Reader of the Week: Holly Beal

Media maven for art mags and the infamous PETA

By Kirsten Kilponen
Published: March 9th, 2009 | 12:00am

What’s a PETA press woman to do in the BBQ Capitol of the World? She “Veganizes” it! Holly Beal (lover of Langston Hughes and experiential art), took a break from her busy day of saving animals and writing music revues in Kansas City to help us tackle the PETA reputation, tell us how she got her gig at Review magazine, and why VZ idol, Chrissie Hynde, is her hero, too!

Have you always lived in Kansas City, were you always an animal lover, and have you always liked to write?

I moved around a lot as a child. I attended fourteen different schools by the time I was sixteen, and this experience made me very adaptable and someone who embraces change. My mom rescued animals and would always stop to move turtles off the road. She made me think about looking out for animals with all of her acts of kindness.

Writing has always been a passion of mine. It started in junior high when I discovered the poetry of Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman. Something clicked and I started writing poems, plays, short stories … everything, really. I’m a natural observer in life and I like how writing can turn observations and emotions into something tangible.

How did you end up working for animal rights?

I worked in local media, and while I enjoyed it and believed in local media, I really wanted to use my voice to make a difference in the world. Animals don’t have a voice in society and they desperately need humans to speak up for them, so I applied at PETA and was hired to work in the Communications Department about five years ago. My job consists of getting media attention on our work.

PETA gets a bad wrap a lot of times. What do you think about that?

Some people are turned off by our “crazy” stunts and how we encourage people to use their bodies as a means of protest, but I know, first hand, that what we are doing is effective and that we’re making a difference. [It’s] like the Gandhi quote, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” It’s all about progress and I truly believe that in the future we’ll look back in horror at how we, as a society, treated animals. We always share what we’re doing and what our stance is, so if people are curious as to what PETA is really about they can visit our website and see what we’re up to.

You also write about music and art. How’d you get that gig, and what kind of music and art do you write about?

Freelance writing fell into my lap through friends. I was addicted to blogging back in 2007 and my friends knew my writing style and recommended me for writing gigs. I started writing concert and album reviews for The Tripwire in 2007, and just this past year I started writing about art for Review — a regional art magazine. All of my music writing has focused on new music and live performances. I try to capture the concept of an album and the growth of the artist from one album to the next, and also capture the mood at a live show. Art writing for me is like an outsider looking in — I’m not interested in “art school vocabulary” as much as I’m interested in how a piece or an exhibit is perceived by someone who isn’t knowledgeable about art.

What bands do you like to listen to?

Miles Davis is my favorite musician, hands down, and my favorite bands are Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth. As far as new music goes, right now I’m listening to Cut Off Your Hands, Andrew Bird, The Whitest Boy Alive, Lykke Li, Deerhunter, ZaZa, and Foals. And when it comes to the Kansas City music scene, Ad Astra Per Aspera, The Republic Tigers, and Ghosty are my favorite bands.

Who are your heroes?

My heroes are the people who use their voice to make a difference. I greatly admire Chrissie Hynde because she’s so rocknroll and she’s never disappointed me.

Any hidden talents?

“Veganizing” my mom’s “meat and potato” dishes! Ha!

www.peta.org