Statement

For me personally, poetry is, at its very essence, a simple and beautiful form of romantic idealism and fantasy resulting from creative aspiration and inspiration. Poetry can be inspired from subjective musing, dreams, visions, or it can be inspired by an inner response from exposure to the world of art, sculpture, music, literature, people, or the striking drama and beauty of the natural world.

Poetry, like all other creative mediums, is, and always will be, an expression of the inner spirit of the individual 'the soul of the creative artist' and, as such, it is a valid form of human expression with the potential to contribute to cultural enrichment.

The poet, like the artist or the musical composer, tunes into something that many others cannot or choose not to be aware of: a sublime state of mind or subtle awareness - perhaps, in some instances, it could even be described as spiritual in its nature, depending on its intensity - and it is this ability and awareness that allows the poet or creative artist to receive his or her creative nourishment (maybe even from his or her muse) and prompt him or her to express; resulting in the creation of something new, something tangible: first existing and forming within the imagination and then made into reality, into a complete and finished piece of creative work that can later be read, touched or heard by people other than the poet, artist or composer.

Whenever I write poetry (or a novel or a screenplay), I usually see a scene unfolding in real-time within my mind's-eye: almost as if I were watching a part of a movie, which I can rewind and change as many times as I like until I get it just how I want it visually. Once I am happy with what my imagination is creating, I will write down what I am visualizing (either by typing it all down onto a computer or writing it out by hand onto paper); and that, for me, is my approach to writing.