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NOW THAT’S A POEM: Where Inspiration Comes From

This entry is part 11 of 11 in the series The Creative Process Unmasked

Have you ever wanted to ask an artist, “Where do you get your ideas?” I’m here to help! As many of you know, I’m endlessly fascinated by the creative process and have written quite a bit about it here on the site. Turns out, inspiration is lurking in many surprising places.

Local Beauty

For me, inspiration often lies in the beauty I’ve photographed in my everyday world. Here are some examples of photos I’m currently writing from:

How do I decide which of my hundreds of photos inspire me? When I look at one and think, “now that’s a poem!” Then I’ll start to jot down thoughts about what’s in the picture, what ideas it sparks, what feelings it invokes. The photo is a jumping off point. The resulting poem is rarely a description of what’s in the scene.

Themes and Structures

Another trigger can come from a “call for submission”, where a journal or website announces they are looking for writers to send in new work. Often these calls are for a certain theme to be written about, or certain style of poem to be created. For example, Frontier Poetry recently requested submissions for their “Not in Love Tanka Challenge.” Oh yeah, this is inspiring: to try to stuff such a huge theme into the five-line/31 syllable structure that is the Tanka poem!

I can’t show you that one, as I did submit and can’t publish anywhere else, including here, before hearing back from Frontier Poetry. However, I can show you “White Quill Pen”. This poem was one of three I submitted, answering a call by the League of Canadian Poets. It was selected for Fresh Voices #30. This scene, taken in Canmore, Alberta, inspired the poem. You can see the poem with its photo in my Photo Art Gallery.

Magical Thinking

And yes, sometimes it’s all very “woo-woo” and I’ll wake up with some lines that seem to insist on being written. Recently I got: “Meegwich/thank you, I hope my people were kind.” This led to a poem that is a type of land acknowledgement to the native people of the Niagara Region. My ancestors were some of the very first white settlers there, and the poem includes details from my years of genealogical research.

Your Turn!

So there you go! I hope I’ve answered your question about where inspiration comes from, at least partly. Follow-up questions are most welcome!

Meanwhile, even if you’re not a practicing artist, why not challenge yourself to notice what ignites some excitement, some curiosity, or maybe even an “ah-ha!” moment? You may be surprised by where inspiration comes from. Who knows what may galvanize you… and what that might lead to!

Lee Ann

What Else is New?

Looking for gardening inspiration? Find Seedy Saturday events across Canada in February and March. Shop for low-priced seeds from local sources, talk to local vendors, attend fun and informative workshops. For my Ottawa readers: Look for the Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton’s advice table at the Ottawa event, March 2, 691 Smyth Road, and at the Carp event, March 9, 3790 Carp Road.

FOUND POEMS: Digging for Buried Treasure

The most fun I’ve had with poetry lately is creating “found poems.” Like a kid with a treasure map, I’ve been mining existing texts for the poetry hidden within. Here’s an example, found of all places in the textbook, Canadian Copyright Law, by Lesley Ellen Harris. I call it, “Advice to Would-Be Colonizers”:

Poem found in a textbook!

This form of poetry first appeared in the mid-20th Century alongside other types of Pop Art (think Andy Warhol’s 1962 paintings of Campbell’s soup cans). It is art created from recycled items, giving ordinary things new meaning when put within a new context. In other words, it’s finding buried treasure. Newspaper articles, street signs, graffiti, speeches, letters, or even other poems all provide the raw material for found poems. Novels are also a great source! Here’s a poem I found in the classic Mutiny on the Bounty, by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall.

The great event in his life had been
an extraordinary affair
which broke into an uproar and
confusion very strange,
far from easy to subdue.
Presently the great wave left destruction in its wake
leaked into us
and it was here that
the seeds of discontent,
destined to be the ruin, were sown.

And here’s the raw material.

So forget Sudoku, forget crossword puzzles, you can exercise your brain by trying this form of poetry! Use the “blackout” approach above, or maybe you’d prefer a literary collage, where the artist (you!) cuts words or phrases out of the raw material, and rearranges them into a found poem. This approach is called “cut-up,” or in French if you want to sound very literary: “découpé”. (Pro tip: don’t try découpé with a library book…)

Remember: poetry is everywhere, often hiding in plain view.

May you find many treasures, buried and otherwise, this holiday season!

Lee Ann

What Else is New?

Any book lovers on your holiday gift-giving list? I can help!

The Other Princess, by Denny S. Bryce. Read my interview with the author and learn about Queen Victoria’s African princess goddaughter, Sarah Forbes Bonetta. This is the latest in my series on Fascinating Women You’ve Never Heard Of.

Growing Joy: The Plant Lovers Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants), by Maria Failla, an enthusiastic how-to book. The ideal reader is someone who is new to gardening, or considers themselves “not a gardener” and who would welcome a light, but informative book. You can read my review on Page 6 of the December issue of Trowel Talk, newsletter of the Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton.

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STILL GROWING (and a draw for you to enter!)

Getting Inspired by Growth

Hello there!

In this post, I’d like to turn your attention for a moment away from the havoc Nature has been inflicting across the continent: drought, floods, relentless heatwaves, wildfires… I think that sometimes, after we’ve done whatever we can for those in peril, we need to refresh by pulling our focus inward, closer to home. In my backyard this season, plants are especially large and lush; overall, it seems to me to have been one of those glory years for my garden. Is it the same in your neighbourhood?

Bounty from my backyard in August

And there is more growth and beauty to come! Autumn already hints at her arrival with the cooler nights of September, bringing the first tinges of colour to the maple trees at my cottage property. When I can keep my gaze out of the headlines and focus on my own personal landscape, the feeling is of happy anticipation for the fall season: blazing leaf colour (not actual flames); fresh, crisp air (instead of wilting heat); fall’s bountiful harvests (versus devastating losses.) Summer may be over, but there’s still plenty of potential with the fall season!

All this reminds me of something the English novelist Mary Ann Evans (writing as George Eliot) famously wrote:

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

Isn’t that fabulous? (Can you think of something this might inspire you to try?)

I’ve been inspired lately along these lines, and I’m excited to share some things that I think reflect what Evans/Eliot was talking about:

  1. My latest Poetry Art, “Still Growing”. A reminder of what can happen in our glorious “autumn years”!
  2. My new feature: Gardening Advice for Your Own Backyard. There’s a timely article available for you, “What to Do and Not Do in the Fall Garden.”
  3. A free event: I’ll be reading some poetry at the League of Canadian Poets New Member Reading, Thursday, November 9, 7:30-8:30pm., EST. This is an online event and you can get a free ticket here.
  4. Most exciting is this newly transformed website, packed with offerings, new information, free resources, plus a shop where you can buy my books and artwork. Click on my name above to get to the home page, take a look around and do let me know what you think!

Enter to Win!

To celebrate new growth and the new website, I’m having a draw! Let me know your favourite thing about the redesigned site (layout? features? Blog?) In particular, what would you would like to see more of from me here? Which of the “Creative Works” are you most interested in? I would love your feedback.

Contact me with your thoughts and I’ll enter your name into a draw for a chance to win one of my Poetry Art chapbooks. There are three to choose from – you’ll find out all about them under “Books”.

Deadline to enter is October 1, 2023. Have fun and remember when you contact me with your entry, to tell me which chapbook you would like when you win!

Good luck everyone – and may we all keep growing with the help of strong feedback!

Lee Ann

JUNE

Every gardener has their favourite season. What is yours? For me, it’s spring, and in particular, early spring. When daffodil time overlaps with the riot of tulip colour, I’m more energized, hopeful, and renewed than I am at any other time of the year.

The burst of energy that is early spring

Far too soon for me, the daffodils droop. Then the tulips start to fade and I wander the garden, snapping their blooms off to feed the bulb for next year.

The passing of this early spring season reminds me: change is the only constant.

No deep philosophy here, I’m just reminding myself to savour every season as it takes centre stage. (Okay, yes, I mean in life as well as in the garden!) To me, that means observing closely, noticing and maybe writing about what’s happening, or taking some photos. This savouring, I’ve found, seems to extend the length of the season. It also helps me to remember, which is another form of savouring.

As the tulips fade the irises start to show their colour

Here’s something else I’ve discovered. When I observe closely, not only do I see what is, but I can also see the next season waiting in the wings. The tulip petals fall and I notice sturdy stalks of iris, the edges of their fat buds already showing colour. So I get this delicious little hint of delights to come. Have you noticed that, in life as well as in the garden?

Right now in my garden, as if to temper the loss of spring, is the glory that is June. Not for nothing has this month been celebrated by artists of all stripes for all time. It’s the prettiest of seasons, I think, and the most lush. It also marks the end of the brief time when not much has gone wrong yet – no drought, no insect infestation, no mistakes by the gardener – and all is possible. June is the blush of youth in her prime!

May you savour the beauty of June in your neighbourhood. May you also enjoy to the fullest the gifts of whatever phase of life you may be living! And please take a moment to savour my tributes to this gorgeous month: haiku with photos, “Irises” and “Peonies.”

Lee Ann

P.S. For those of you who are curious: a haiku is a structured poem first found in Japanese literature in the 17th century. It consists of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world. Aren’t you glad you asked?

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ARTIST AS WITNESS

This entry is part 10 of 11 in the series The Creative Process Unmasked

A key role of any artist is as a witness to life. Artists do more than live life. They observe life. They reflect about what they observe and they transform those observations and reflections into art. Think about it: a poem, a song, a dance, a painting – any form of art can be triggered because an artist first witnessed life.

Lucky us! Art in any of its manifestations can provide us with a thoughtful, clear depiction of what life was like in a place and time far different than our own.

I’ve been thinking about this lately because a book of my poetry and photography has been accepted into the Ottawa Archives COVID collection. This collection – of photos, correspondence, artwork and other records – has been created to show future generations what it was really like to live in Ottawa through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of course I am delighted to think about people 50 or 100 years from now looking through my Poetry Art! (Sample here.) More than that, I find myself grateful for artists. By their very nature, in their role as witness, they create all types of evocative work. We all then benefit from their observations, their reflections and of course, their ability to transform these into art.

Here are two of my favourite examples of artists in their key role as a witness to life:

  • John McRae. In his famous poem, “In Flanders Fields,” he gives us his observations of the battlefield and then transcends this into a rallying cry from the dead.
  • Irene Sankoff and David Hein. Their musical, “Come From Away” depicts Gander, Newfoundland taking in 6700 people diverted by 9/11. The actual hardships are transformed into words, music and dance.

What about you? What artist-as-witness piece(s) of art impress you?

Lee Ann

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ART FROM REAL LIFE

This entry is part 9 of 11 in the series The Creative Process Unmasked
Homework: spinach. Artistic inspiration?

I’ve been thinking lately that I have nothing to write about. This winter I’ve been sick. I injured my back from coughing so hard when I was sick. I’ve been taking a horticulture course at U Guelph, and I’ve been writing for other people. In other words, no artistic inspiration in my real life!

Luckily a friend alerted me to an online poetry course given by Governor General Award-winning poet Lorna Crozier (thanks, M2!) And the very first lesson in that course reminded me that real life – in all its pain and all its glory – inspires any artist who takes the time to observe.

Observing is a skill, and it’s a critical part of the creative process. Turns out, I did not have to look beyond what has been happening in my real life to be inspired. We received two prompts in this lesson. One was to write from a line in a poem called “Peaches” by Peter Davison:

a mouthful of language to swallow

What a great line, I wish I had written it! But I did write from it, which is just as great. The second prompt was to write what’s called an “apostrophe” poem. That’s a poem addressed to an animal, an inanimate object, an idea, or a person who is absent. I did not have to look far to find what I wanted to address.

So there you have it. Often real life does provide the source for inspiration. It’s right there if only we look closely.

Winter beauty: a gift of the season! And may be artistic inspiration as well.

Why not try it yourself? Observing, I mean. What do you see/hear/feel when you take the time to observe what is happening in your own real life? You may not arrive at a new poem, but I’m betting you will benefit. May you gain some insight, recognize the gifts of this current life phase, or at the very least, enjoy immersing yourself in the beauty that is unique to the winter season.

Meanwhile, please enjoy the two poems I created directly from my real life. “A Mouthful of Language to Swallow” and “To the Muscles Surrounding my L2 to L5 Vertebrae.”

Lee Ann