Creative Influences?

Honestly, the list may be shorter if you asked who or what aren't creative influences. When talking creativity with a new friend a little while ago, I mentioned that I write down every idea (even when I think it's atrocious just moments later) as soon as I can. Her immediate response was to roll her eyes and say: "Oh, you're one of those people . . ." And the answer is - Yes, happily! Do I have too many notebooks with scribbles that are often incomprehensible? Also yes, but it works for me. (And supposedly is a sign of genius, so, ya know, do with that what you will . . .)

So aside from drawing inspiration from literally anything at any time (my poor family and friends have been put on hold in some inconvenient scenarios because I had to jot something down RIGHT THEN!), I do have some particular influences that have impacted my poetic work and style more specifically. The first person who ever got me to actively engage in and fully focused on poetry as a genre was Mattie Stepanek. If you've never heard of him, he was a child poet who was very sick and died in 2004, but his poetry has inspired many. I'm pretty sure I begged my mom to buy ALL THE BOOKS. That was when I first gained a love of poetry.

From there, of course the fire was fed by the usual sources: Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Shakespeare, Ralph Waldo Emerson, to name a few. And while I loved reading their work, through literature classes and an expectation that I be able to discern every possible facet and insight, I began to think of poetry as this sort of formal and unreachable genre. That it was something only really talented writers could create and that it had to be rigid and structured and stay in the lines. Even when I learned of creative license, it seemed like something I wasn't really allowed to take and use for myself. So, while I always loved and enjoyed it, I only wrote poetry when absolutely necessary for assignments.

Then, I learned about Rumi.

I'm pretty sure I have an unhealthy obsession with his mind and his words. (I like a beautiful brain, ok!) I started to enjoy and feel deeply about each work the way I hadn't in a long time. I read everything of his that I could get my hands on. But still, his work has been around a long time, and not to mention the fact that it's translated, so I wasn't sure if there was a structure or form that I was missing. So I still didn't feel free to write for myself.

That only changed when my well-meaning younger sister managed to mix up Rumi and Rupi Kaur. She gave me The Sun and Her Flowers for my birthday, excitedly waiting for recognition to flash in my eyes. Slowly, the grin slipped off her face and she frowned at me. "You already have this book, don't you?"

"No! Really, I don't! I'm excited to read it."

"Really? You don't look it," she said.

"Well, I actually don't know who this is . . ." We sorted it out and had a good laugh, but I thanked her and read the book on my vacation a couple days later. And it was only then that I felt inspired enough to really just write poetry. It's what kicked off my experiment and ultimately landed me here! For poetic influences, that's about as specific as I can get. And, as you really, really don't want me to talk general creative influences yet, maybe one day I can reign myself in enough to be coherent on the subject . . . We'll see.