I've been writing poetry for as long as I can remember and there came a time in 2012 when I realised it was possible for me to publish a book.
I had a collection of many poems going back to when I was a child of 11, following on through my teenage years, marriage and motherhood and up to that point in 2012 when I decided to publish.
It was natural then to arrange the manuscript as a timeline of the events of my life, interleaved with thoughts, feelings and ideas. It became my life in reverse, in a way. The first poems in the book were the most recent and then they work their way back in time to that very first poem I'd kept from 1969, preceded by the poems I'd written as a teen during the 1970's.
This was how I wanted it. I didn't give any consideration to what may be preferable to the reader because to be honest I didn't expect there to be anyone else interested in reading the book except my close friends and family.
I was wrong about that, I'm very pleased to say and the book generated quite a lot of interest. Whilst 'Heart's Window' will never be on the best seller lists, I've been so very gratified by how many people have read and enjoyed the poems. I'm so glad I didn't listen to my lecturer when he told me that I should change my writing style to be 'more sophisticated'. I did try to change things to please him and 'fit in' with others in my peer group but it just wasn't something that came naturally to me. I finally decided to stop trying to be something I wasn't and to just write what came naturally to me. If that was seen as simplistic or unsophisticated well that didn't concern me because I wasn't writing to please anyone. My poetry would take on different forms at different times and I determined that I would just express it as it formed in my mind. At various times my poems have helped me to cope with difficulties, to express my joy or gratitude and to simply be an outlet for thoughts and ideas. Some of them are narrative, relating true events; albeit with some embellishments and often with a humorous twist. Most of all they are mine; raw, simple and from my heart.