Interview with a poet: Britt

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Any other poetry-related questions you would like to ask Britt (our Twitter Poet of the Week), fire away

- Britt, thanks for agreeing to answer these few questions! I'm sure the members would like to read about some of your poetic habits. First up, when did you begin writing? Can you describe your early poems: were they triggered by specific events? Or was writing for you a more gradual or natural process?

*Thank you! :) I first started writing when I was 15, right after my Grandpa died. I was really close with him and I had a hard time expressing what I was feeling. A silly rhyme came out and it got me hooked since. They were all your typical young teenager poems, about love or the world being against me. I pretend to have a lot of angst to make my poetry have more "edge".. haha. Now it's just a part of me.

- You have been quite prolific, with 117 poems on your profile and many more on your previous profile. You must write often? How do you go about the process of writing a poem? Do you have a secret antidote for writer's block?

*I used to write multiple poems a day, and then I went a year and a half without writing a word. I was at a "zombie" period in my life, I went through emotionless. I write when I have something to say about my emotion - anxiety, stress, pain, love, excitement, exciting news I feel the need to share. My poetry is my journal. The only antidote I've been able to find is writing a terrible acrostic. I take a random word given to me, write something cheesy, and it usually loosens the block a bit. Sometimes you have to write something bad to write something better later.

- Has P&Q influenced your writing? To what extent? Do you think your writing would be much different if you were living in the pre-internet era?

*It's extremely influenced me in ways I can't imagine. I don't write when I'm not on PnQ. I took a short hiatus and I couldn't come up with anything. I don't know what it is, maybe constantly reading gives me inspiration, or feeling the need to share my feelings and emotions with people who I think will understand me in ways others can't/won't/don't. I don't think I would write anything I'm proud of if it weren't for the site and the suggestions I've gotten along the years. I'm no where near amazing, but I see progress from when I started 10 years ago. Pre-internet era, I probably wouldn't write poetry. I'd probably write novels.

- We see a wide range of themes in your poetry, many of them overlapping. What do you feel you write about most? What are the things you feel you most need to express in written form?

*I feel I write about love the most.. it's something that influences me. I've had a string of rocky relationships (both romantic and platonic) and I've finally found my safe haven. That has given me a ton of inspiration that I just can't help but share with people. The feeling I need to express most is probably my frustration. I will sometimes write poetry that people call "vague" because I call someone out without actually leading to who or what I'm talking about. It just releases my anger and helps me from saying something I would regret to someone else.

- How do you view your own poetry? What do you think when you read through some of your older poems?

*I view my own poetry like a movie to my life. I've been writing my life for the last 7 years or so, and looking back I get kind of sad. I have a lot of depressing poems from when I was unhappy, but I didn't realize just how unhappy I was until going back.

- What poets do you feel have influenced you? Do you have favourite poems, and how often do you read poetry?

*Shel Silverstein as a kid definitely influenced me. His poetry was just so fun. I don't read much that isn't on PnQ, there is enough to keep me busy. My favorite PnQ poets are: Melpomene, Lu, Sibyllene, Jane (silvershoes), and Abby (abracadabra) and all of them have influenced me in various ways. I read poetry daily, it often helps me sleep. Favorite poem would have to be from Melpomene or Sibyllene, though I don't think I can pick just one.

- And finally, you have been asked to define 'Poetry' in a dictionary or in an encyclopaedia. What is your entry/definition?

*Poetry is a silent way of breathing the emotions you can't always show on the outside.