I wrote this poem and submitted to the Festival for Poetry and is now featured on their site:
original
Being a writer…
“Your writing starts with a vision – a dream.
A belief that you need to put down what you are seeing in your mind.
It drives you and inspires you…this vision.
It makes you want to feel something as you are passionate about the process.”
(C) T. Altman 2017
What inspires me: Margarett Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale
I have always been inspired by stories of and by women. I recently re-read “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood.
I have to start off by saying this book was recommended to me by a friend and I am glad she did as its become one of my favorite all time books.
The scary thing is that our current political climate can potentially lead to this dystopian world where women’s rights and reproduction are controlled by men in power and with that in mind its quite a thought provoking read.
This book has had a deep impact on me and my personal connection to feminism and the resulting treatment of women and their bodies.
Hulu has created a tv series based on the books airing in March and I look forward to seeing this great novel on the small screen…until then:
“Nolite te bastardes carborundorum”
Don’t let the bastards grind you down!
Poetry Writing Style
I was around 21 when I showed a friend some of the poetry I had written up to that point. We were planning on attending a poetry reading group and I wanted some feedback on my work before going “public”with it. It was a huge deal for me, as before this I had never shown anyone my poetry.
This friend was very focused and silent, whilst she looked through my notebook of handwritten poems…mostly in neat print which at times became cursive. After what seemed like an eon, she looked up at me and said “you write like Sylvia Plath” to which I replied “Who?“, as I had no idea who Sylvia Plath was at the time.
Like I’ve mentioned before – I wasn’t exposed to the best English literature at the working class public schools I attended growing up. For the most part and if I am speaking frankly, I don’t ever recall being taught anything about poetry or poets for that matter. The poets I had been exposed to were the ones I found on my own. These tended to be poets from the Romantic era like Byron, Shelley, Keats and Poe, as I had developed an obsession with the Victorian period as a teen.
Soon after, I found myself borrowing my friends copy of her collection of Sylvia Plath’s work and realized that my poetry did resemble her style. This was completely unintentional and worried me so much I stopped writing for a while. I was so fearful about not emulating that it made me stop creating any work at all!
Then, I finally read “The Bell Jar”. I completely resonated and understood where the protagonist was coming from. Something inside clicked. I released the expectation and worry I had placed upon myself.
I went back to writing poetry and I write the way I am compelled to. Whether it be free or rhyme, flowing or constructed, personal or observational – I don’t care what I sound like. As long as I am getting my feelings out and expressing myself as I feel compelled to, I feel good about it.
Syliva’s style was autobiographical and so is mine and we deal with the same subject matter of depression, disturbances and death. The older I get the more comfortable I get with my poetry and as long as I personally feel something when I write it, I will keep at it.
If you would like to read some of my work, here are a few poems I have written in the last year:
“Wear your heart on your skin in this life.”
― Sylvia Plath
(c) T. Altman 2017
Flaneusing In Another City
In December, I went on a trip to Brisbane for a conference and took some extra days off either side, to be able to further acquaint myself with the city.
Even though I’d been to Brisbane a few times before, it had been years and the city has changed into a sprawling modern metropolis with more things to do and see.
I found my time being spent walking around the city most mornings before the mercury got too high. I would then retreat to the comfort of my hotel room in the afternoon to read and write.
During one of my daily flaneusing trips, I came across the “Literary Trail” scattered throughout Brisbane which I thought was quite beautiful and a great tribute to the city’s poets:
These walks were just what I needed to reinvigorate me with my passion for poetry and short story writing.
(c) T. Altman 2017
What Inspires Me: Ernest Hemingway
Sometimes the only way out of the pain, is to go through it.
Hemingway knew that:
The Flaneuse (Female Walker Writer)
Up until recent years, I used to walk around the city, alone – all the time.
I used to work in the CBD (Central Business District) and other than walking to and from my office building, I would spend lunchtimes and after business hours walking around the streets of Melbourne.
I was engaged in the city whilst observing it – two polarities joined.
Sometimes I felt like the untethered explorer, whilst other times I felt a foreboding danger and retreated to the safety of a heavy populated cafe or shopping district.
During these times I would sometimes jump on and off trams and trains to see what I could find. Sometimes, I would discover some well known artist’s graffiti on a brick wall or an independent retailer selling exotic homemade wares and even a budding musician busking in a underground train-station.
Now, I make an effort to go into the city and visit certain landmarks with purpose. I am more aware of my surroundings as I take precaution whilst observing as much as I can take in, for inspiration. I never knew how important it was for me to walk, observe and use that to fuel my imagination until I stopped and then went back to it. I didn’t realise that like some of my favourite authors, I am a Flaneuse and my hometown is my muse.
(c) T. Altman 2016
Tell Your Story
What Inspires Me: Second Hand Book Stores
It was Virginia Woolf who in her essay “Street Haunting” said:
“Second-hand books are wild books, homeless books”
Well they can come home with me and be tamed because I absolutely love second hand books – they have so much character!
When I have the chance I like to peruse though second hand bookstores. Due to my addiction to books, I rarely ever leave a second hand book shop empty handed.
I especially love coming across books with dedications at the beginning of the book as well as personal annotations on the side of pages which highlight some important point to the reader. I find these even more precious the older they are and it makes me wonder why and how these books with so much personal attachment to them, made it to me.
If you can, visit your local second hand book store and rescue a wild book!
(C) T. Altman 2016
Banned Books Week: September 25 – October 1
What banned books have you read?
Some of my favorite books are the ones who have been banned by certain places, people and institutions.
Here are a list of my favorite banned books once banned in Australia:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D H Lawrence
Ulysses by James Joyce
For more information on Banned Books Week: Banned Books Week Website
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