Last Wednesday I attended the 21st anniversary of Dead Good Poets Society at the Everyman in Liverpool, and one of the regulars asked me the ultimate question: what kind of poetry do you write?
I think all writers have categorization issues. We don’t like to say out loud ‘I write intense, mood-centric poems that capture a specific moment or parody old love stories’. Sounding so sure of yourself sounds pretty wanky in public. Also, it’s a mouthful. So we just say ‘oh, I don’t know really’.
If you want to be a professional writer, most of us know we have to know ourselves, our writing and our style. But most of us are shy to shout about it to other people. It all results in a curious I’m a writer dance to avoid coming off as the cocky new kid.
Next time, I’m just going to say a simpler version of what I described above, and not be ashamed of it. Or maybe I’ll get a sign.
“So, what kind of poetry do you write?”
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