ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Sorry about my recent lack of participation in the writing workshop, Maureen. Thinking about the reason, I got to wondering how the rest of you fare with writing when you go through a sad patch. We've had a couple of distressing weeks with the death of two dear friends and other unhappy events, and I always find when I'm sad I cannot write. I did notice that the last set of prompts were based on Bob's "sad" four-word challenge, and I know some poets use writing as an outlet during sad times, which is great. But I'm one of those who has to be feeling upbeat to a certain extent - even to write a sad poem. I'd be interested to hear feedback from other Forum members on this topic - to what extent does your mood affect your writing?

However, I do have a short (not very expert) contribution from the current set of prompts. It's not related to any personal experience, just that for some reason the prompts led me down the path of someone starting a new life far away.

Bright Lights
(c) Shelley Hansen 2016

Bright lights of the City are calling to me
I'm heading the queue - first in line
to be off like a rocket
my spirit set free
to carve out a future that's mine!

They gave me red flowers - a gift of farewell -
they'll fade at the end of the day.
But a small silver locket
will secretly tell
of unspoken love far away.

The taxi is tooting - one last thing to do -
too late now to turn back the clock.
There's a hole in my pocket
a spring in my shoe ...
I swivel the key in the lock.

Good on ya Shelley. You had a go, that's what counts I reckon

Sorry to hear about your unhappiness and losses. Struggle street is a long road but you'll come through, no need to rush.

I think poems are about feeling, so I guess mood does certainly affect our ability to get down to the slog of writing.

But obviously we are all different and respond to life's circumstances in different ways.
Ben Jonson wrote a poem called On My First Son about the pain of losing his 7 year old son.
William Blake was distressed over cruelty to animals in England and wrote about it, Henry Lawson was distressed about urban poverty in Sydney for his poetry.
Wilfred Owen wrote some wonderful poetry in the trenches of WW1 ( where he was killed ) and the force of his poetry comes from his deep distress and anger at the destruction of war.
You would remember the hippies in the 60s who wrote passionately about things that stirred up their political and social protest. Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul & Mary , Joni Mitchell.

So upbeat is not for everyone. But you can only do your thing in your way I reckon.

As one wise poet said, the poem will come to you when it is ready.

Thanks Neville, and you are right that many poets have been inspired by personal tragedy, which is why I threw it out there for comment.

I guess there is a difference between sad events of a social nature (poverty, cruelty, violence etc), which may be distressing but one step away, and personal tragedy such as loss of a child. There is also a difference between relating someone else's story, no matter how sad, and exposing your own sorrow.

I admire those who can use the creative outlet of writing to find comfort amid personal tragedy. For me it is only in hindsight that the words come. As you say, when the poem is ready, it comes. Thank goodness for that!

And yes, I do remember the 60s, though I was a bit young to be a hippie myself

Cheers, Shelley

I was a tool of the establishment, so I was not eligible to be a hippie.

Perhaps you might like to rephrase that Nev ?


Tool

A person, typically male, who says or does things that cause you to give them a 'what-are-you-even-doing-here' look.


Bob

The mood often goes with the poem Shelley and I think there is room for both happy and sad poems. I think it would be difficult to write a sad poem if you were feeling very happy and vice versa. Some poems need to be written when the mood hits but grief seems to be one emotion that needs processing first. I think that time is needed before you can write about such sad events. I know it took me 12mths to write about the loss of a friend and another friend took a similar time to write about the loss of her friend. I also find I cannot write if I am feeling sick. Funnily enough I need to get in the "mood" when writing any poem.

Heather

Writing can help in dealing with grief, Shelley, particularly in expressing emotions that are not easy to deal with verbally. But not always, and maybe only after the passage of time. A sense of perspective is often a valuable part of the healing process.

Best wishes to you both
David

Thanks David and Heather - and I completely agree with the comments you've both made. Heather, after my Dad died it took me ten years to write the poem! And feeling sick kills my muse too! But funnily enough when I had 8 weeks off work with a serious illness in early 2014, although poetry completely eluded me, I used my recuperation time to begin writing a novel (still unfinished!)

Thanks Matt - and I hope your predictions about cool weather are correct (it is stinking hot here on the Fraser Coast at the moment!) I don't know about "cleaning up" at Dunedoo - but we certainly intend to have fun Will you be there?

Cheers
Shelley

The others have put it so well and I totally agree - during one of the worst times in my life many years ago a friend urged me to write because she said surely it would be so cathartic for me. Alas, the words would not come. Like you Shelley I tend to write in hindsight about such things in one way or another, and wait until the poem comes, and it's usually when I'm feeling better. If I try to 'force it' during such times it just doesn't seem to work.

I'm so sorry to hear of the sad time you are having - considering all this you've done well to write this poem, (which I like by the way!) xx

Thanks Catherine!

It is interesting to review everyone's comments and see that some of you have similar experiences to mine. Of course, writing is nothing if not individual and there is certainly no "right" or "wrong" way or time to find the words. I was just interested to compare my psyche with how others experience it.

I'm always fascinated by the different processes followed by writers. For example, here is some information about Isabel Allende:

Allende holds to a very methodical literary routine. She writes using a computer, working Monday through Saturday, 9:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. "I always start on 8 January", Allende stated; a tradition she began in 1981 with a letter she wrote to her dying grandfather that would become the groundwork for her first novel, The House of the Spirits.

On the other hand, here is an extract from an interview with novelist Barbara Kingsolver:

I find it takes discipline to stop writing and go do other things, such as cleaning the house. I tend to wake up extremely early with words flooding into my brain. If I don’t get up, they’ll continue to accumulate in puddles, so it’s a relief to get to the keyboard and dump them out. I’ll take a break to have breakfast with my daughter and walk her to the school bus. In the afternoon I’ll break again to meet with my assistant ... to review the day’s mail pile and decide how to respond to requests. But if I’ve really gone into novel-never-land, the time disappears. I sometimes look at the clock and am stunned to see that six or eight hours have passed while I sat motionless in my chair.

Or, as Hemingway famously put it:

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.

Thank you everyone, for sharing your thoughts about your own personal writing journeys. I really appreciate it, and it's good to know I have friends out there who understand the struggles with the "Muse"!

Cheers
Shelley