For me, the work enters the world verbally. Whether I’m just thinking out loud, singing to myself, feeling out lines aloud – I kind of just let the sounds of words linger, and try to see what they inspire me to do next. To me, poetry is a cathartic experience.
So, for that reason, I don’t really engage with any writers groups or peers in the development of a poem (though I’ll definitely consult friends once the piece is salient and close to that aforementioned readiness). I use poetry as a means to help me process my emotions, my ideas, and my ideals. It’s an act of reflection, mercy, and healing that allows me to learn about myself, my perceptions, and come to grips with that so I can find the peace I need to move through the world.
As a result, I often say that we write for ourselves, but we share for others. My logic here is that the primary and most important audience for a poem is the self. If the poems you write don’t excite and move you, then – no matter how many hundreds or thousands love your work – that vulnerable labor will fail to sustain you. I write out of the desire to continue to exist, and to thrive in the face of all the systems in the world trying to gaslight, commodify, or consume us. Once I’ve done myself justice and written something that moves me, I reason that there are others who navigate the same gamut of emotions I do and have to believe that if something sustains me, there’s a chance it will sustain them. So, I write for myself to stay alive, and I share for others to gain and be moved by something from that process.
No comments:
Post a Comment