Poetry Blogs on Becoming a Writer, Writing Poetry

About a dozen years ago, I began to wake up with word pieces
in my head. They took me on an unexpected creative journey -
including these poetry blogs on becoming a writer, writing poetry
and on what to do with the strange directions of creative inspiration.

JUNE 6, 2006

ELSA'S WORD PIECES -
they come up on their own from within me -
and then the big question: what do I do with them?

About a dozen years ago, I began to wake up with "word pieces" in my head.

Some of them I called songs. They came with melodies, a chorus, lots of repeated lines. But even they rarely fit the conventional "song" format - verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus - over and out. Something like that.

A new thought might come in where none was supposed to come. The rhythm might change, where it was not supposed to.

At the beginning, I thought - oh, I will just let them come as they want to come, and then fix them later. "Fix" - turn them into conventional songs.

But they did not want to be fixed. They cried and screamed when I wanted to cut into them. They fell apart, became stiff and twisted, instead of feeling (to me, anyway) like something that was supposed to be what it was.

That brought me to a fork in the road. Down one path would be "songs." Down the other would be ... what? I didn't know, but I didn't have the stomach for the cut and paste, radical surgery for pieces that felt right as they were.

I gave up on "fixing" the pieces. It felt like "fixing" a woman to make her fit the traditional mold. Better to break the mold, or let others conform to the mold if it suited them - but to go my own way with my own pieces. If some had a standard structure, fine. But if most didn't, that was fine too.

But what was I to do with them? I put ads in the local entertainment papers, did bits of things with a number of musicians, got together a group of women for a few others, but somehow there was no longterm fit and nothing quite came together completely.

Things were started but not completed. Grants were sought after but, over and over, went to others. People had their own lives and desires, and directions.

And, as often has happened in my life, it was hard for me to go on searching for the right fit. I got tired, kept on writing the pieces, but I did less and less, over the years, about trying to get them out into the world.

Also, life kind of took over - other directions, other issues. Years passed.

AND NOW I AM BACK. THIS PROJECT IS MY CENTER - MY OWN, MY CHOSEN HOME.

One by one, the pieces will come onto the site, and I will figure out how to make things work, so they can take their place, these unconventional children of mine, children I'm proud of, pleased with, hopeful for.

As always, welcome into my world.

signed,

Elsa
creating, connecting, exchanging -
or anyway, trying to

JUNE 6, 2006

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JUNE 10, 2009

It's now just over 3 years later. So much water under the bridge. So much learning on this strange journey into becoming a writer - anyway, into becoming the wrier I'm becoming. I've had to grapple with names - like spoken word artist, poet. And I've had to struggle even harder with getting my works out into the world.

About naming. I've had to acknowledge that, quite accidentally, I've been finding myself writing stuff that is recognized as poetry. Poetry - so strange. I'd seen myself writing novels or plays or maybe screen plays. So unexpected.

If you enjoyed this poetry blog,
you might also like

more poetry blogs,
this one on names and naming

You might also like

more writing on creativity,
more creativity explored

And now (February 2011),
Love Poems for You,
a collection of 22 love poems,
plus a writer blog on
the totally unexpected flow
of love poetry

Elsas Poetry Blogs on
Listening to Creative Inspiration,
Becoming a Writer, Writing Poetry.
Why Poetry, Why Spoken Word?
What About Fixing to Fit a Form?

Elsa's Creativity Blog
Writer blogs, poetry blogs, musical blogs.
How do I get my works out into the world?
Steps, stages, successes, failures.
Creativity. Not easy to find a home for it.

Poetry Blogs on Listening to Creative Inspiration
just what does that mean - listening to creative inspiration?

In my experience, most people are too busy, rushing around,
or too set, or have their creativity buried,
or are too concerned about impressing.

Listening to creative inspiration - quite something.
It can take us in such unexpected directions.
It may also have us avoiding black
when black is trendy,
not being avant-garde,
or being avant-garde.

And brings me to becoming a writer -
one can feel one wants this.
But what does one want?
Often one doesn't want to become a writer.
In my experience, one wants to be a writer -
to have a good chunk of the journey behind us.
Becoming a writer - not like becoming a teacher
or becoming a doctor or nurse or dentist.
There is no real end in sight.

Yet lots of us take that journey -
and the journey may take us in other directions.

Like, why poetry? Why spoken word?
It wasn't as if I was listening to loads of spoken word,
reading poetry night and day,
reciting Shakespeare or Emily Dickinson to myself.

I had no desire to be a poet - it still does not feel to me
that I am a poet. At most I write things others call poetry.

But, maybe a bit strangely, my father loved poetry,
loved it much more than I've loved it.

Again, those weird twists and turns of creative inspiration,
the writing impulse, creative impulse.

Why the creative impulse? That's something quite different.
For me, it's at the heart of life.

And that's it for this thing that could be called
a poetry blog, writers blog, blog on writing,
that fits into the category of poetry blogs.

elsas poetry blogs
could be elsas spoken word blogs

elsas poetry blogs
could be creativity blogs, writer blogs, writer journals

elsas poetry blog
could be a poetry diary, poetry journal, poetry jotting

in all cases,
poetry blogs about what's on my mind
like what to call things
what's in a name

so there's a name in my mind
but if it's just in my mind
you won't find, not me, not my words, word pieces, poems

so there are poetry blogs
on finding the name
the name where I can be found

and there are poetry blogs
on what's in these poems
this catching of moments

those are elsas poetry blogs, creativity blog, writer blogs
poetry blogs, elsas poetry journaling,
poetry blogs, writer diaries

words so I can be found

and more on about?
on what are they about?

they're about this writing of poetry
this naming of things
the process of doing
the questions around

that's just a bit
on elsas poetry blogs

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Elsas Poetry Blogs on Listening to Creative Inspiration, Becoming a Writer, Writing Poetry. Why Poetry, Why Spoken Word? What About Fixing to Fit a Form?

Elsa's Creativity Blog Writer blogs, poetry blogs, musical blogs. How do I get my works out into the world? Steps, stages, successes, failures. Creativity. Not easy to find a home for it.

Elsas Poetry Blogs on
Listening to Creative Inspiration,
Becoming a Writer, Writing Poetry.
Why Poetry, Why Spoken Word?
What About Fixing to Fit a Form?

Elsa's Creativity Blog
Writer blogs, poetry blogs, musical blogs.
How do I get my works out into the world?
Steps, stages, successes, failures.
Creativity. Not easy to find a home for it.