If someone were to ask me “what poets do you draw inspiration from while writing?” I wouldn’t have the slightest idea on how to answer. Truth be told, I don’t follow or read many other poet’s works (though quite honestly I should). As for sources, at the time of me taking this course I am currently going through a shift in my my main inspiration for writing. I began writing about five years ago. Originally, I used poetry as a coping mechanism to deal with the death of my uncle. His death sent me down a spiral that I couldn’t seem to climb back up from. In my early poetry, I used my uncle’s death as a catalyst to explore my deepest emotions. Fear, loss, anger, and angst were a few of the emotions I drew on. For many years I wrote by drawing on these emotions, however, over the course of last semester, I decided to put my uncle’s memory to rest. I am now currently on a journey to explore new avenues of inspiration. My latest works of poetry have been results of me expanding my horizons. I have recently written poems that draw on my love of music and my feelings towards my colorblindness. In fact, I have delved deep into my colorblindness; in which both I explore its effect on life in a positive light. I have also recently begun looking at other poets works, in order to further develop my own form. In my last poem about color blindness, “ Red-Green, Blue-Purple: Ode to colorblindness,” I took inspiration from Aisha Sharif’s poetry. I hope to continue to look for more sources of poetry and inspiration to make my own.
Annotated Bibliography of Poetic Sources
“It’s Such a Beautiful Day”, dir Hertzfeldt, Don, produc. Bitter Films, distr. Cinemad Presents. USA, 2012. Film.
- A man named Bill struggles with his health and failing brain as his memories slip out of his head. Used as a way to show fear of losing, fear of failure, and fear of not making a difference on this shitty little rock.
“Hospice”, Antlers, The, dist Frenchkiss productions, Watcher’s Woods, Brooklyn, USA, 2009. Album.
- A man struggles with caring for his girlfriend as she dies from cancer, while simultaneously coming to terms with the abuses which she has delivered him. Used to show struggle, pain, inevitable tragedy, tiny victories and major losses, as well as great structure and instrumentation.
“Låt Den Rätte Komma In” or “Let The Right One In”, dir Alfredson, Tomas, produc EFTI, Filmpool Nord, and Sveriges Television, distr. Sandrew Metronome. Sweden, 2008. Film.
- A young boy befriends a vampire girl, allowing him to overcome the struggles he faces with his bullies. Used to display an interest in language, purity, beauty in white snow, the joys in youth, young love, happiness in others, hatred, anger, hope, and ambiguity in endings.
Lost in Stereo
The biggest complaint my past roommates have had about me is that I listen to music from the moment I open my eyes in the morning to the second I close them at night. For me, music is inseparable from my emotions and memories. I turn to music when I’m writing because music is my scrapbook. My memories and feelings are documented in the music I was listening to when I felt a certain way or something important happened. Because I listen to so much music, it’s difficult to name specific songs that have resulted in poems without going far beyond 300 words. However, I will name a couple that contributed to the last poem I wrote. That poem, “Museum,” was inspired by nostalgia, so these songs are all ones I listened to when I was younger. “Up Up and Away” by Romance on a Rocketship, “The Pursuit of Happiness” by Kid CuDi, “Say My Name” by ODESZA and Zyra, “Hello, Brooklyn” by All Time Low, “Fall for You” by Secondhand Serenade, and “I Miss You” by Blink-182 are a few of the songs that make me feel the emotion I’m trying to convey in “Museum.” Music doesn’t just inspire the content of my poems either. I care more about the sound of my poems than their appearance. The sound my poetry makes is also inspired by music. Recently I’ve been interested in awkward cadences. Two songs that show this are “Daphne Blue” by The Band CAMINO and “Nicknames” by Dayglow. These songs create tension in the way that singer pauses in the middle of sentences, and that tension is resolved in the chorus. This particular sound is something I’d like to explore in poetry.