Ohh, you little temptress.
Anonymous
I was listening back over some of the podcasts, and I was quite captured (and I’m gonna give Lepp the credit for this thought) by a question he asked Viddax in his interview:
“When did you first become seduced by poetry?”
Now I don’t mean when did you start writing — I mean when did writing become you? Was it a children’s nursery book? What were you inspired by at the time? What was your earliest memory of where the metaphorical poetic rabbit hole started?
I figure if we understand where our interest in poetry started, we could use this to improve our relationship with writing now by remembering what drew us to poetry in the first place. Sometimes innocence gives us a better connection to our work.
I think for me it was The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton when I was a child. I was so captured by the characters and these magical other worlds, that’s when my imagination realised it didn’t have to stay in one place. That’s when I started getting interested in writing little stories. It was exploring my imagination.
So how about you?
“When did you first become seduced by poetry?”
Now I don’t mean when did you start writing — I mean when did writing become you? Was it a children’s nursery book? What were you inspired by at the time? What was your earliest memory of where the metaphorical poetic rabbit hole started?
I figure if we understand where our interest in poetry started, we could use this to improve our relationship with writing now by remembering what drew us to poetry in the first place. Sometimes innocence gives us a better connection to our work.
I think for me it was The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton when I was a child. I was so captured by the characters and these magical other worlds, that’s when my imagination realised it didn’t have to stay in one place. That’s when I started getting interested in writing little stories. It was exploring my imagination.
So how about you?
I think for me it was Dracula.
I devoured everything available at the school library in my age range; the teachers were refusing to allow my attempts to read more advanced things. My mother at the time was in a dark place and had been watching a lot of horror stuff, particularly revolving around vampires. Being a rebellious and stubborn soul I caught a glimpse of Dracula through the door one night. I found it quite enjoyable from my perch on the stairs!
Of course when she asked which book I'd like I blurted it out without thinking and the jig was up. She tried to convince me that it was too old and dense and I'd get bored three pages in. I kept whining about it so she relented and ordered me a beautiful little hardbound copy with thin pages. I still remember the morning it arrived, how beautiful it was and is (I still have it on my shelves). I devoured it in a day and immediately demanded Phantom of the Opera next.
It was the first time I had truly become lost in a book and found myself longing to live within the pages.
Paradise Lost was the first poem I'd ever even seen as we studied only prose at school and I was immediately smitten. I was given it a year or so after the day Dracula arrived, and we'd just finished reading through Lord of the Rings in turns. I found it beautiful in its' cadence and bright expression although I struggled to understand it or grasp the concepts for many years. It remains a favourite, and I am usually re-reading it or about to begin!
I devoured everything available at the school library in my age range; the teachers were refusing to allow my attempts to read more advanced things. My mother at the time was in a dark place and had been watching a lot of horror stuff, particularly revolving around vampires. Being a rebellious and stubborn soul I caught a glimpse of Dracula through the door one night. I found it quite enjoyable from my perch on the stairs!
Of course when she asked which book I'd like I blurted it out without thinking and the jig was up. She tried to convince me that it was too old and dense and I'd get bored three pages in. I kept whining about it so she relented and ordered me a beautiful little hardbound copy with thin pages. I still remember the morning it arrived, how beautiful it was and is (I still have it on my shelves). I devoured it in a day and immediately demanded Phantom of the Opera next.
It was the first time I had truly become lost in a book and found myself longing to live within the pages.
Paradise Lost was the first poem I'd ever even seen as we studied only prose at school and I was immediately smitten. I was given it a year or so after the day Dracula arrived, and we'd just finished reading through Lord of the Rings in turns. I found it beautiful in its' cadence and bright expression although I struggled to understand it or grasp the concepts for many years. It remains a favourite, and I am usually re-reading it or about to begin!
Anonymous
strawberrywilds said:I think for me it was Dracula.
I devoured everything available at the school library in my age range; the teachers were refusing to allow my attempts to read more advanced things. My mother at the time was in a dark place and had been watching a lot of horror stuff particularly revolving around vampires and I caught a glimpse of Dracula through the door one night. I found it quite enjoyable from my perch on the stairs!
Of course when she asked which book I'd like I blurted it out without thinking and the jig was up. She tried to convince me that it was too old and dense and I'd get bored three pages in. I kept whining about it so she relented and ordered me a beautiful little hardbound copy with thin pages. I still remember the morning it arrived, how beautiful it was and is (I still have it on my shelves). I devoured it in a day and immediately demanded Phantom of the Opera next.
It was the first time I had truly become lost in a book and found myself longing to live within the pages.
Paradise Lost was the first poem I'd ever even seen as we studied only prose at school and I was immediately smitten. I was given it a year or so after the day Dracula arrived and we'd just finished reading through Lord of the Rings in turns. I found it beautiful in it's cadence and bright expression although I struggled to understand it or grasp the concepts for many years. It remains a favourite and I am usually re-reading it or about to begin!
Do you think our books become us? That’s another good point.
I remember going to Whitby last year and seeing the ruins of Whitby cathedral where the inspiration for Dracula is said to have come from. I just felt consumed by this emptiness. I guess those ruins against the stark backdrop of the sea was really powerful.
Phantom Of The Opera is another good example of this. Do you think they were relatable to you at the time or do they reflect what you are interested in now?
I think my first poetic love was a poet called UA Fanthorpe that I studied in school. Turns out she was very big on the feminism front, which I think influenced me a lot back then in terms of my own views of sexuality and even now, what defines women today.
Would I have been interested in those things without those poems though, or without the spark of imagination from that literature triggering my interest in folklore and mythology? Who knows... another bit of thought to chew on. Thanks for this!
I devoured everything available at the school library in my age range; the teachers were refusing to allow my attempts to read more advanced things. My mother at the time was in a dark place and had been watching a lot of horror stuff particularly revolving around vampires and I caught a glimpse of Dracula through the door one night. I found it quite enjoyable from my perch on the stairs!
Of course when she asked which book I'd like I blurted it out without thinking and the jig was up. She tried to convince me that it was too old and dense and I'd get bored three pages in. I kept whining about it so she relented and ordered me a beautiful little hardbound copy with thin pages. I still remember the morning it arrived, how beautiful it was and is (I still have it on my shelves). I devoured it in a day and immediately demanded Phantom of the Opera next.
It was the first time I had truly become lost in a book and found myself longing to live within the pages.
Paradise Lost was the first poem I'd ever even seen as we studied only prose at school and I was immediately smitten. I was given it a year or so after the day Dracula arrived and we'd just finished reading through Lord of the Rings in turns. I found it beautiful in it's cadence and bright expression although I struggled to understand it or grasp the concepts for many years. It remains a favourite and I am usually re-reading it or about to begin!
Do you think our books become us? That’s another good point.
I remember going to Whitby last year and seeing the ruins of Whitby cathedral where the inspiration for Dracula is said to have come from. I just felt consumed by this emptiness. I guess those ruins against the stark backdrop of the sea was really powerful.
Phantom Of The Opera is another good example of this. Do you think they were relatable to you at the time or do they reflect what you are interested in now?
I think my first poetic love was a poet called UA Fanthorpe that I studied in school. Turns out she was very big on the feminism front, which I think influenced me a lot back then in terms of my own views of sexuality and even now, what defines women today.
Would I have been interested in those things without those poems though, or without the spark of imagination from that literature triggering my interest in folklore and mythology? Who knows... another bit of thought to chew on. Thanks for this!
I would say that both of the novels mentioned (and also Paradise Lost) both reflected my then-dark world and brought more of it outwards from within myself. Due to stuff happening at home life was tricky and we were, not to be melodramatic, surrounded on most sides by death. I feel it's natural that even at my young age I was drawn to such things and themes of immortality and redemption, because I wanted to understand what was going on around me.
I would say that although I am a very different person now I still retain a deep love for the original pieces that brought me into the world of literature. I personally think (if I may) that with regards to Fanthorpe, the poems likely triggered things already simmering away inside. As humans we're infinitely complicated and cannot begin to measure or remember each thought passing through our conscious mind. Multiply that unknowing by about a billion and you have the subconscious.
It tends to store a lot of stuff we've experienced/seen, even if we weren't paying attention at the time. Our 'shadow selves' as Jung would have termed them tend to develop quite happily while we're busy ignoring them: I firmly believe that poetry taps into both our emotions and subconscious mind. To cut a long confusing ramble short, I believe both: the poems triggered something inside that resonated deeply for whatever reason, but I do believe you'd have found your way to such things eventually.
Just might have been a longer road to travel without the poetry!
I would say that although I am a very different person now I still retain a deep love for the original pieces that brought me into the world of literature. I personally think (if I may) that with regards to Fanthorpe, the poems likely triggered things already simmering away inside. As humans we're infinitely complicated and cannot begin to measure or remember each thought passing through our conscious mind. Multiply that unknowing by about a billion and you have the subconscious.
It tends to store a lot of stuff we've experienced/seen, even if we weren't paying attention at the time. Our 'shadow selves' as Jung would have termed them tend to develop quite happily while we're busy ignoring them: I firmly believe that poetry taps into both our emotions and subconscious mind. To cut a long confusing ramble short, I believe both: the poems triggered something inside that resonated deeply for whatever reason, but I do believe you'd have found your way to such things eventually.
Just might have been a longer road to travel without the poetry!
Anonymous
Ah, Jung and the shadow self. The perfect analogy here. And highly relevant.
All that you’ve made are highly interesting points here. It’s mad what our subconscious selves are influenced by even without knowing it. Reflected within your interest in Dracula and Paradise Lost and what was happening within your life at the time.
Bringing that influence into the world here and now, I without a doubt would say that my poetry reflects those ideals set back then.
But then I’m just a big ol’ dirty Pagan liberal. 😂
All that you’ve made are highly interesting points here. It’s mad what our subconscious selves are influenced by even without knowing it. Reflected within your interest in Dracula and Paradise Lost and what was happening within your life at the time.
Bringing that influence into the world here and now, I without a doubt would say that my poetry reflects those ideals set back then.
But then I’m just a big ol’ dirty Pagan liberal. 😂
first poem I remember was read by my teacher at little school. involved dustmen and lots of sounds [rat a tat tat type stuff] was probably the way he spoke / performed it which grabbed my interest
read the usual ladybird books : Jack and the bean stalk, etc
joined the library around 7 or 8 went through the Dr Zeuss thing, kinda kept an affinity for decent rhymes
wrote some poetry around a year or two later. didn't like the spotlight my teacher put on it so stopped
kept reading all the time: famous five, secret seven, found books which gave a choice on how the story progressed
went onto Agatha Christie's stuff and so on
answer the question though, at an early age :)-
read the usual ladybird books : Jack and the bean stalk, etc
joined the library around 7 or 8 went through the Dr Zeuss thing, kinda kept an affinity for decent rhymes
wrote some poetry around a year or two later. didn't like the spotlight my teacher put on it so stopped
kept reading all the time: famous five, secret seven, found books which gave a choice on how the story progressed
went onto Agatha Christie's stuff and so on
answer the question though, at an early age :)-
Coming from middle eastern background, the poems that I was first introduced to were so much different than the western and eastern poetry that later on that i got interested in reading. The base of our poetry started from prayers originally and since the sound of the alphabet always looped, wrapped itself around each other, it always felt seamless, like chants...imagine how caligraphy is, except thats how the speech is at all times. As i started reading western poetry it felt like a completely different language literally and figuratively. The thought process of western world as metaphorical as it was, didn't have the spirituality that i was used to. Now after reading some and having learned to incorporate both worlds i've come to appreciate all forms, delivery and language.
Anonymous
lepperochan said:first poem I remember was read by my teacher at little school. involved dustmen and lots of sounds [rat a tat tat type stuff] was probably the way he spoke / performed it which grabbed my interest
read the usual ladybird books : Jack and the bean stalk, etc
joined the library around 7 or 8 went through the Dr Zeuss thing, kinda kept an affinity for decent rhymes
wrote some poetry around a year or two later. didn't like the spotlight my teacher put on it so stopped
kept reading all the time: famous five, secret seven, found books which gave a choice on how the story progressed
went onto Agatha Christie's stuff and so on
answer the question though, at an early age :)-
It’s interesting here that you should say “didn’t like the spotlight my teacher put on it so stopped”
Tbh Lepp, the whole time you’ve been here I would safely say you haven’t been a massive fan of attention on your work (even though it deserves it). I guess this is another instance of what we were talking about earlier regarding how past experiences with writing may well have shaped how we work with our own poetry now.
Books on how the story progressed though... man I loved those as a kid! Again, another avenue of exploring imagination and fantasy.
All fascinating insights into what makes the writer rather than the writing I think.
read the usual ladybird books : Jack and the bean stalk, etc
joined the library around 7 or 8 went through the Dr Zeuss thing, kinda kept an affinity for decent rhymes
wrote some poetry around a year or two later. didn't like the spotlight my teacher put on it so stopped
kept reading all the time: famous five, secret seven, found books which gave a choice on how the story progressed
went onto Agatha Christie's stuff and so on
answer the question though, at an early age :)-
It’s interesting here that you should say “didn’t like the spotlight my teacher put on it so stopped”
Tbh Lepp, the whole time you’ve been here I would safely say you haven’t been a massive fan of attention on your work (even though it deserves it). I guess this is another instance of what we were talking about earlier regarding how past experiences with writing may well have shaped how we work with our own poetry now.
Books on how the story progressed though... man I loved those as a kid! Again, another avenue of exploring imagination and fantasy.
All fascinating insights into what makes the writer rather than the writing I think.
Anonymous
Layla said:Coming from middle eastern background, the poems that I was first introduced to were so much different than the western and eastern poetry that later on that i got interested in reading. The base of our poetry started from prayers originally and since the sound of the alphabet always looped, wrapped itself around each other, it always felt seamless, like chants...imagine how caligraphy is, except thats how the speech is at all times. As i started reading western poetry it felt like a completely different language literally and figuratively. The thought process of western world as metaphorical as it was, didn't have the spirituality that i was used to. Now after reading some and having learned to incorporate both worlds i've come to appreciate all forms, delivery and language.
I should imagine that your perspective is rather unique in the blending of several ethnicities.
I remember how enraptured I came with Rilke. Yes, we are both European, however the difference in reading poems translated from another language (Rilke wrote in his native German, and this adds a certain flavour to his writing style) really shows the difference in cultures and how this effects our pens.
I think to be able to embrace different cultures and their influences is the mark of the artist. The journey is what we are influenced by a long the way.
Seek teachings everywhere.
I should imagine that your perspective is rather unique in the blending of several ethnicities.
I remember how enraptured I came with Rilke. Yes, we are both European, however the difference in reading poems translated from another language (Rilke wrote in his native German, and this adds a certain flavour to his writing style) really shows the difference in cultures and how this effects our pens.
I think to be able to embrace different cultures and their influences is the mark of the artist. The journey is what we are influenced by a long the way.
Seek teachings everywhere.
Anonymous
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Anonymous
Anonymous said:<< post removed >>
I find people who discover poetry in school always a bit of a mixed bag of experiences. I find it funny because when I speak to Hubs about poetry in school (because there’s quite a large age gap between us) he says he studied Sylvia Plath which lead him to kinda disregard poetry because he found it maudlin and self-pitiful.
However it’s a mixed bag. I think if you get something that you connect with however, it can propel you.
Studying Shakespeare I think is always a bit of a risk as well (totally started singing Shakespeare by Fink then) because I think you have to connect with writing to be part of it, and who really understand the complexities of Shakespeare as a teenager.
I found papa boocow quite late in life, and in a way, I’m quite glad he wasn’t my first experience of poetry. I love the way he phrases things and writes in that no holds barred way but I think the lessons I’ve learned from Bukowski is that poetry doesn’t have to be neat and shiny to be relatable as fuck, rather than his content for me. Though one often wonders if they taught Bukowski in school, it would enrapture a hormone-fuelled audience for sure.
I’ve learned lots of different things from different writers across the years I think.
I find people who discover poetry in school always a bit of a mixed bag of experiences. I find it funny because when I speak to Hubs about poetry in school (because there’s quite a large age gap between us) he says he studied Sylvia Plath which lead him to kinda disregard poetry because he found it maudlin and self-pitiful.
However it’s a mixed bag. I think if you get something that you connect with however, it can propel you.
Studying Shakespeare I think is always a bit of a risk as well (totally started singing Shakespeare by Fink then) because I think you have to connect with writing to be part of it, and who really understand the complexities of Shakespeare as a teenager.
I found papa boocow quite late in life, and in a way, I’m quite glad he wasn’t my first experience of poetry. I love the way he phrases things and writes in that no holds barred way but I think the lessons I’ve learned from Bukowski is that poetry doesn’t have to be neat and shiny to be relatable as fuck, rather than his content for me. Though one often wonders if they taught Bukowski in school, it would enrapture a hormone-fuelled audience for sure.
I’ve learned lots of different things from different writers across the years I think.
like missy, i, too, was fond of the Magic Faraway Tree series of books but i'm not sure they're what made my poetry bell chime. imagination, for sure, but i'd pinpoint it more to The Night Before Christmas... knew that off by heart at the age of 5, still do. christmas eve has remained my favourite part of christmas.
the other big input for me under the age of 8 were the Flower Fairy poems... the poems sort of infiltrated my being as i enjoyed the pictures. i would cover my walls in those pictures even now.
the poetry i found in The Lord of the Rings, in its prose as well as the actual poems in its texts, expanded my mind to far darker/brighter/more adult & exquisitely elven realms.
after that, it was down to shakespeare, the romantic poets, byron, wordsworth and others that resonated in my core. even now, never mind freakin' daffodils, these lines from wordsworth's poem, Skating, (the entire poem does but these images, specifically)
are embedded in me as an experience gifted to me by words written back in the 1800's:
Glanced sideway, leaving the tumultuous throng, 25
To cut across the image of a star
That gleam’d upon the ice; and oftentimes,
When we had given our bodies to the wind,
And all the shadowy banks on either side
Came sweeping through the darkness, spinning still 30
The rapid line of motion, then at once
Have I, reclining back upon my heels,
Stopp’d short; yet still the solitary cliffs
Wheel’d by me, even as if the earth had roll’d
With visible motion her diurnal round.
the other big input for me under the age of 8 were the Flower Fairy poems... the poems sort of infiltrated my being as i enjoyed the pictures. i would cover my walls in those pictures even now.
the poetry i found in The Lord of the Rings, in its prose as well as the actual poems in its texts, expanded my mind to far darker/brighter/more adult & exquisitely elven realms.
after that, it was down to shakespeare, the romantic poets, byron, wordsworth and others that resonated in my core. even now, never mind freakin' daffodils, these lines from wordsworth's poem, Skating, (the entire poem does but these images, specifically)
are embedded in me as an experience gifted to me by words written back in the 1800's:
Glanced sideway, leaving the tumultuous throng, 25
To cut across the image of a star
That gleam’d upon the ice; and oftentimes,
When we had given our bodies to the wind,
And all the shadowy banks on either side
Came sweeping through the darkness, spinning still 30
The rapid line of motion, then at once
Have I, reclining back upon my heels,
Stopp’d short; yet still the solitary cliffs
Wheel’d by me, even as if the earth had roll’d
With visible motion her diurnal round.
Anonymous
butters said:like missy, i, too, was fond of the Magic Faraway Tree series of books but i'm not sure they're what made my poetry bell chime. imagination, for sure, but i'd pinpoint it more to The Night Before Christmas... knew that off by heart at the age of 5, still do. christmas eve has remained my favourite part of christmas.
the other big input for me under the age of 8 were the Flower Fairy poems... the poems sort of infiltrated my being as i enjoyed the pictures. i would cover my walls in those pictures even now.
the poetry i found in The Lord of the Rings, in its prose as well as the actual poems in its texts, expanded my mind to far darker/brighter/more adult & exquisitely elven realms.
after that, it was down to shakespeare, the romantic poets, byron, wordsworth and others that resonated in my core. even now, never mind freakin' daffodils, these lines from wordsworth's poem, Skating, (the entire poem does but these images, specifically)
are embedded in me as an experience gifted to me by words written back in the 1800's:
Glanced sideway, leaving the tumultuous throng, 25
To cut across the image of a star
That gleam’d upon the ice; and oftentimes,
When we had given our bodies to the wind,
And all the shadowy banks on either side
Came sweeping through the darkness, spinning still 30
The rapid line of motion, then at once
Have I, reclining back upon my heels,
Stopp’d short; yet still the solitary cliffs
Wheel’d by me, even as if the earth had roll’d
With visible motion her diurnal round.
The flower fairy poems are indeed gorgeous, and I think they definitely played a part in my love of myth and magic when I was younger. I think they were good at learning to conceptualise as well. Perhaps the first example (in my literary life) of pairing imagery to words which was valuable for later writing endeavours.
the other big input for me under the age of 8 were the Flower Fairy poems... the poems sort of infiltrated my being as i enjoyed the pictures. i would cover my walls in those pictures even now.
the poetry i found in The Lord of the Rings, in its prose as well as the actual poems in its texts, expanded my mind to far darker/brighter/more adult & exquisitely elven realms.
after that, it was down to shakespeare, the romantic poets, byron, wordsworth and others that resonated in my core. even now, never mind freakin' daffodils, these lines from wordsworth's poem, Skating, (the entire poem does but these images, specifically)
are embedded in me as an experience gifted to me by words written back in the 1800's:
Glanced sideway, leaving the tumultuous throng, 25
To cut across the image of a star
That gleam’d upon the ice; and oftentimes,
When we had given our bodies to the wind,
And all the shadowy banks on either side
Came sweeping through the darkness, spinning still 30
The rapid line of motion, then at once
Have I, reclining back upon my heels,
Stopp’d short; yet still the solitary cliffs
Wheel’d by me, even as if the earth had roll’d
With visible motion her diurnal round.
The flower fairy poems are indeed gorgeous, and I think they definitely played a part in my love of myth and magic when I was younger. I think they were good at learning to conceptualise as well. Perhaps the first example (in my literary life) of pairing imagery to words which was valuable for later writing endeavours.
