Monday, October 1, 2012

Guest Post: Dawn Colclasure Escapes

My guest today, Dawn Colclasure, shares her thoughts on writing poetry and how the author can escape into his/her own special world.



When it comes to writing poetry, one rule of fiction applies: There are several types of genres to choose from. You can write romantic poetry, horror poetry or fantasy poetry. Writing futuristic poetry is another option – even poets like to envision what kind of world we may one day live in.

And sometimes, it’s not even our world that we write about when we write poetry. It could be any kind of world at all, one of our own making that can exist in fantasy poetry. This is where the poet has the chance to “escape” to a world where we can only dream about certain things actually happening. A cure for a disease? It’s there. A magical potion to take the burn scars away? Find it in the mysterious cellar. Something to use against nightmare monsters compromising our ability to sleep? It’s just a wish away.

Writing fantasy poetry offers the poet another benefit: We have the chance to step into a world where we can be ourselves without criticism. If we always dreamed of traveling the world as a dancing magician, it can happen with fantasy poetry. Another benefit is that writing fantasy poetry allows the poet to be seen by others for who we are on the inside – someone who is big, brave and magical – and not how we are on the outside – scarred, broken or slow.

That’s one thing writing fantasy poetry does for me. With fantasy poetry, I can be beautiful and not scarred or I can hear instead of being deaf. And I can do anything with two good strong hands when I only have one hand that has all five fingers on it (the other hand has three). My poetry chapbook, Follow That Dream, may have poems about what it’s like to be in a hospital so much and teen angst, but it also has fantasy poetry where I got to be a maiden or a sea captain. Poetry brought those worlds to life. Fantasy poetry allows me to create the kind of world where the scarred and disabled are not so limited and completely accepted just as they are.

When the poet sits down to write, no matter what kind of poetry that will be written, it is a chance to create a world where anything is possible, even a cure. Even acceptance. It’s a world where magic happens, and that’s the greatest kind of world to escape to of all.



About the author: Dawn Colclasure is a writer who lives in Oregon. Her articles, essays, poems and short stories have appeared in several newspapers, anthologies, magazines and E-zines. She is the author of seven books, among them BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents; 365 TIPS FOR WRITERS: Inspiration, Writing Prompts and Beat The Block Tips to Turbo Charge Your Creativity; Love is Like a Rainbow: Poems of Love and Devotion and the children’s book The Yellow Rose. She is co-author of the book Totally Scared: The Complete Book on Haunted Houses. Her Web site is at http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/.

About the book: Follow that dream. Take a few moments to read poems meant to seek refuge from the harsh realities of life, from pain, confusion and loneliness. Allow these poems to take you on a journey of wherever your imagination may lead you. The poems in this book share coming-of-age struggles and the fantasies created in order to offer a temporary escape from the real world.

Follow That Dream


ONLY $5.99 in paperback

And

ONLY $2.99 for Kindle

2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to be a guest on your blog, Mark. I enjoyed checking out the rest of your blog and book info. Good luck with your books!

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