharing poetry online for friends and family to enjoy. One friend, in particular, was like a big brother to me and he was super encouraging of me writing poetry. He would always say, “You will be in court rapping your closing statements one day”. I would always laugh and call him silly but he truly believed in my ability to be a well-known writer.

At the close of the first half of my Freshman year of college, I received a devastating call that my best friend was in a car accident and on life support. He passed three days later. I was lost for a while. My mental health took a dive and I was having a hard time coping. Writing seemed to be the only relief. So I adopted the name “The Moon Owl” because I found myself up at night writing under the Moon, and it reminded me that even in the darkness, there is light, and no matter what, the morning will always come.

I decided, at that moment, that if I was going to take on a Pen Name, I needed to take my writing seriously. I switched from pre-law to English with an Emphasis in professional writing, and I began assisting students on campus with essays and creative assignments. After deciding to take a break from college to focus on my health, I launched Moonlight Write, writing, and editing services in 2017.

I got out into the community and started building my portfolio by working with local small businesses. I ended up at the first annual FICE Black Owned Business Expo and began collaborating with several small business owners, including the founder of the expo (who added me to her team shortly after meeting me).

Since then, I have worked for an Entertainment Manager, Lisa Tye of Opulent Vision Management, who was a part of the Grammy Recording Academy LA chapter, managed and updated an internal knowledge base for a Financial Tech Company based out of California, and have become the Lead Writer for a revolutionary new start-up company that is based out of Phoenix, Arizona, Degenerate Genius. In 2019, Moon’s Works LLC was born to house Moonlight Write, Moonlit Officiant (Yes, I officiate weddings too!), Moonkiss’d Vybez (aromacare products) and my future published works.

I performed at open mic nights in Phoenix such as Poetic Soul and The Underground, sharing more poetry and establishing myself not only as a business writer but as an artist as well. Now, here I am approaching the eight-year anniversary of deciding to become “The Moon Owl” and I have officially published my first big project, Enter the Mooniverse.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I would say yes and no to this. I have had to face some of my deepest fears and lived through some of my worst nightmares, but on the flip side of that coin, I have done and achieved things that were once just dreams, now they are my reality.

I would say the hardest thing to have to overcome is the death of a loved one. When my best friend Daniel died, the world seemed to be dull and dim in general for me because I couldn’t wrap my mind around him being gone. There was a period of time when there were back-to-back losses. Friends passed, my paternal grandmother passed, my home was broken into… twice during the holidays, and the robbers stole my flash drives with all of my short stories and poems from elementary & middle school.

I felt like I was losing everything… but I would say a lot of that pain fueled quite a bit of work. I remember my mom telling me, “They can steal what you have already done, but they can’t steal your mind to create. You will create something even greater”. It’s been a healing process that I’m still going through but now that I’m not actively IN the fog I can see how even though all of those things, I was still progressing, growing, learning, and honing my craft.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am what some would consider a Jane of all trades but my specialty is writing. My personality is dualistic in general… and I’m an empath (such a great fit for the name Moon lol); I pride myself on bringing that dualistic energy into my writing and really getting below the surface and connecting with the people I’m writing about or for.

In terms of “business writing,” I have been focused on writing bios and website content for Degenerate Genius. Their website is practically a portfolio for me and they believed in me to do something I had never really done before and I love it! Now “Bios by Moon” is a thing! It’s so fulfilling when I interview an artist and when they get their bio from me they are in awe that the person they are reading about is “them”.

In terms of “creative writing,”….I’M FINALLY PUBLISHED!!!! I’m proud of myself for finally seeing through the process of self-publishing my very first book. Enter the Mooniverse is truly a passion project. It has always been my dream to be published and for my stories to be heard, and I really wrote this book, edited and formatted it, created the cover, and published it. I was a bookworm as a kid so my inner child is looking at my adult self like she’s the coolest human ever right now.

Enter the Mooniverse is a transparent & authentic collection of poems that invites you to take a peek into the coming of age journey of Moon The…Owl Poet. The Mooniverse itself is that safe, comfortable, space I’m in when I’m putting my pen to paper; telling a story in my own way. I pride myself on being vulnerable and open as a part of my “creative brand”.

I want people to feel like they know me when they read or hear my work. Enter the Mooniverse is a large portion of the poems and short stories I wrote while I was still too shy to share. The poems range from middle school to early college years. I released it on 2.22.2022 and it is now available for sale on my website.

The next step is getting back on stage more consistently. I recently performed my longest poetic set to date, titled “On the Subject of Love” at Truth Haven Community Event Center’s grand opening event in February. It was my first time being on stage since 2020 and it felt like home. I will definitely be doing more poetic sets in the very near future.

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
“Scared money don’t make money” is something I’ve always heard throughout my life, so I always saw merit in risk taking…but only calculated risk taking. I feel like if you are going to take a risk, do your research! Some may view that as hesitation but putting your best foot forward even in a risky situation will get you further than just making choices without forethought.

Even though this is my perspective on life in general, if you asked my friends, they would tell you I’m the safe, logical, mama bear friend, however, that is 100% because a lot of my “risk analysis” happens in my head and I’ll have my mind made up about things before even mentioning it to anyone lol.

Pricing:

• Enter the Mooniverse (Paperback) $22.22 + Shipping & Handling
• Enter the Mooniverse (Hardcover) $32.22 + Shipping & Handling
• Bio by Moon (Artists/Business Owners) starting at $80

Contact Info:

• Email: bookamoonservice@gmail.com
• Website: https://moonsworks.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moon.the___/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoonsWorksLLC
• Other: https://dgeniusbrands.com/collections/moon-the-writer

Image Credits
Paul McCammon, Poetic Soul, Kamron Tracy, Kazeem Balogun, and Sarah Serenity