IT’S A MACRO / MICRO THING.

I find that poetry changes the way in which you see the world; the more you write, read and engage with poetry, the more you notice. Eyes, once immature and full of glances, learn to focus, to be steady and to be patient. Like the zoom lens on a camera, life-size is magnified. Thought, rather than being merely an okra seed, becomes a coiled woodlouse; an armoured marble; an ammonite carved into snakestone, complete with the legend of Saint Hilda.

In poetry, it is not the form or the size of the poem that determines whether it could be classified as large or small, but rather it is the subject, the thought, or the idea contained within the parameters of the form. For example, the haiku is small (with  its seventeen syllables), yet its subject is often thought, traditionally, to be great – starting with a macro view of the world and then becoming more specific (the micro view).

Often, within my own poetry, I find myself using this macro/micro technique – beginning with a large image and then zooming in on a smaller detail. It is these little, usually unnoticed, observations that create the depth and prevent the poem from being merely a backdrop. You want to surprise the reader: tell them something new, give them a different view of the world.

Recycling

Compost and soot from allotment bonfires

is forked into the freshly dug soil.

Old wardrobes and skirting boards

are cut to make raised beds.

A rusty swing frame is draped with green netting –

ready for when the runner beans start to climb.

Thank you for reading,
Lara

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My Five Favourite Places to Write

When people find out that I’m doing an M.A. in Creative Writing, I tend to get asked the same sorts of questions. With naivety they’ll say, “So you want to be the next J. K. Rowling?” My unvoiced response is a long drawn out sigh followed by: Is that the only writer you are capable of naming? However, fearful of offending, I just shrug my shoulders and say, not really. Once they discover that I write poetry, they have a wealth of other questions to ask. “Do people still read poetry?” Yes. “Aren’t poets a bit crazy?” Not all of them. “Do you lock yourself away from the world and just write all the time?” No.

This week’s theme is ‘Location/Environment and Writing’ and, therefore, I thought I’d attempt to dispel the myth that poets are reclusive (slightly agoraphobic) creatures who sever all connections with the outside world. Yes, I like to shut the world out at times. Yes, I like my own company. And yes, I quite like solitude. But, I also like the outside world. I like the freshness of it – the way it changes. I like the ideas it contains.

With that in mind, I thought I would share my five favourite places to write:

1. On the floor
   Despite having two desk, I always end up sat cross-legged on the floor. I like the space. I like being able to spread my drafts out. I like feeling grounded. I like being able to reach my poetry bookcase without having to move.
   
   
2. At Barista
   A small coffee shop down Birley Street (Blackpool) that is only a short walk from my house.
   I go here when I need a change of surroundings. When my flat starts to feel like it's suffocating my mind. When my ideas have decided to hide from me. When I'm looking for something, this is the first place I look.
   
   
3. At the Allotment
   Occasionally, I need a break from the modern world. I need to disconnect from technology. I need to walk away from the distractions of Facebook and Twitter.
   I don't always write when I'm here. Sometimes I just think - weeding and thinking. And recently, it has been this environment that has inspired many of the poems that I'm currently writing.
   
   
4. On the tube/train
   I don't get to write on the tube/train very much at present. But when I lived in London, riding the tube offered an unlimited source of ideas. The rhythm was soothing. The people kept changing. There was always a new fragment of overheard conversation to jot down.
   
   
5. Somewhere pretty
   It might be a quiet spot on the beach, a walk up Nicky Nook (Scorton), or somewhere in the Lakes. It doesn't really matter as long as nature is the dominate force. Yes, it does sound clichéd. But in reality, these types of places allow my mind to feel free and calm. I can leave the stresses of life behind, and as a result my writing feels more able to write itself into existence.

Where are your favourite places to write?

Thank you for reading,
Lar

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