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It is the rare person who does not long to see behind the camera. People, The Sun, Diez Minutos, The New Weekly, Paris Match, and a myriad of others are lucrative evidence that readers, watchers and the morbidly curious have a need to know.
In our community at Lit.Org, it is no different. Slightly tailored to focus more on the writing and less on the personal (unless the subject wishes to share personal which I certainly won't refuse), interviews will give our community a glimpse behind the monitor. One by one, I hope everyone will agree to be highlighted in Exposed! at Lit.Org.
Certainly, the better we know our peers the better we can appreciate their writing, their contribution and their valuable comments.
Any new endeavor should start with a bang, and I have. For the maiden voyage, Penelope has graciously agreed to be Exposed!
Q: Pen, how long have you been writing seriously?
A. I began writing poems in 1998 when I got pissed off with a boss who wasn't getting the message through normal channels of communication. Writing seriously? Still not sure I am doing that, as it's something I do for pleasure. I began writing short stories in March of 2003 and wrote a novel in 21 days in November.
Q: I know your written expression of choice is poetry, why poetry as opposed to some other written form?
Poetry has more limitations and restrictions. It gives a writer the ability to use connections and creative links within the words. It's natural for me and feels comfortable. Branching out from rhyming couplets into other forms such as haiku, villanelles and pantoums was done because I love to explore avenues and be challenged. Poetry is lyrical and has a tempo like music.
Q: What makes a poem rise above the rest for you?
Hah! When a poem has been rambling around in my head for weeks, months, years and all of a sudden it bubbles to the surface and I write it down. word for word. Those are the magical happenings that come once in a while. I don't care what others think of it because it's come from the soul. The other times are when I've connected via chat links, (ICQ) and something clicks. I ask the other person if I can compose a poem (about them or for them) based on what they've said. Of course they say yes and I will write one off the cuff. When that happens I usually nail them with insights they've never revealed. That's the Irish clairvoyant in me. Yes, it's there and it comes out often.
When I read poetry written by others, if it touches me, is thought provoking, has an underlying message and reveals the integral character of the author. Feeling like I've been invited into the soul of the another person's inquiring and welcoming mind.
Q: If you have a preference as a writer, what form of poetry do you find yourself writing most often?...feel free to select more than one since you are multitalented
I love the roll and repeat of villanelles and pantoums but any rhyming draws me in. I was encouraged to write haiku by R. Mestre [Internet Poet's Society] and I'm constantly told I have a knack for it but don't see it myself. I'll try anything at least once and believe in learning the basics as I continue to stretch my writing repertoire.
Q: Writers often say they are influenced by a particular time period in their lives for inspiration. Is there one particular period in your life you find yourself drawing on more than another?
No. Some of my writing is about my young adult days but it's only because it was so bloody remarkable. The positive responses these vignettes have received, was astonishing to me. Recently, I have been writing about topics which are from the past ten years.
Q: People often find inspiration in painful events. What is the singular most powerful/painful event in your life?
The still birth of my daughter. I was sixteen when it happened. When I was young, I thought little about it but as I grow older, it haunts and me more and more. I decided to donate her body to science and I don't know if I did the right thing.
Q: The observation is often made that the best and most enduring artists are those who have experienced pain and suffering...do you have any thoughts on that?
I think that is crap. What is important is to be observant and to think about things on more than one level. To consider the opinion of others. To be wide open in the receptive capacity. To swallow stars and spit out pearls.
Q: Do you have a favorite among your pieces published at lit.org, and can you explain why it is your favorite?
My favorite is the Lit.Org Write Off entry - Surf & Turf because it was written in three hours and delivered the goods in a rocking, rapid-fire way. I was off and away writing within five minutes of receiving the topic.
Q: Everyone loves the "back-story" on the written word. Would you select anything you've written and share the "back-story" with us...what inspired it, an anecdote, anything that precipitated a particular piece?
My first poem is still my favorite. Because of why it was inspired how it delivered the message and that the words were understood. The boss hated it but knew the truth he'd been avoiding. His 'underlings' showed him no respect and that infuriated me because I despise people who are not loyal. I went on to write four more poems to him when I was a Union rep. All of them provoking.
THE DRAGON’S DEN
A lofty perch, the Dragon’s lair.
He keeps his counsel hidden there.
He dons disguises for the crowds.
Conceals contempt beneath the shrouds.
Of fire and brimstone, he’s familiar.
A high dudgeon he’ll deliver.
Yet, in a flash, the temper wanes,
replaced by indolent disdain.
With foes, he plots a battle plan.
Strategies, which unnerve a man.
He shows a side of saving grace.
His wit and charm come fast apace.
As one observes, his gaze turns black.
A moment’s pause, he brews attack.
The passing baleful glance abates,
but danger lurks, make no mistake!
The foes abound and keep him honed.
For perils prowl in corporate zones.
The jackals wait outside his gate.
They snap and snarl their hunger great.
Scents of pastures ever green.
Keep their nasty nostrils keen.
Betwixt, between, he needs élan.
He must decide, a crafty plan.
An opponent shows frustration
at unexpected machinations.
To prove his den’s iniquity,
offers tales of treachery!
This truth, to Dragon, is not dear!
Unwelcome in his uncocked ear.
He dissects the yarn, seeks a clue
to sustain his point of view.
He demands substantive proof!
Who’s disloyal ‘neath his roof?
He should be pensive, cautious, quiet.
He can’t resort to blood and riot.
For Dragon’s dance is far from done!
Who’ll keep his flame forever young?
Who’ll warn Dragon? Who’ll keep him safe,
If his defender is replaced?
PFA
14/07/98
Zeke & Co.
Q: What are your goals in your writing...publication, self-satisfaction, self-analysis, sharing a message?
All of them except publication. I never really seriously considered publication but submitted poems because the invitation was there. Being rejected has never been a problem for me. For the first time, in February, I wrote a poem specifically for a publication [Lost In The Dark] which was accepted. The editor [Athena Workman] had a problem with one of the lines so I changed it immediately even though it was deemed publishable without an edit. To my way of thinking, I'd written the poem for that publication so it should be completely satisfactory.
Q: If you could invite six people (living or dead) to your home for a dinner party, who would you choose?
Victor Hugo - Ayn Rand - Queen Elizabeth I - Noel Coward - Marco Polo and my mother (Isabel Pearl Cassidy).
Q: All things being equal, where do you see yourself five years from today?
Almost anywhere I'm not right now. Traveling through the southern states on the back roads in January to end up in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. In Greece. In Ireland. In Vanuatu. In Egypt. In Cornwall.
Cornered...rapid fire want to knows:
Q: Favorite poem of all time
Tyger Tyger by William Blake
Q: Favorite non-fiction work
The Klondike by Pierre Burton
Q: Favorite fiction work
The Complete Short Stories of Somerset Maugham. If a collection of short stories isn't acceptable then Reflex by Dick Francis.
Q: Favorite leisure pastime (aside from writing)
Driving
Q: Kind of music you like (since music is so closely related to and intertwined with writing)
opera - zydeco - rhythm & blues - rock & roll - Gilbert & Sullivan operettas - country & western - folk songs - spirituals - dixie land jazz - celtic music - classical.
Q: Pet peeves in others writing
Lower case i being used when referring to Self. Computer speak. Closed minds. Lack of sincerity. Pandering to the reader instead of encouraging them to think. Red herrings. Yellow journalism. Conceit. Petulance.
I’d like to thank Pen very much for submitting herself to EXPOSED!
Anyone up for the task of being EXPOSED! have laptop, will travel!
Claire
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EXPOSED! at lit.org (williamhill)
