Virtual Blog Tour
Life has been a bit hectic for me, and so this post is a little later than it was supposed to be. I'm taking part in a "Virtual Blog Tour". Unfortunately, none of the people I invited responded to my invite, so I just decided to go ahead and post it anyway. Perhaps someone will read this and discover that I actually have a blog. I was invited by my friend Kendall, who happens to be a poet that I like a lot, as well. I described his poetry to a friend of mine as "heartbreaking". I say that because it's filled with a lot of sadness, pain and desolation. He does it well and without any pretense or manufactured emotion. There is never anything clinical about his work and that's why I love it. It's honest and direct. I could point you to many different poems he's had published online, but you'd be better off picking up one of his chapbooks. Here is a little more about him:
Kendall A. Bell's poetry has been widely published in print and online, most recently in First Literary Review-East and Drown In My Own Fears. He was nominated for Sundress Publications' Best of the Net collection in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013. He is the author of fifteen chapbooks. His most recent chapbook is "Be Mine". He is the founder and co-editor of the online journal Chantarelle's Notebook and the publisher/editor of Maverick Duck Press. His website is www.kendallabell.com and his chapbooks are available through www.maverickduckpress.com. He lives in Riverside, New Jersey.
The other part of this are four questions that I'm supposed to answer, and here they are.
1. What am I currently working on?
I'm currently working on a new chapbook manuscript. At first, it was going to be very different from my previous work. Instead, it seems awfully familiar. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but it simply is. I also participated in two Poem-a-day challenges this year, so I'm feeling pretty good about myself as a poet. For now.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Does anyone's work really differ? I think you can find hints of other poets in every poet, to be honest. My style is very confessional. I branch out on occasion, but I'm starting to embrace the fact that what I write comes from deep within me and I shouldn't care if it's personal. These are my babies. This is who I am. I think the reader gets a pretty solid sense of my personality when they read my poems.
3. Why do I write/create what I do?
Why? There's always a "why", isn't there? Let's put it this way. I tried to stop writing once or twice. I couldn't shut off what was in my head and what needed to come out. I'm a creative spirit and I need to be able to channel that. I'm also a very guarded person, so what comes out in my poems will not necessarily be something that I'd speak about to you or anyone else, dear reader. I can hide behind my words. I can lay everything out on the table. You will know me more intimately through my poems than I could ever tell you in person or in casual online chatter.
4. How does your writing/creating process work?
It's pretty simple, really. At different points through the day, I will write things down. Many of those things become poems. I could be surfing the internet lazily and then BAM!, a poem shows up. I do have a few things I like to have with me if I'm home. I'm obsessed with pink things and I have a pink mug. It is on my desk right now. It doesn't matter if it's empty or full. It has to be there. I have post-it notes everywhere. I go through a painstakingly long editing process, too. At the end of the day, I hope that what I put out there means something to someone, that some other girl or boy reads my poems and nods their head knowing that feeling I'm trying to get across. It's the best I can hope for.
Thanks for indulging me. :) I hope you stop by more often, and I hope to have more to say.
The other part of this are four questions that I'm supposed to answer, and here they are.
1. What am I currently working on?
I'm currently working on a new chapbook manuscript. At first, it was going to be very different from my previous work. Instead, it seems awfully familiar. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but it simply is. I also participated in two Poem-a-day challenges this year, so I'm feeling pretty good about myself as a poet. For now.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Does anyone's work really differ? I think you can find hints of other poets in every poet, to be honest. My style is very confessional. I branch out on occasion, but I'm starting to embrace the fact that what I write comes from deep within me and I shouldn't care if it's personal. These are my babies. This is who I am. I think the reader gets a pretty solid sense of my personality when they read my poems.
3. Why do I write/create what I do?
Why? There's always a "why", isn't there? Let's put it this way. I tried to stop writing once or twice. I couldn't shut off what was in my head and what needed to come out. I'm a creative spirit and I need to be able to channel that. I'm also a very guarded person, so what comes out in my poems will not necessarily be something that I'd speak about to you or anyone else, dear reader. I can hide behind my words. I can lay everything out on the table. You will know me more intimately through my poems than I could ever tell you in person or in casual online chatter.
4. How does your writing/creating process work?
It's pretty simple, really. At different points through the day, I will write things down. Many of those things become poems. I could be surfing the internet lazily and then BAM!, a poem shows up. I do have a few things I like to have with me if I'm home. I'm obsessed with pink things and I have a pink mug. It is on my desk right now. It doesn't matter if it's empty or full. It has to be there. I have post-it notes everywhere. I go through a painstakingly long editing process, too. At the end of the day, I hope that what I put out there means something to someone, that some other girl or boy reads my poems and nods their head knowing that feeling I'm trying to get across. It's the best I can hope for.
Thanks for indulging me. :) I hope you stop by more often, and I hope to have more to say.
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