Where does your passion for poetry come from ? When and why did you start writing ?
“I’d say my passion for writing poetry comes from my grandmother, who was an author and always encouraged me to write from an early age. I probably wrote my first poem some time when I was at primary school! Nowadays I write poetry as a way of getting my emotions down on paper, as I find it hard sometimes to express myself vocally.”
How do you feel while writing poetry ?
“It sounds like a cliché but the majority of the time when I’m writing poetry I feel more relaxed because I find it easier to articulate myself. Sometimes I really struggle to write, and then I feel frustrated that I can’t write a really amazing poem in ten minutes haha. But when I really get into it I can write without thinking about it too much, and then my work tends to be better. When I’ve finished a poem I normally leave it alone and don’t look at it for a while, and then when I come back to it and read it – if it’s good – I get a sense of satisfaction.”
Where do you find your inspiration ?
”I’m normally most inspired to write poetry when I’m on public transport, because I’m in such a close proximity to loads of people at one time and they’re all going about their different lifestyles, which I find interesting. I get inspired to write poetry when I’m listening to certain music. I also tend to write a lot more if I’m sad – so if I’m going through a break-up or whatever I write loads of sad mopey poetry that I cringe at after haha. I also get inspiration from looking at adverts and newspapers and stuff like that – the other day I was on the train and there was an advert for a charity helping refugees right next to an advert for a luxury holiday company; the two just looked so wrong next to each other and it made me start writing (although I digressed a lot so I haven’t actually written about those particular ads yet – but I will!).”
“I don’t actually read that much poetry, which might sound weird for an English student who writes. But at sixth form I really liked the romantic poet Keats, and a few years ago I also discovered Frank O’Hara who I really rate. In terms of modern-day poets I’d have to say Mike Skinner from The Streets.”
