Sorting out the tasks of a Late Bloomer poet
I didn't start writing seriously until I had lived quite a while, and it was even later that I began writing poetry. After writing and publishing poems for several years, I realized that I had quite a few poems on my hard drive. I wanted to create at least one chapbook, but I was concerned about having a cohesive thematic thread.
I had written a lot of poems about my mother after she died. And I had written many poems about gardening and nature, as well as poems about my geographical region. But were there enough of any one type? I wondered. Fortunately, chapbook lengths vary from twelve to forty pages, so I took a closer look at my work.
Still, nothing happened. And then I realized that I had put my entire heart into writing about a trauma I had experienced, and I wanted those poems to form my first chapbook. But I didn't have enough poems that I thought were good enough. Then, my unfulfilled desire to write a crown of sonnets collided with my need for more poems, and the next thing I knew, I had enough poems for a small volume about my divorce and its preceding and subsequent effects on me.
I had chosen a title for the chapbook--a phrase from one of the poems that I included--but after I wrote the sonnet crown, it became clear that the title needed to come from that group of poems.
Once that chapbook found a home, I took another look at my poems and realized that I had material for two more (small) chapbooks. I had written and published several poems of a transcendental or spiritual nature, and those also found a home. I'm still thinking about and working on the other chapbook.
I sometimes refer to myself as the poster girl for the Late Bloomer cause. Late bloomers never get to do everything we intended to do, but we get to do some of the things we always wanted to do.
Unfortunately, the area in which I live hosts very few poetry readings, but I do what I can. The action is in New Orleans, about forty miles away, which isn't convenient for me (though I did read at the New Orleans Poetry Festival's open mic event).
I intend to keep writing poems, but I'd also like to return to writing short fiction. Now that I'm semi-retired (maybe two-thirds retired), I identify much more as a writer than I do as a professional in my field.
I'll post more information about my chapbooks as times goes on. I Can't Recall Exactly When I Died is forthcoming from Clare Songbirds Publishing House, and Coronary Truth is forthcoming from Kelsay Books.
I had written a lot of poems about my mother after she died. And I had written many poems about gardening and nature, as well as poems about my geographical region. But were there enough of any one type? I wondered. Fortunately, chapbook lengths vary from twelve to forty pages, so I took a closer look at my work.
Still, nothing happened. And then I realized that I had put my entire heart into writing about a trauma I had experienced, and I wanted those poems to form my first chapbook. But I didn't have enough poems that I thought were good enough. Then, my unfulfilled desire to write a crown of sonnets collided with my need for more poems, and the next thing I knew, I had enough poems for a small volume about my divorce and its preceding and subsequent effects on me.
I had chosen a title for the chapbook--a phrase from one of the poems that I included--but after I wrote the sonnet crown, it became clear that the title needed to come from that group of poems.
Once that chapbook found a home, I took another look at my poems and realized that I had material for two more (small) chapbooks. I had written and published several poems of a transcendental or spiritual nature, and those also found a home. I'm still thinking about and working on the other chapbook.
I sometimes refer to myself as the poster girl for the Late Bloomer cause. Late bloomers never get to do everything we intended to do, but we get to do some of the things we always wanted to do.
Unfortunately, the area in which I live hosts very few poetry readings, but I do what I can. The action is in New Orleans, about forty miles away, which isn't convenient for me (though I did read at the New Orleans Poetry Festival's open mic event).
I intend to keep writing poems, but I'd also like to return to writing short fiction. Now that I'm semi-retired (maybe two-thirds retired), I identify much more as a writer than I do as a professional in my field.
I'll post more information about my chapbooks as times goes on. I Can't Recall Exactly When I Died is forthcoming from Clare Songbirds Publishing House, and Coronary Truth is forthcoming from Kelsay Books.
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