AW Poet Laureate Q&A - Ambrosia, AW PL XVIII - December 2013 -

poetinahat

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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]1. When did you start writing poetry?

[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I can't remember the exact age, but I have been writing since I was a child. I don't have any copies of poems from my youngest years, but I have a few from my mid-teens.

2. What other writing do you do regularly?

Currently I am not doing much writing of any type due to life events. I have given myself permission not to write to lessen the stress I am under a bit.
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]When I am writing, I work on fiction. I have an unfinished novel sitting there begging me to restart, but I keep reminding it I'm on vacation. I have also written sales literature and press releases, and did a stint in college as a journalist for the college paper. But my heart is in fiction and poetry.

3. Do you think of yourself primarily as a poet?

I think of myself primarily as a writer. As a writer, I also think of myself as a poet. Writing is a creative endeavor, whether it is fiction, poetry, or even sales literature. Perhaps we should remove the common designations altogether and just say I am a creator.

4. Why do you write poetry?

Because I can. :D[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The beauty of poetry for me is that it is a quick release that is immediately finished. I can't sit down and finish a 100,000 word novel in one go. But I can sit down and finish a poem in one go. Or two or five poems or more. It feeds that need in me to create and see my creation birthed on the page. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Beyond that, poetry is making love to language. I love making love.

5. How does writing poetry relate with your other writing?

Learning to caress words to bring out the best of their attributes benefits any writing. Learning to choose just the right word for the right sentence in the right place tightens the piece, whether poetry or prose. Poetry teaches not only how to say the most with the least amount of words, but how to keep flow going. Meter exists in fiction the same as it exists in poetry, it is just more subtle. Poetry, being in such a small package, refines the art of writing prose. It is part of its beauty to me.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I also am using poetry in my WIP. I write fantasy and I have a prophesy to start the book which, although not poetry per se, is still poetic. Along with that, I have spells being cast. The wording of the spells is done with poetry.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]6. Beyond Absolute Write, what is your publication/performance history?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

During my time in college I had many of my poems printed in the college newspaper, as well as a two-page center spread of my poetry and artwork in one of the issues. My Modern Minimalist poem, Winter Carnival, was published in the Carnivale edition of "Emerald Tales" magazine in February, 2010. Other than that, I haven't had anything published, but that is likely do to not submitting anything. I have a horrible habit of not sending anything anywhere. Something I am going to be working to overcome in 2014.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]7. How often do you write poems?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

Not often enough. ;)[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]As I mentioned earlier, I am currently on a hiatus from writing anything. Even so, every so often I have a poem slip out. Sometimes they are persistent little monsters and will not be denied daylight.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]When I am not on hiatus, I usually produce several poems a month. Often five or more a day, when the mood strikes.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]8. What goals, if any, do you have for your poetry?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

I want to have a book, or perhaps books, of my poems published. I want my work out there so someone can run across it in the future, read it, and hopefully be touched enough by my voice to pick up their own pen and give it a try. So someone can be inspired to find their own voice, that is what I want. I want my poetry to live beyond me.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]9. Do you set out to write a poem, does it compel you to write it, or something else?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

Yes. All of the above. I have times when I specifically set out to write a poem, usually when I have been silent for too long and know it is time to just write because the silence is getting to me. Sometimes I have a deep, penetrating ache inside and know a poem is trying to find a way out of my subconscious and onto the page. Sometimes my emotions are bursting and I have to write to get them out. Sometimes words just all the sudden slam into my brain and I have to sit down right then and write them down or lose them.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]10. What formal, semantic, or thematic traits do you prefer to use in your poems?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

I don't know that I prefer to use any of the three in my poetry, but definitely not traditional form. I have written poems in traditional form and found I enjoy it, but not enough to do it as a preference. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Of course Modern Minimalism is a form, just not traditional, and I do prefer it. I might actually assert that free verse, which is commonly used today, has “rules” regardless that people tend to think it doesn't, so it could be considered a modern form as well. I write in free verse when my poem doesn't fit MM's rules, so those two would be my preference.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]As far as semantic traits, I do go to great lengths when writing my poems to find exactly the right word with exactly the right meaning. To do this I will go to a thesaurus and spend time looking up different words and meanings and comparing them until I find the one that matches my intent. I may do this many times in the crafting of one poem, as my poems generally rely on tight language with fewest words used. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]As far as themes go, no. I write what I feel more than anything else. Probably at times it can seem I am going with a theme of heartbreak or abuse or love of nature or some other thing. But it all comes down to what emotions are at play at the time. If I am feeling hurt or anger, I may write a week or more about broken relationships and someone not familiar with my work might think that is my preferred theme. The next set of poems might have to do with nature or the love of writing or some other bright topic as my mood shifts from dark to light.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]11. Which usually comes first: Topic/idea, form, words? Other?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

Emotions usually come first for me. However, I have written from a topic, a picture, and from form. But feelings, that is the crux of all my poetry. Even when I write from a topic or a picture, even when I choose a form and write to that form, emotions are what make the poem a poem. So it always comes back to emotions for me. It's what makes poetry alive, tapping into those emotions.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]12. Do you revise? Right away, later on? How do you decide when you've finished with a poem?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

Honesty it depends on the length. If it is short, there isn't much to revise. If it is a longer piece I may revise even while writing it. I will usually revise a piece when I finish it, just to make sure it is exactly as I want it. Then, I post it in the crit forum and listen to the comments. Sometimes I agree with a crit and will make the changes. Sometimes I don't. But I always listen and play with the advice before I discard it or accept it. I know it is finished when it feels right to me.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]13. How did you come to be interested in poetry?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

Hearing it and reading it. I grew up in a dirt poor family, but one of the things my mom can be credited with is filling the house with books and instilling a desire to read in her kids. A whole wall of our living room was filled to overflowing with bookcases stuffed with books of all types. Even a couple of poetry books wound up on the shelves. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Also, my mom made sure I attended church. There is a great amount of poetry in the Bible.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]14. What particular poem or poet first attracted you to poetry?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

That is really so hard to say. Two poems in particular stand out in my mind, but where they came in the scope of my love for poetry I don't rightly know. Those two poems are [/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Trees[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif] by Joyce Kilmer and [/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Raven[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif] by Edgar Allan Poe.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]15. What poems, poets, movements or eras have influenced you as a poet: which do you particularly enjoy, admire, or aspire toward?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

I haven't put much study into the past eras or movements of poetry. I find a poem I like and read others by the author. My education in poetry was stifled in high school when I had an abusive teacher who delighted in making me a laughing stock in front of the class. Although I still wrote a few poems here and there, after that I stayed away from any formal education regarding poetry. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]When I joined AW, I came into the poetry section and once again started creating poetry after decades of not writing it at all. I found the form created by a member here, moblues, fit my particular voice. Indeed it allowed me to find my voice. I have been writing Modern Minimalist poetry ever since. I also write free verse.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]But, thanks to the encouragement and a bit of tutoring from another poet here, Kie (kborsden), I've been able to branch out into traditional formal verse. He's worked with me to overcome some of the fear of form and terminology caused by the teacher from high school. Through his gentle guidance I've been able to write sonnets, triolets, a villanelle, as well as come up with my own form. I'm very grateful to him for helping me over my stumbling blocks. I no longer fear form. Just don't ask me to explain iambic pentameter. Write it? Perhaps. Explain it? I'll pass that on to Kie. ;)[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I admire a number of poets here at AW and am grateful to be among the ranks of such talented people.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]16. What single poem of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read your work?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

That's a tough one. I don't believe that one single poem will say who I am as a poet, nor represent the truth of my work. Mind if I mention two? A more recent one of mine, [/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Games[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif], was written about a year ago. It is indicative of my Modern Minimalist style. And, to cover my delving into form, [/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Scholar's Credentials, [/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]which was my first sonnet.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]17. What are your thoughts on poetry today: its function, future, direction, relevance?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

I believe poetry's function is to touch a person deep inside, in some manner beyond what prose can do. I believe as long as there are people, there will be poetry. Whether that is in traditional forms like sonnets, or in song lyrics, free verse, newly created forms, or in some way we can't begin to imagine today there will still be poetry. The essence of poetry is inside the human mind. As long as there is somebody creating it and somebody being touched by that creation, it will always be relevant and it will always exist. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]As to the rest, I can't say. I think people tend to over-analyze things and find problems that aren't really there. Change does not mean the end of something. Just a different appearance.

18. What, in your view, makes a written/spoken work a poem?

I can't define it. I just know it when I see/hear it. I also know when it isn't.

19. What do you like about your own poetry?

That it's real. I pour myself into my poems. The honesty sometimes astounds me, that I could bare so much of myself to strangers. But the poems that have touched me most by other poets have been always been bone-deep honest. I hope I can always be brave enough to share who I am deep inside with my readers.

20. What would you say to someone who wants to learn to write poetry well?

Read. Read widely and divergently. When you find what voice(s) appeals to you, what style(s) strike your fancy, read some more. And write. Then share your work with others and listen to their comments. Pay close attention to the praise and pay closer attention to the criticism. Be willing to toss a “darling” if you find that word or that phrase doesn't do your poem justice. You can always use it elsewhere, in another piece. And comment on other people's poems as well as read other critiquers' comments on those poems. There is much to be learned by becoming involved in the critiquing process, much wisdom is shared.
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]So, to write poetry well, read it and write it and comment on it. But never stop. Never give it up, just keep going until you “get there”. That is my best advice. [/FONT]
 

Susie

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Congrats 'n way2go, Ambrosia. Very happy for you 'n you'll make a great Poet Laureate! :Cake:s!