What I Live For

WHAT I LIVE FOR - Satya said: 

Join me for the relaunch of my writing career under my new Buddhist name Satya Robyn Today, Friday the 10th of May, tell me what gets you up in the morning and share some writing or a photo or some art called ‘What I Live For’  http://www.satyarobyn.com/?p=154

This is the challenge!  In January I took part in writing Small Stones with Satya and hundreds of others on a dedicated Facebook page.  So here is my contribution for today.

What I live for/gets me out of bed:

My life revolves around books, writing and music and has since I can remember.  At 10 years old a teacher told my mum that I could write about anything! A surprise to me, but there you go.  Other’s opinions do affect me and  when I was at secondary school (which I hated) a teacher had a go at me for my writing and said ‘people don’t write like that/do those things’.  I knew she was wrong but I didn’t have the confidence to tell her and my self-esteem dropped (I was about 14 years old).  However, in my late teens I started writing again and haven’t stopped.  I began with stories, then songs, to poetry.  Now I write mainly poetry (which has been published in small press magazines) but still dabble in other writing (blogging included!).

Learning only became an obsession after I left school at 15.  I’d come to books late, joined my local library and discovered a huge new world and I’m still exploring!  Without a book to read I get restless.  I really do get withdrawal symptoms.

Music was my first love.  I grew up with it and as I’ve got older I have expanded my horizons.  There is nothing I would dismiss and my range is diverse.  Music has the ability to set moods, change them, give me energy, it helps me write sometimes and I love to sing, dance and when I have time, play guitar.  I even have tapes of songs I wrote when I was in my 20’s.

These three things make me happy.  I learn from them all and they give me so much pleasure. Maybe sometimes they are also my comfort blanket!

Books that ‘got me into reading’:

1. Gerald Durrell’s books
2. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
3. The Borrowers

Writing -The first stories I wrote were based on science fiction.  I still find I veer in that direction but then I love sci-fi.  My poetry in those days all rhymed (that’s how it had to be wasn’t it!).  I wrote my first songs in my early teens (maybe earlier) – wrote down the lyrics and the melody was in my head!  Bought my first guitar at 18 and self-taught (still not great but it’s fun) and worked out how to record two tracks without a recording studio!  I still have my original guitar but when I reached 50 years old I treated myself to an electric! 

Music – the first record I bought/was given (vinyl 45) was The Locomotion by Little Eva.  I still have it along with all my other vinyl.  I listen to anything from classical to rock, trance and r&b.  My favourite song is God Only Knows by The Beach Boys.  I learnt to harmonize from them and the The Everly Brothers and these days I sing in a Community Choir.

 All these creative parts of me are important.  They have grown with me, have expressed my feelings, reassured me that I am not alone and have brought so much to my life that I cannot imagine my life without these creative outlets.  There is always something new to explore and to share.  I've literally just written what's below to express how I feel about all this.  Have a fantastic day everyone and go and indulge yourselves in what makes you get out of bed in the morning.

What I Live For

I live for the word
in book, or my head
for rhythm and music,
a tune or lines said.
I live for the sharing
of stories and song
imbed myself fully
in what's going on.
I live to express,
to learn and to grow
and the way that I do it
is all that I know.

 Another wonderful harmonious pair!

Small Stones (20) and other things

Something my son said yesterday about the contrast of day and night while we have snow had me commenting 'There's a poem in there somewhere.'  There was and this is it:

Grey hangs its head all day,
gloom settles its mind.
In the night snow is in reflective mood
brightening dark spaces
where they sleep the hours away.

           *

I was reading a free magazine given out after the TS Eliot Prize readings last Sunday.  There were some new poems, one was by Jackie Kay but the one that really stirred me was by Sam Willetts about a hotel room, the aftermath of losing someone you love and a thunderstorm.  There were a couple of lines that I loved and wished so much I'd written them.  My sort of thing, so descriptive but to the point, not a ramble, you know? I already have one of Sam's poetry books and this has made me think perhaps I should look into his poetry again. Some poets keep coming back to you.  He's one.

Here he is reading that poem:

I also read an article about writing a long poem.  I'm not good with long poems, reading them or writing them.  If a poem goes over two pages I'm inclined to skip it!  It really has to grab me quickly or I am lost, and not those poems about Greek gods who I've never studied (but I'm not saying I won't at some time) which mean nothing to me.  But while I was reading the article I was moved to consider the possibility of writing one.  Why?  I don't know.  Maybe I see it as a challenge, and I do like those!  So perhaps this year I will attempt one just for the hello of it!

Notebooks....ignore them at your peril

The first rule of writing (or is it the second?) is to keep a notebook.  I have one.  Do I use it?  Er.....now and then, but not as much as I should.  Hence when trying to recall an unusual moment to write about (I'm working through the chapter on Voice in W.N. Herbert's book Writing Poetry) I knew there was a moment recently but of course I didn't write it down and I couldn't recall it!

There am I telling you all you should do this and do that and what am I doing?  Breaking the rules.  But like everything in life whether you choose to follow my advice is up to you - I obviously don't.

Still, all is not lost.  I was able to recall another unusual incident and wrote about that and actually liked what I wrote! So there.

We have internet problems at the moment but are switching over to Virgin Media on the 13th April (going fibre optic).  I've finally got internet access today so am making the most of it, but if it all goes quiet for a while you'll know why.  To quote those famous lines - I'LL BE BACK.

Meanwhile here is the winning poem from the National Poetry Competition 2011.

New poetry link

Twice in one day - what can I say!

Found this nice link http://www.poetrystation.org.uk/ There is a 'poem of the day' read by the poet.