I am a poet (and you didn't know it...)

Poet's Corner-Westminster Abbey

   Or at least I used to be. Back in the mid to late eighties I found myself renewing a love of poetry that had been somewhat kindled in high school but then had lain dormant for a very long time. Feeling some sort of creative urge I signed up for a creative writing course at Fanshawe College. We studied a variety of writing styles and genres and I found myself gravitating back toward poetry. Our teacher, Pam Tikalsky, strongly urged me to start sending things out to literary mags. So I did. I went through a lot of little rejection slips and was about to call it a day when suddenly something was accepted! It was kind of hitting that one shot in golf that keeps you coming back for more pain and frustration because more pain and frustration was what I got. Many, many more little rejection slips and then finally something else was accepted. By the end of it all, I had nine or ten poems published in very well thought of literary journals here in Canada (and one in the States!)
   At the time, pretty well every keen observation, random thought or strange idea was fodder for a poem. It seemed as though I did nothing but write. Gradually, I think I simply ran out of things that seemed worthwhile writing about. About that same time I also became interested in music and would sequester myself and my electronic keyboard down in the basement, learning how to play it (no formal keyboard training) and writing very orchestral pieces of music. My wife at the time referred to it as me doing the "Phantom" thing, a reference to the Phantom of the Opera which was very popular at the time. This, then, became the place all my creative juices flowed to and very little need to be writing.

   Lately, though, the desire to write has returned (hence the blog) and hopefully something poetic will come out of it as well. My plan at this point is, when I perhaps do not have a blog subject in mind, to throw a poem out there instead. A little change of pace...