Ed Ireland asked Eileen Troemel:

Do you need personal events to inspire you to write poetry or can you write it anytime?

Eileen Troemel My books are called Moments in Life, Moments in Nature, and Moments in Spirit. Generally there is something that clicks in my head that sets off my poetic muse. One morning, I was walking to my car and the light in my garage went out. There was that moment where I just stood in the dark. From that moment, the phrase Standing in the Dark stuck in my head. When I got to work, I spent less than ten minutes writing about Standing in the Dark. It is one of my favorite poems. Something has to click, I work on the fifth floor of a building from 7:45 in the morning to 5 at night. I have a little slit of a window next to my desk. The nice thing for me is outside my window is a university campus that has embraced keeping nature on campus. I see the changing seasons, from the dark green of the pine trees contrasting with the white snow (right now) to amazing sunsets and sun rises.

At the same time, I was asked to write something for a friend's wedding. I asked each of them to give me ten words to describe their partner. I had a lovely conversation with them about each other. From that I created a poem that I read at their wedding. They loved it. It turned out well and gave them a special memory. I on the other hand was so nervous I couldn't hear the wedding because my ears were ringing because I had to read in front of a hundred people... it was my first time reading my poetry to a group.

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