Joined: 07 Sep 2007 Posts: 523 Location: Upstate New York
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 1:46 pm
How about "how much of your life goes into your poetry?" And the answer would be - lots.
I used the fact that no crows would roost in a creepy yew tree, and the fact that my dog used to stare at the tree, as the basis for my poem "Something in the Yew" (due to be published in a forthcoming issue of Doorways magazine).
I used the fact that strange faces used to appear in the desktop background on my monitor as the beginning of my poem "The Faces" (due out in the June issue of The Ashen Eye).
I used the fact that we used to see odd shadows of various sorts in our old home, as well as some of the things we've seen on the telly about shadow people, as a basis for my poem "Shadow People" (due out in the July issue of Resident Aliens).
I played on my feelings about ever going back to my childhood home when composing "My Haunted House".
I was inspired by the sound of a flock of starlings when I described the coming of the Unseelie Court thus:
Then an ominous sound breaks the tense hush,
A whirring stir like starlings on the wing.
(from "The Unseelie Court").
I also used my fear of dark woods in "The Unseelie Court", as well as several other works. Growing up in a rural, wooded area, I was terrified of the woods at night. I always imagined all sorts of toothy beasts lurking in the murk.
And, I used the fact that I receive a lot of spam (don't we all) for the inspiration of my one accepted short story, my drabble "The Trouble with Unsolicited Messages" (due out in the 11th issue of The Drabbler: SETI Calling).
Obviously a lot of speculative fiction and poetry arises from the imagination, but real lfe can play a role in inspiring certain works. Many of my darker pieces are grounded in the "real world", so they can effectively evoke feelings of terror and horror in the reader. _________________ "I'm going to do what the warriors of old did. I'm going to recite poetry!"
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