Why Beat?
If I had a blog, my posts would show up here huh?
:)
I'm going to blog here. Prompted by my good friend R Paul, I may provide a little insight into the thought processes of my book: Beat.
Beat is the product of years of writing. The title itself comes from my love of the Beat poets and it seemed to fitting to provide a tribute to them in that way.
My life as a writer started quite by accident. I simply got a 'line' in my head and decided to write it down. From that one line came many, many lines and the accident became a compulsion.
At school, I was uninterested to say the least. My English teacher often despaired of me as I fell asleep in her classes or gazed out of the window into space. I found the literature dull and the methods of teaching mind numbing. Outside of those classes I was writing like a demon. Anything would do - bus tickets, napkins, receipts, scraps of paper and eventually notebooks. My scribbles remained unseen for many years.
Unseen, that is, until I plucked up the courage to show my mother the fruits of my labour. I had been writing from the age of 11, it took until I was 27 to let the cat out of the bag.
As a result of letting my mother read my ramblings, she suggested I send one to a publishing house that dealt mainly with anthologies. This particular publisher was looking for "Women's thoughts" at that time and so we picked one to suit. They accepted it and I became published for the first time. They subsequently published two more of my early works and then disappeared :)
I put my pen down for a few years after that - I gave birth to three children, worked as a nurse, looked after the house and generally lost my creativity in the practicality of every day.
In 2006 I started to post blogs on Myspace. Not poetry, just inane thoughts and questions. I was asked to write for an online magazine currently running through the site and accepted. My creativity returned and it didn't take long for the poetic thoughts to come back. I owe a lot of this to 'Kami' and R Paul, who encouraged this return with such enthusiasm and encouragement.
My pen has not stopped since. The compulsion is back and I now have a first book under my belt (many thanks to Gromagon Press)
I want more now, it's tough going but I think eventually I can do something really worthwhile. I want to blog my thoughts and feelings about the poetry in my first book, for myself really. It will show where I have come from, where I am and hopefully give an insight into where I am headed.
~ Sam
:)
I'm going to blog here. Prompted by my good friend R Paul, I may provide a little insight into the thought processes of my book: Beat.
Beat is the product of years of writing. The title itself comes from my love of the Beat poets and it seemed to fitting to provide a tribute to them in that way.
My life as a writer started quite by accident. I simply got a 'line' in my head and decided to write it down. From that one line came many, many lines and the accident became a compulsion.
At school, I was uninterested to say the least. My English teacher often despaired of me as I fell asleep in her classes or gazed out of the window into space. I found the literature dull and the methods of teaching mind numbing. Outside of those classes I was writing like a demon. Anything would do - bus tickets, napkins, receipts, scraps of paper and eventually notebooks. My scribbles remained unseen for many years.
Unseen, that is, until I plucked up the courage to show my mother the fruits of my labour. I had been writing from the age of 11, it took until I was 27 to let the cat out of the bag.
As a result of letting my mother read my ramblings, she suggested I send one to a publishing house that dealt mainly with anthologies. This particular publisher was looking for "Women's thoughts" at that time and so we picked one to suit. They accepted it and I became published for the first time. They subsequently published two more of my early works and then disappeared :)
I put my pen down for a few years after that - I gave birth to three children, worked as a nurse, looked after the house and generally lost my creativity in the practicality of every day.
In 2006 I started to post blogs on Myspace. Not poetry, just inane thoughts and questions. I was asked to write for an online magazine currently running through the site and accepted. My creativity returned and it didn't take long for the poetic thoughts to come back. I owe a lot of this to 'Kami' and R Paul, who encouraged this return with such enthusiasm and encouragement.
My pen has not stopped since. The compulsion is back and I now have a first book under my belt (many thanks to Gromagon Press)
I want more now, it's tough going but I think eventually I can do something really worthwhile. I want to blog my thoughts and feelings about the poetry in my first book, for myself really. It will show where I have come from, where I am and hopefully give an insight into where I am headed.
~ Sam
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I am going to start blogging my thoughts soon. I have so much going on in the practical world for the next couple of weeks.It will be an interesting exercise I think!
Thank you for your comments - I guess most of us start scribbling in similar ways. Sometimes I love my compulsion, sometimes I hate it.
I feel proud to be on your book shelf!
very interesting, Sam! I didn't start writing till I was 40; never knew I was creative, then one day I decided to start a novel and it all came flying out of my head onto the page and I've been writing ever since. I love the quote "A writer writes." I love the Beats too, especially Kerouac - Dharma Bums especially. I look forward to reading your work.
Hi Ivy!My writing has increased to intense proportions since I hit 35. I guess there has been a lot to write about since then :)
I'm a Ginsberg girl through and through!
I will put my mind to writing about my writing (!) after next week. I have a big interview coming up next friday so I cannot allow my mind to wander ha ha
Thank you for your comment hon
xx
I like to howl with Ginsburg myself, altough it's been awhile.
I didn't know that you had published poems years ago (submitted at your Mum's urging...bravo, Sue!)...but there is a tremendous validation in that moment of acceptance, isn't there? Suddenly the thoughts and images that seemed forever destined to knock about unheard on scraps of paper and in notebooks are being shared out there in the world.
I'm fascinated to hear more about the background of the works collected in your book of poetry, "Beat". I loved the title from the moment I heard it, as I was also a devotee of the Beats, and there is a little thing called the heart that also pounds away, in times of joy and trepidation both.
From the first time I read your work there was no doubt in my mind that you are a remarkable creative force. Be aware that "doing something really worthwhile" is not for eventually, it is happening right now. Your book sits proudly on my shelf near those very same Beats, and you sit well in their company.