Yer Poetics

Jake asked us to write a bit about our poetry. Why we write, how we write, etc. I began writing as a teenager. My family was poor at times when I was a child and moving into my teens things only got marginally better. Not having the escapes that many others had (cable, internet, organized sports) I turned to creative outlets. My father is well read and we have always had an extensive library of classic fiction, in particular, science fiction. Having my mind's eye widened by the worlds of Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert and their peers allowed my to grow an active imagination. In my early teens I began to write and explore different avenues of creativity. I dabbled in short stories but always found that what I created came out cliche or too predictable. Then in my Grade 9 year is discovered a book of Scottish poetry in my school's library, which I still have (high overdue fees eh?) and it made me want to try out poetry. Since that time I have written hundreds of poems.

Most of my poems have been self-conversational, or self-analytical as I worked through those raw teenaged emotions. Even now in my thirties I find that I turn to poetry to organize the cluttered ramblings of those raw emotions; to think through what I am feeling and get to the core of them. I have used poetry to capture unique moments in time, like stunning sunsets over the Pacific while flying to Hawaii. When I was doing missionary work in Mexico, I used poetry in moments of triumph and failure (I still write about those) and spiritual revelations that only come during that kind of religious dedication. Mostly though, my poetry comes like a thief in the night and has to be captured before it escapes.

Thus far in this class I have learned that I need to revise more often. Take some time to ponder what I have written and make sure it is written in just the way that it should be. I don't know if there will ever be any mass consumption of my poetic mental ramblings but I do know that poetry has been an important of my mental maturation.