Wordsmith Studio's 3rd Anniversary continues with Week #2 of our blog hop. This week's prompt relates to the overall theme of the anniversary--Homecoming. The twist for the blog hop is to relate Homecoming to your writing experiences. I'm going to approach this topic using two subjects that I write about frequently--grief and jazz.
I have mentioned before that my poetry writing journey began out of a grief experience. Years before that, I started attending a grief support group. I had never been one to talk about my feelings so I was what is known as a delayed griever. In other words, I had experienced several losses and not really dealt with them. When my mother died, the pot boiled over and I found a wonderful group, with which I now volunteer (How's that for doing a 360?)
I have told the group a number of times that I firmly believe that I would have never started writing poetry if I had not done the grief work. It taught we the value of telling my story and gave me permission to do so. It also taught me that there are strong emotions tied to many memories and when you go back to those events you may feel those emotions. I learned that that is OK and that I can deal with those situations.
The jazz poetry takes me back in time in a couple of different ways. When I was growing up, television was filled with variety shows and talk shows. Jazz greats like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and countless others often were on multiple shows in a week, perhaps even a day. They already were icons. When I watch clips on You Tube, I have firsthand memories of some of those shows. My interest in jazz also has allowed me to meet some of these performers when they were younger, to learn of their struggles and the contributions that they made to the music to reach iconic status.
Often, I am surprised by the memories that my writing triggers. In fact, I have had one of those experiences during this month's Poem-A-Day Challenge. I'll probably have another before the month is over. That's OK. I've learned to let the writing lead the way.
Links
I'm going to take next week off. I'll jump back into the blog hop Sunday, April 26.
It's great how you turned your grief around into something positive. And oohh . . . more poem-a-day links! I will check those out. Thanks, Michelle!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you joined the anniversary hop! Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, it's so meaningful to hear how your creative process arises out of these two big influences. It struck a chord when you mentioned 'delayed grief' -- when you're just trying to 'get on with things' it isn't obvious that it's necessary to work through grief, and I've experienced that accumulation from multiple losses, myself. Definitely a great 360. And I always love hearing how jazz inspires you.
ReplyDeleteI love how our anniversary hop is giving this chance to catch up on each others' influences.
Thanks,for telling us your experience with delayed grief. I'm enjoying the blog hop posts. You're doing a great job with the prompts.
DeleteWe each have unique reasons for coming to the writing journey. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. Grief and healing need company. I'm glad to know you, Michelle.
ReplyDeleteThey definitely need company, Kasie. I'm glad to know you, too. Thanks for all the work you do for WSS.
DeleteGreat post! My creative journey had it's beginnings in my childhood, especially after I was 9yrs old.
ReplyDeleteYears later, as I began to blog and rediscover my creativity I found reason to return to memories of growing up for inspiration as a writer.
Kiril The Mad Macedonian
http://www.madmacedonian.com
http://www.opinionatedpussycat.com
Thanks, Kiril. I am surprised at some of the memories my writing triggers. I noticed this during this years PAD Challenge.
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