Open Writing

A strange title, a strange question, the what and why of writing.

What do I write? Many things, a note on the fridge door to 'remind' me, the shopping lists, get well cards, birthdays, congratulations and the all important letters of sympathy, some merely a sentence, others of great importance, requiring thought and words especially chosen to serve their purpose.

All these fit the question of what and why I write. But do they? One word has been missed out, 'want,' which changes the whole context, and, as my tutors used to tell me, eons ago, read the question and only the question. So the question is what and why I want to write.

What do I want to write? Brilliant poetry on a par with Wordsworth, Shakespeare, Blake and all the great masters, to which I can never aspire, but I can try. I want to write about serious, deep, meaningful and important things, things to stimulate the readers and make them think. I want to paint pictures of the beauty which surrounds me, of birds, trees, people, so that people can look into the words and see it all for themselves, as clearly as I have seen it, and I want my words to be beautiful and explicit. I want humour, I want people to laugh at the ridiculous, I want to be another Pam Ayers, with a message or twist in the tail of every funny thing I write, the sort of thing which makes you fall flat on your face in the mud and ache with laughter.

So I want to bring important matters to the fore in people's minds, I want to paint pictures and I want to create humour and, if possible, combine all three.

That is what I want to write. But why do I want to write? That is a different question. I write for myself, whether it is read or not is of no importance.

I love words and I love poetry, so I write purely for pleasure.

Words can be so cathartic. When I am angry or at my wit's end, I turn to humour and write the ridiculous, pages and pages of unscanned, badly rhymed, carelessly worded poetry, which doubles me up with tears of laughter and makes me see the funny side of everything. It is a way of coping with the uncopable, of getting things into perspective, of seeing the problem for what it is, 'getting it out of your system.

The waste paper basket may be filled with piles of rubbish or, maybe, I will have another look and, from the rough draft, decide to create something worth keeping and then the hard work begins, the real challenge, playing with words, reason enough for writing, and usually, from this my humorous poetry arises.

Then I may be wandering along a beach, or through the bush, or exploring a new area and something of great splendour or interest strikes me. From this comes my picture poetry. It could be a raindrop or a tree, the whole area or a sound or scent. I want to share it with others and record what I see, hear and smell.

My serious poetry comes from many sources. Things of concern to me in the world, mostly "Man's inhumanity to man," spurs me on to really think and reason and choose the correct words, in an effort to make my point. These can be long or short poems, but they require great thought and cannot be "Knocked off" in a couple of minutes. I regard this as my real work, a challenge and a stimulation.

And, finally, there are what I call my poems of inspiration. They come to me without any need for more than the slightest alteration, usually when I am walking in some quiet place, undisturbed.

These I regard as my special poems, the ones that are meant to be written. Some I show to people, some have been set to music and some I keep for myself alone.

So what do I write? Anything and everything, but what I like to write are long letters to friends and poetry.

And why do I want to write? To remove tensions and problems, to bring to people's notice things which I think should concern us about our world, to talk about things I love and enjoy and to make people laugh, and for the sheer joy of playing with words, getting the exact word to fit the situation, and to see the listener identifying with what I have written.

The old adage, "The pen is mightier than the sword," is so true. Words are powerful tool. We should use them wisely.