Thursday, March 17, 2016

Lidy Wilks on Writing Can You Catch My Flow?

Hi everyone! Today, I'm welcoming Lidy Wilks to my blog, to talk about her experiences in creating her poetry anthology Can You Catch My Flow? 

Keep reading, though, because toward the bottom of the post, there's a competition with some awesome prizes.

Without further ado, here's Lidy.


Can You Catch My Flow? was born from curiosity.  I wanted to know and reflect on how my poetry writing had changed over the years. I still have my notebooks and a binder filled with all my writing from my college days. English Lit majors doing creative writing didn't have
 to do a thesis or take a test their senior year. Instead we had to collect everything we'd written during the four years. Present it to a board of English professors for review and meet the board as our senior portfolio.  I had a section for poetry and together
 with my notebooks,  I had enough for a collection.

But while assembling the manuscript I learned something. It was no different from writing and reading poetry. At first, I wanted to order the manuscript in the time I wrote them. To better exemplify the change of my writing from past to present. For future reference, that should not be done because a single poem is its own narrative. A poem in a poetry collection is one of many narratives. That both stand alone and link with the other poems in the collection.

It was during this process of ordering my poems for Can You Catch My Flow? that I had a moment of clarity. This manuscript isn’t just about change in style or technique. I discovered that this short collection truly captured moments of time while growing up. It was a bildungsroman poetry collection. And once I realized that, a new world of possibilities opened up. And it was back to the drawing board, reviewing old poems and writing new ones.  Remembering and reconnecting with the angst and fun of being a teenager. Recollecting and reflecting on what it meant to be independent. And thoughts of the future.

About the Author:



Ever since she was young, Lidy Wilks was often found completely submerged in the worlds of Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Sweet Valley High and Nancy Drew. She later went on to earn a Bachelor degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, from Franklin Pierce University. Where she spent the next four years knee deep in fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction workshops.

Lidy is the author of Can You Catch My Flow? a poetry chapbook and is a member of Write by the Rails. She currently resides in Virginia with her husband and two children. And an anime, book and manga library, she’s looking to expand, one day adding an Asian drama DVD collection. Lidy continues her pursuit in writing more poetry collections and fantasy novels. All the while eating milk chocolate and sipping a glass of Cabernet. Or Riesling wine.




About The Book:


Debut poetry chapbook Can You Catch My Flow? captures the everyday ordinary events of the human condition in poetic snapshots. No matter the walks of life, the reader is sure to find themselves within the lines.

Blurb:


Lidy's poetry reveals an understanding that deep meaning can be felt in the details. Her poetry portrays a range of topics from the pressures to conform to societal expectations, friendship, monarch butterflies, partying, insomnia, and the quest for peace...just to name a few. Enjoy!- Shelah L. Maul


 Competition:


Thanks for stopping by, Lidy! 

Anyone else write poetry? How do you decide which poems to include in your anthologies?


9 comments:

  1. Thanks for having me on today Misha!

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  2. That's a much smarter way to put them in order. They mean more to you and the reader.

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  3. Thanks Alex. And the reader is taking on a journey of the past to present, walking down memory lane and reminding of their own experiences growing up.

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  4. That cover is fantastic. Congrats, Lidy!

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  5. Hi Lidy, great to meet you and congratulations on your book. I am the worst at poetry so I know you have great writing skills and you'll do well!

    Misha, thanks for stopping by blog, it was great seeing you again :) I had to drop out of the IWSG for a bit due to work but when things settle back down I'll be back. Hope to see you when I return. Thanks again for stopping by!!

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  6. Thank you Cherie. I found this great guy on Fiverr who was patient with me and all my requests. He even worked on the cover twice for me and I couldn't be happier.

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  7. Thanks Elsie. And nice to meet you too

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  8. Putting the collection together must have been an interesting project.

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  9. sounds like a great collection! congrats to Lidy!

    and misha - i read previous post too - hope you find more time to get more writing done! i totally feel ya! that pent up frustration of not being able to write and having to deal with life stuff can make me crazy!!

    happy friday!

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