Over the years, Heidi L. Klotzman’s name has become synonymous with Baltimore’s events planning and brand promotion culture. As founder and CEO of HeidnSeek Entertainment LLC, she is part marketer, talent agent and influencer to thousands of social media followers on where to go and what to do for fun in Charm City.
But in addition to booking bands and deejays, and promoting area hotspots and events, Klotzman has found a way to reach people on a deeper level. The Pikesville resident recently self-published her first book, “Circadian Rhythm: A Book of Poetry.”
Comprising rhythmic poems with the spoken word in mind, “Circadian Rhythm” serves as Klotzman’s “journey across love, loss, growth and acceptance through poetry.”
“Poetry to me is about sharing personal experiences in a way that can reach, help and or enlighten others,” says Klotzman, who became a bat mitzvah at Chizuk Amuno Synagogue in Pikesville and now attends services at Lutherville’s Kol Halev with her mother, Helene Klotzman-Miller.
Klotzman’s poems explore joy, heartache, rejection, romance, depression, justice, resilience and gratitude, all while questioning the status quo. The book is a compilation of Klotzman’s original poems from past to present.
“I would like the readers to take away that they’re worthy as they are, that we’re all going through struggles and that they can communicate with others through their own outlets,” Klotzman says.
The word circadian in the title points to the creativity that Klotzman says she experiences when night and day cycles are out of sync, while rhythm honors music’s influence on her written and spoken words.
Raised in a musical household, Klotzman, who sings and play guitar, says her first love was music, but writing was a close second. Her mom read to her frequently as a child, and Klotzman learned to express her thoughts, feelings and creativity through writing.
The biggest writing influences were song lyrics from various genres and poets, including Carl Hancock Rux and Paul Beatty.
“When I write, it’s usually a compulsion to express that thought, and then I lose time in the flow,” she says. “I was never too big on journaling because it was about inner reflection and not about sharing with the world. So I gravitated to poetry.”
Klotzman initially took poetry courses at Roland Park Country School — where she graduated from in 1999 and was named “the Poetic Soul of the School” — and continued at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts in New York and Goucher College in Towson, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Besides performing at her alma maters, she has appeared at special events in Baltimore and New York.
It took a year to determine which of her hundreds of poems to include in the book, edit and prepare for release on Amazon, says Klotzman.
“I have known Heidi since middle school and remember how much she loved writing poetry, even back then,” says Aja Dorsey Jackson, a Baltimore-based author, editor and writing coach. “It was amazing to be able to work with her on publishing her book and to see how she’s held onto that passion.
“Heidi’s poetry has grown and developed right alongside her at every stage in her life,” Jackson says. “I am excited that the rest of the world will get a glimpse at what is just the beginning for her, because I know she has a lot more to come.”
Klotzman already is working on her next book, “Facebook Statuses: Nuggets of Wisdom & Humor to Snack On,” a collection of her most meaningful and amusing posts from 2009 to 2019.
“I want to reach others the way that poets have reached me, she says. “I have more books in me to get out so I can feel comfortable having achieved those goals.”
Caryn R. Sagal is a Baltimore-based public relations consultant and freelance writer.
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