Dark Poetry

I once heard someone say that a writer "must have a tortured past in order to create powerful works". I don't believe this is true. Actually I think it's a silly statement. I've read many great works by authors who are well adjusted, and enjoyed wonderful childhoods. I suppose, though, that a tortured past (or present) might come in handy when a person is writing tortured prose.

I've noticed that many aritsts commit suicide. Many have spent time in lunatic asylums. Some have done both. I suppose this has something to do with the fact that artists spend so much time inside their heads. We examine things more closely than civilians tend to do. We peel back the layers to see in detail, the ugliness underneath. More often than not, we are loners, who don't fit well with society. Obviously none of this is written in stone, but it certainly holds true for me.

In the ten, or so, years that I've been writing, I've found it difficult to place my work. I have mixed feelings on this point. On the one hand, I would love to be a well published author. To see my books on library, and bookstore shelves. To know that all over the world, people are propped up in their beds, or stretched out on the couch with a snack, enjoying my words. On the other hand, I love the idea of remaining an underdog. An undiscovered talent whose dusty manuscripts are stored in the attic of a century old house, to be discovered accidentally by some lonesome person years after my death. I imagine this person spending days and weeks, crosslegged on the attic floor, immersed in reading my poems, stories and novels, and wondering at my sanity.

My writing has been mostly dark - poems and stories about suicide attempts, abuse, and the indignities of prostitution. It's my way of turning my shadowy past inside out. Excorsizing my demons with beautiful language. People often assume I must be depressed when they read my darker works. Actually, I have a positive outlook, though I tend to be overly introspective. I do suffer from occasional depression, but am mostly optimistic. I had nearly given up on finding literary journals to accept my dark prose - then I discovered an online journal called http://www.undergroundvoices.com/ They became my first paying publication. And through their links, I have found other journals that fit perfectly with my writing style.

I've challenged myself, recently, to try my hand at lighter writing. I don't believe I will ever stop writing about the shadows within, but I think there's something to be said for changing the subject once in a while. Erotica is interesting to me. I like the idea of writing erotic stories and poems that combine sluttiness with good taste. A slap on the ass, and a caress, blended skillfully in the words I choose to make up my sentences.

Someone once recommended I read 'By Grand Central Station I Sat Down And Wept' by Elizabeth Smart. I did, and have never forgotten that book. Often I became lost in the prose, and had no clue as to what the author was saying. It didn't seem to matter though, because the words are strung together so perfectly, they must be read aloud. The book is a work of art in itself.