{"id":208,"date":"2019-11-14T00:28:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T00:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marmoset-journal.flywheelsites.com\/portland-author-about-town-nikki-burian\/"},"modified":"2020-12-16T01:47:50","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T09:47:50","slug":"portland-author-about-town-nikki-burian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/portland-author-about-town-nikki-burian\/","title":{"rendered":"Slam Poet Nikki Burian&#8217;s Latest Book is the Reminder We All Needed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          combination-animation-none\n          individual-animation-none\n          individual-text-animation-none\n        \" data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \" style=\"max-width: 1500.0px;\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \" style=\"padding-bottom: 40.0%;\" data-animation-role=\"image\"><br \/>\n<noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/marmoset-music-music-licensing-song-licensing.jpg\" alt=\"Nikki Burian, photographed by    Kale Chesney\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumb-image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/marmoset-music-music-licensing-song-licensing.jpg\" alt=\"Nikki Burian, photographed by    Kale Chesney\" data-image=\"https:\/\/marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/marmoset-music-music-licensing-song-licensing.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"1500x600\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5dcc88a3a67070630da42a9a\" data-type=\"image\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1000px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1000\/400;\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-caption\">\n<p class=\"\"><em>Nikki Burian, photographed by <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?client=safari&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;oe=UTF-8&amp;q=kale%20chesney&amp;rls=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Kale Chesney<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          combination-animation-none\n          individual-animation-none\n          individual-text-animation-none\n        \" data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \" style=\"max-width: 928.0px;\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \" style=\"padding-bottom: 161.63792419433594%;\" data-animation-role=\"image\"><br \/>\n<noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/letters-in-my-nightstand-author-published-portland-oregon-marmoset-music.jpg\" alt=\"letters-in-my-nightstand-author-published-portland-oregon-marmoset-music.jpg\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumb-image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/letters-in-my-nightstand-author-published-portland-oregon-marmoset-music.jpg\" alt=\"letters-in-my-nightstand-author-published-portland-oregon-marmoset-music.jpg\" data-image=\"https:\/\/marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/letters-in-my-nightstand-author-published-portland-oregon-marmoset-music.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"928x1500\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5dcc88571e451264fd8d2b25\" data-type=\"image\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 928px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 928\/1500;\" \/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">Nikki Burian is a natural storyteller. Their book<em> Letters In my Nightstand <\/em>is an poetic reminder of why everyone is uniquely great \u2014 and why that\u2019s okay to celebrate.<\/p>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">As a project manager at Marmoset, Nikki reinforces tenacious positivity wherever they go; a determined spirit, they dig deep into interactions, working toward meaningful connections and building quality relationships. But this everyday practice of cultivating authentic connection isn\u2019t just something they live by, it radiates through their writing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">Originally from the Midwest, it was in Iowa where Nikki discovered poetry as their channel for sharing personal stories and experiences.<\/p>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">\u201cI ended up getting a relatively large Tumblr following and the feedback was kind of the driver for me,\u201d says Nikki. \u201cWhen somebody is telling you that your writing is making a difference for them, to know this means something to people, it\u2019s really hard to not keep creating more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">A willingness to share more with their community, Nikki soon branched out into slam poetry. While it took months to collect the courage to step onto stage, the outpouring of acceptance was the right dose of encouragement for Nikki to keep coming back. Later, they would go onto compete and represent Portland, Oregon in both the 2018 National Poetry Slam and the 2018 Individual World Poetry Slam.<\/p>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">Nikki honors this passage of time and how far they\u2019ve come from first sharing poetry on a blog, to citing their truth on the public stage and to today, becoming a published author. The aforementioned torch of honoring human connection grows even stronger, their book <em>Letters In My Nightstand <\/em>serving as a testimony of loving oneself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">Designed to fit in the back pocket of someone\u2019s jeans or coat pocket, Nikki hopes readers will keep the book on hand wherever they go \u2014 a tiny, tangible tool for empowerment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">\u201cI get the most stoked about holding it in my hands, and then when other people hold it in their hands,\u201d says Nikki. \u201cI want people to destroy it. I want them to use it <em>so much<\/em> that it\u2019s totally unusable, or like burn it in a ritual, or something that totally obliterates the book.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">The book carries a powerful message, gently reminding readers how positive affirmation can change the landscape of one\u2019s perception. Its contents encouraging readers to recognize their own self-greatness, Nikki notes the book applies to every situation \u2014 it\u2019s for every moment of our lives.<\/p>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">\u201cAs women, as queer people, a lot of the times we\u2019re taught we can be excited about something, just not <em>too<\/em> excited, or else we won\u2019t have it anymore\u201d says Nikki. \u201cI want this book to be a thing where you can whip out in even happy situations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">One reviewer notes the book \u201curges you toward self-love, without ever scolding you for your doubts. It is less a poetry book and more a defiant manifesto of compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">\u201cWe\u2019re entering this really interesting time and culture, the Lizzo era, where people are feeling really good about themselves and they\u2019re giving less fucks about how they look, what they wear, and what people think of them,\u201d says Nikki.<\/p>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">And if this foreign notion of self-love escapes readers, the author stresses to turn the page, to keep reading until it feels right.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">PRE-ORDER <em>Letters In My Nightstand <\/em>here. All of the books\u2019s net proceeds will go to Al Otro Lado, a bi-national, direct legal services organization serving indigent deportees, migrants, and refugees in Tijuana, Mexico. Learn more about their efforts <a href=\"https:\/\/alotrolado.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nikki Burian, photographed by Kale Chesney Nikki Burian is a natural storyteller. Their book Letters&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,6,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-marmoset","category-spotlight-marmoset","has-excerpt"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/marmoset-music-licensing-songs-for-commercial-use-nikki-burian.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}