I'm curious: where do you get your inspiration from?

I've had a noted lack of inspiration recently, and it's really forced me to look at how I tend to create and formulate my poems. I've learned a lot about my creative process (not that it's helped, still have written anything) and it has made me really curious about how other poets do it.

Care to share?

Actually, I think I'm curious about more than just "inspiration". It's one thing to be inspired by puppies, or jesus, or war, or love - but how do you make that into a poem? How do these thoughts of puppies and images of jesus get from inside your head and onto the page? What process do you go through that translates the cacophany of war and the euphamy of love into lines on paper or screen? How do you translate your inspiration into action?

I think every poet may answer this differently. For me, sometimes it is enough to hear a phrase somewhere, read something, see something in my travels. Then I jot down notes in my notebook (which I always carry) and flesh them out as I feel inclined.

Sometimes, I attempt a certain form and just start experimenting with words.

Inspiration... Can be a single word to a whole statement. I like researching quotes on certain words or subjects, watching the news and here is one of my favorite watching, The Young and the Restless; those writers can put some lines together that just beg for a poem to be written. Inspiration while driving is a big one for me especially with small poems that can be wrapped up in just a few lines. The nature of wildlife and just nature itself get out for some alone time or talk to a tree; I guess that is the nature of me.

Now this one is my most favorite reading and commenting on fellow GP poets work. I can read a fellow poet's poem and maybe one line will spark a poem. I cannot tell you how many times this has happened; but I have to be great full for John not only for a place to post my poetry but a place to learn from the many poets that post here, for they have made me a better writer and they are a great source of inspiration.

Kyle great subject.... BWP...

I don't work from "inspiration" myself. I just write -- start jotting words, phrases, ideas, things from the news, pictures, instrumental music, etc. I let the inspiration come from the writing.

Anything can inspire,
if your question
served as inspiration
for many or even me
I would write a poem
but the words got here
faster than could be
and wrote you an answer:

look, the poet: Tony
T for true
O as oranges and lemons
N be anyone of course
Yes, N be oranges or lemons

but N could not write like Tony!

Look, the poet BWP
But anything but that
Why, he writes words strung into
Poems, strung to say a story
strung to say it like it is
or just his, way of saying it

Look at you Chimera
wanting to know
how to, and your poems
saying things of ordinary
I never thought them to be
look at you Chimerical Kyle
banking on others to show you
the road, the river, the bank

And see that wicked tomboy there
that girl with fire in her eyes
throwing pebbles of helpless anger
into the waters of the river

And dear Hugh
waiting and watching
observing everything
to write it all
in the least of words
with a fluid hand

And you ask Chimera
banking on others
for what it all could be
the world in a peapod is here
is that not enough for you
does it not inspire?

Tony wrote:

I don't work from "inspiration" myself. I just write -- start jotting words, phrases, ideas, things from the news, pictures, instrumental music, etc. I let the inspiration come from the writing.

Tony you remind me of the Groucho Marx quote below. Your statement is contradiction within itself.

That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. ... Lord Buckley / Groucho Marx ...

Inspiration

Arousal of the mind to special unusual activity or creativity.

A product of your creative thinking and work

A sudden intuition as part of solving a problem

(theology) a special influence of a divinity on the minds of human beings

Arousing to a particular emotion or action

The act of inhaling; the drawing in of air (or other gases) as in breathing



Tony define the definition above you do not use and at the same time give me a measurement of inspiration in length. I think you like being a walking talking contradiction.

If you can post a poem here you wrote without inspiration. I have read some of your poetry from your blog Dark Matter and I can almost believe you.

Tony do you breathe? No! I never took a breath in my life.


BWP....

BWP, before you hijack yet another thread for a tiresome rant against Tony, I think there is a lot of merit in what he said.

He did not say that he is a creature devoid of inspiration, nor that he is a poet so skilled that he can do without it - he just doesn't begin with inspiration. I think that is a particularly smart way to write - don't wait for lightening to hit, just start writing and let the words themselves create the friction and the spark, and then the inspiration will come from the work. It's difficult though, and a method I have not had a lot of success with in the past. At the very least, it's a better use of time than starting at a blank white page....

BrokenWordsPoet wrote:

Now this one is my most favorite reading and commenting on fellow GP poets work.

I totally agree with this. I find reading other peoples poetry, either here or from my bookshelf at home, us a great source of inspiration. Sometimes just hearing the way another person puts a sentence together or expresses an idea can unlock a whole river of my own words.

BrokenWordsPoet wrote:

Now this one is my most favorite reading and commenting on fellow GP poets work.

I totally agree with this. I find reading other peoples poetry, either here or from my bookshelf at home, us a great source of inspiration. Sometimes just hearing the way another person puts a sentence together or expresses an idea can unlock a whole river of my own words.

kylebank wrote:

BWP, before you hijack yet another thread for a tiresome rant against Tony, I think there is a lot of merit in what he said.

Kyle... I promise not to highjack another thread. Kyle as for Coffee Shop goes I have a love hate feeling about The Coffee Shop I get more into it than others can stomach. Making myself look like a bad guy and I assure I hold no bad feeling toward Tony or any other poet on site and that is more than some can say. I like the truth and nothing less will do for me.

The more I think about it Tony has a good method of writing, I just don't think that any poet starts every poem without inspiration and Tony has written thousands. Truth be said every poem starts from nothing even writing in the head the mind starts from nothing until something pops in. I have written many poems sitting down not a damn thing come to mind to write about and even going to the dictionary to find a word that will spark inspiration. One can sit down to write without a thought in the world to write about, low and behold a word comes along and inspiration is born. Therefore we start writing from inspiration. Lets take the words vacancy or paper can you find inspiration in these two words; yes you can if the words inspire you.

I think Tony should have said, I don't start my work from inspiration all the time; sometimes I have to work to find it. If this is what he meant and you seem to think he meant, can't be too sure with poets here on GP, may have meant something else. Which changes the dynamics ( the forces that cause motions) of writing poetry. It is something that one forces themselves to do; like I am a poet; what I do is write poetry and poetry becomes more of a job, love it or hate it.

His jotting down words is a great exercise that has worked for me. Starting with a blank page writing a word or thought in the middle; putting a circle around it then draw lines connecting other words, thoughts to the center working my way out to the edge of the paper with words or thoughts and before you know it inspiration comes about and when that happens it feels like magic.

I think I would rather start with inspiration than trying to find inspiration any day. Poetry is lacking when someone is trying to write poems like poetry is a fast food stand cranking out burger one right after the other and soon they all taste the same and becomes boring as hell.

Tony wrote:

I don't work from "inspiration" myself.

I think Tony should have elaborated more on his comment so I could have read more into it. Yes! Tony I need a road map...

Peace brother... BWP...

Kyle... Thanks for calling me down... Good man...

inspirations:


van goghs other ear. jackson pollock. dali. jim morrison. njinsky. leonard cohen . edith piaff. bessie smith. heather nova. lou reed. pink floyd.

r.d laing; dh lawrence; cummings; louis lamor; Xavier Hollander; herman hesse; erica jong; sylvia plath; anais nin; henry miller; graffiti on the inside walls of public toilet cubicles (mostly)

dylan; bukowski; the beat poets. my daughter, amber

w3rds!

the need to write:

my writing is essential in contributing to my personal understanding – at various times and various moments – to my own experience, of this thing called living, and life.

through my expression i explore the relative nature, of (my) absolute truths. its about defining and understanding ones perceptions, gaining insight into ones own truths. deciphering and understanding my internal narrative. and through understanding that incessant silent internal dialogue one has with self; and then being enabled and empowered to change the script.

and therefore live a different experience of life. a more conscious chosen experience. its a dynamic continuing evolving process and experience.

Well said, Wylde

Well said, Wylde

wylde wrote:

the need to write:(my) absolute truths. its about defining and understanding ones perceptions, gaining insight into ones own truths. deciphering and understanding my internal narrative. and through understanding that incessant silent internal dialogue one has with self; and then being enabled and empowered to change the script. and therefore live a different experience of life. a more conscious chosen experience. its a dynamic continuing evolving process and experience.

Wylde... Do you believe one can write without being inspired to do so? I feel that writing is the inspiration itself. That the fact a person does not want to leave this world unspoken is an inspiration. Therefore we are inspired to write. Writing is a form of recognition. How can we write one word or thought without being inspired to do so? The reason I say measure inspiration or just tell me where does inspiration start and end; how small is that spark or how large is the flame?

Peace... BWP...

I apologize - it seems that when I reply from my phone, it double posts!

I usually get inspiration from things that I see - I'm a visual person. Whether it's a memory, or something I see during the day, or a complete figment of my imagination, it always starts with a well formed image. I'll roll it around in my head, explore it, discover it, play with it.

But nothing much happens until some catalyst comes along. I can literally carry these images/ideas around for days sometimes, and then I'll be reading a poem, or listening to a song, or lost in a book, and BANG - something heard or read or newly understood clicks in my mind, like a key, and it unlocks the image from my head and I better hope there is a notebook or computer nearby for the poem to come out.

It's that little catalyst that seems most elusive, and when it does appear, it's almost always in the form of someone else's words. There's just something about hearing another person express something in their own way that gives new insight and understanding to what I've been thinking about.

I remember once I had been working on a poem (mostly in my head) for about a month, and I read the word "bunchgrass" in a short story about Wyoming, and the whole poem came together in that instant.

It's a method that works well for me, but sometimes I get really tired of waiting for a spontaneous spark...

Kylebank is correct. I don't wait to be inspired to write. I simply sit down and write without attachment to the results. When I find a thread I want to follow, I follow it. Sometimes I revisit, sometimes I edit, sometimes I let it ride.

As for the blog where you find "uninspired" work, BWP: no worries. If you take the time to read the explanation for the blog, you'll find it's a record of the complete body of work as I pursue it -- all the pieces go up there -- the good, the bad, the mediocre. It's a record of one poet's output. All of it. There are bound to be "uninspired" works in there. Sometimes they lead nowhere, sometimes they jumpstart other poems, and sometimes they sit for years till I come back and figure out what I truly wanted to say.

Works for me. Your mileage may vary. A zillion ways to skin the poetic cat. Generalizations are odious, to paraphrase Cervantes.

BrokenWordsPoet wrote:

Wylde... Do you believe one can write without being inspired to do so?

james - simply no. well, im sure 'people' can - but for me, what would be the point? i can only speak (as i do here) for myself.

it could also depend on how you define 'inspiration'. many times im 'driven' to write.

but on the other hand, i recall a dry season of writers block, which lasted more than 5 years, where although i may have felt driven to write, i couldnt. and when i say 'write' i mean create poetry.

even through 'dry spells' the experiences and imagery get spliced into my dna, tattooed into my mind, to finally break free. into creative expression. at some point.

and. i simply relish and love bathing in the english vocabulary, writing or not.

Ha-ha-ha... following that, if I was smart I would just pass... but actually it resembles myself as a little girl, LOL!

Along with most of the aforementioned, especially inspiration everywhere and being a truly visual remember'er... when I get lazy and forget to write down words and phrases of interest, instead of disappearing they often percolate close to the surface of my subconscious only to reappear suddenly demanding immediate attention.

Generally speaking, for me there is no real plan, and if there is a plan it becomes very quickly overwhelmed in the moment, so to speak. When it's working, I'm no longer here, transported into endless possibilities that mix together blending smoothly into a story or a refrain or whatever comes to mind. Sometimes it's rather difficult to take full credit for what comes out. Then there is the time consuming process of edit, edit, edit - hopefully without losing the very essence of a mostly spontaneous piece.

Writing to specific subject matter is more difficult for me - like writing to a contest theme or a photo prompt. So I am working diligently toward overcoming that shortfall - a mind over matter project of deeply focusing my intuitive energy toward one thing, rather than letting it loose to go its own way. Practice, practice - and hoping it doesn't adversely affect my ability to write spontaneously, which I greatly enjoy. Actually I already quite enjoy writing to photo prompts... which goes back to the visual thing that may be driving intuition, inspiration and everything else.

Sorry, I do tend to go on and on... hope this post added something worthwhile to your very interesting discussion, Kyle.

Cheers, Mary Ann

Tony wrote:

Kylebank is correct. I don't wait to be inspired to write. I simply sit down and write without attachment to the results. When I find a thread I want to follow, I follow it. Sometimes I revisit, sometimes I edit, sometimes I let it ride. As for the blog where you find "uninspired" work, BWP: no worries. If you take the time to read the explanation for the blog, you'll find it's a record of the complete body of work as I pursue it -- all the pieces go up there -- the good, the bad, the mediocre. It's a record of one poet's output. All of it. There are bound to be "uninspired" works in there. Sometimes they lead nowhere, sometimes they jumpstart other poems, and sometimes they sit for years till I come back and figure out what I truly wanted to say. Works for me. Your mileage may vary. A zillion ways to skin the poetic cat. Generalizations are odious, to paraphrase Cervantes.

Tony... I think I maybe a little in awe of your poetic ability. Your work on the Clone poem I took it apart and never posted my findings; a truly awesome work. I know you are a very inspiring writer and I maybe a thorn. My comments maybe ruff, they may ruffle some feathers making others think I don't like you and that is far from the truth, I told Kyle that in a PM. He thought I would be angry with him for the call down and not so. I just find you too be a very interesting poet your first comment above; to me I felt that you were leaving something out about your process of writing.

Sorry for the thorn; no I am not

Peace... BWP...

kylebank, as for your question, inspiration is a funny thing for me. I write often from what is happening around me. I am at present interested in the small poem. Saying something im as little words as possible. When I am writing like this I am inspired by an observation, followed by a feeling or thought. For example, right now my house plants are all dying for lack of water. Watering is my job, but I lost my mother recently and my housekeeper didn't think to do that job, and who would blame her. So... I look at the plants and I am inspired to write something. Something about loss or death or thirst. Something.

When I write longer pieces I think it is different. I think I write more from instinct, some internal need to make conversation in poetic form. And that writing is a different sort of thing. There isn't so much inspiration as drive.

maryanns wrote:

Ha-ha-ha... following that, if I was smart I would just pass... but actually it resembles myself as a little girl, LOL! Then there is the time consuming process of edit, edit, edit - hopefully without losing the very essence of a mostly spontaneous piece. Writing to specific subject matter is more difficult for me - like writing to a contest theme or a photo prompt. So I am working diligently toward overcoming that shortfall - a mind over matter project of deeply focusing my intuitive energy toward one thing, rather than letting it loose to go its own way. Practice, practice - and hoping it doesn't adversely affect my ability to write spontaneously, which I greatly enjoy. Actually I already quite enjoy writing to photo prompts... which goes back to the visual thing that may be driving intuition, inspiration and everything else. Cheers, Mary Ann

Maryann... I sure am glad you're not smart; other poets would not have a chance (spoken in a good way). Photo prompts are not my tea though I have written a few; I usually write and then try to match a picture to the poem. I do like to write about a subject matter at random. I also like the 55 mile an hour writing I can't wait to put down after a drive in the country to get them out my head.

I sure know how to step into things; I guess that comes from living on a farm and stepping in things all the time.

BWP...

And wylde, you are amazing!

Fifty-five mile an hour writing... Yes, I've been guilty of doing it too, James - when there's no safe place to turn off. On our rather narrow winding roads it can be tough on mailboxes and side-view mirrors, though. So far so good - but reading resulting scribbles several hours later often results in uncertain degrees of puzzlement. I was ardently advised by well-meaning friends to purchase a reliable recording device...