About “i’d like to find joy again”

1. What was your motivation for writing “i’d like to find joy again”?

It was born out of my exasperation with everyday feeling exactly the same to me. Of wanting something more than what society deems acceptable.

2. What challenges—if any—did you have writing your poem?

There weren’t really any difficulties when it came to writing this poem, as it came out of a very real need for something more than what my current experience is. 

3. What is your favourite line—if any—in “i’d like to find joy again”?

The line where I say:

“life was meant to be more
than this”,

because I truly feel like our lives were meant to be more than work and death. I feel like we should be able to experience and truly live. 

4. What do you want people to walk away with after reading “i’d like to find joy again”?

That your current situation isn’t your final situation. That there’s always more we can experience, and that joy isn’t always found in expected places. Sometimes you find joy in random out in the wild. 

I also want people to realize that it is okay to struggle, that it’s okay to not be okay. That sometimes happiness is hard to find, but it is worth it finding, and they are worth knowing even when they’re doing their personal worst. 

5. Is there anything else you would like to talk about regarding “i’d like to find joy again” that hasn’t been asked?

I don’t believe so. 

Reading

1. What are you currently reading?

I have an extensive TBR, and I’m still deciding which book to read next. The last book I read was Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

2. Do you have a favourite book? If so, what is it?

I have a few. The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini, Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, Pegasus by Robin McKinley

3. What is your favourite poet or author, if any?

Anne Rice, Christopher Paolini, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, e.e. cummings, Marisa Silva-Dunbar, Stephanie Parent, and Catherine Garbinsky.

4. Do you gravitate towards reading genres outside the ones you write?

I do. I think it’s important not only to read the genres that you write but to go outside of your comfort zone. I think it expands your horizons and helps your muse become more creative and intuitive, which are important skills for writers. 

Writing

1. Why do you write?

Because it’s as natural to me as breathing, because I need writing to live, because I’ve found myself in words ever since I was a little girl and my mother would read books to me, because I need a better world, because I need to know what places my imagination can take me, to explore my wounds and what needs healing, to discover myself through the world and the things that have happened to me. 

2. What do you love about being a poet?

I love looking back at a poem and just being in awe that I wrote that, that was me. I love sitting down and just being flooded with this idea that feels so profound that I just have to share it. 

3. What time of the day do you write, and do you have a writing routine?

My schedule for work fluctuates, so it can vary from day to day. But I find early morning and late at night are usually my best times for inspiration. I try to write as often as possible and as much as my muse will allow. 

4. Where do you get your ideas from?

I am inspired by everyday life, snippets of conversations I overhear, things I wish I could say to people but won’t because I have self-control (whereas my characters don’t have to), people who annoy me, people who I love, politics, music, movies, dreams, things I yearn for, people who have made me laugh and people who have made me cry, the weather. I can honestly find inspiration from nearly anywhere and anything. 

5. How long does it take you to write your projects?

It depends on the project and the day. Sometimes the writing flows out of me, and sometimes it comes more slowly, like chipping away at a rock.

I have written books in mere months, and others have taken me years because suddenly I am inspired by an old idea of mine, and I have to explore it more in depth. Individual poems can be drawn up in mere minutes or sometimes hours, depending on whether or not I’m feeling inspired. Sometimes you just have to slog through and then delete everything just to begin. Writing is a process that isn’t a one shape fits all days, at least not for me. 

6. What advice would you give to other authors/writers/poets?

To keep showing up for yourself. People may not notice you or your projects, but if this is your dream, then you just have to keep going even when it’s hard. Because nothing worth having ever comes easy.

As Dory from Finding Nemo says, “Just keep swimming.” 

Sometimes support comes in droves, and other times there are crickets, but writing itself should inspire you to keep going. 

Never forget the people who show up for you, and remember if someone doesn’t support you, then you’re not obligated to help launch their careers. Do what you can as you can for others, but never stop investing in yourself and your writing because you are worth it. 

7. What project(s) are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on five poetry collections with a sixth and seventh one shaping up in the drafts of my mind, and one book of fiction, which may quickly turn into two. I like to keep myself busy, and the ideas don’t stop coming.  I can only hope to capture as many of the books I’m meant to write as I would like to.