written and posted by members of Lancashire Dead Good Poets' Society

Tuesday 5 July 2011

Everything Starts with a 'Bang'

06:00:00 Posted by Lara Clayton , , , , 3 comments

I could start at the beginning. There was a ‘bang’. A small, dense state that expanded rapidly. But in the shadow cast by such a creation, I’m almost certain to get lost. To be reduced to a condition of insignificance, like a single ant in a colony of millions. I would fail to communicate with you, the reader, about who I am, why and how I’m involved in this blog. And in the online scheme of things, it would seem that these are the important questions.

Words have the ability to be either crumbs or pheromones, and the writer has the potential to either create a trail that is easily erased (by hungry birds), or one that leads to a pool of raspberry jam – necessary, important and addictive.

I’ve always had a liking for words, a growing dependency to read the musings and imaginations of others, and a need – which is almost inarticulate – to place my own mind on paper. Generally, I write poetry, occasionally, I stray into prose but I always find myself wandering back to line breaks and stanzas.

In the beginning, there was a ‘bang’. A B.A. in English: Language, Literature and Writing at Blackpool & The Fylde College. A poetry group, that started in a classroom and expanded rapidly. In the end (which is actually somewhere in the middle), there was the opportunity to enrol on a Creative Writing M.A. at Lancaster University.

A year into the M.A. and I can already see a change in my poetry; a greater awareness of the reader, poems that are less opaque, less cryptic, and which seem to be moving towards something with real purpose. Hopefully, in future blog posts, I’ll be able to share some of the things that I have learnt (am learning) on the M.A., and discuss some of the issues / difficulties that I’ve encountered in my own poetry. I don’t claim to have all the answers; however, I do believe that instigating discussion allows different perspectives to be considered, and gives us the opportunity to learn something new. With six regular writers and a different guest blogger every Sunday, this blog will offer a range of opinions and insights – giving us all the chance to see poetry from a fresh angle.

At the beginning of all beginnings, there’s a ‘bang’. An explosion of imagination, and countless possibilities.

If you’d like to find out more about me, then please feel free to read my profile

Lar

3 comments:

Ashley Lister said...

And this week is starting with a real bang. Great post Lara.

Ash

Damp incendiary device said...

Your blogging is as beautiful as your poetry :)

Anonymous said...

Bob on Lar! Chris x