Writing poetry as therapy

Have you ever been told not to cry? Or laugh? No public displays of affection? Don’t wear polka dots? 

If so, how did it make you feel to be choked off like that? Rejected? Restricted? Denied?

A colleague of mine recently mentioned in a comment from my last blog that she was once called out for being “too depressing” in a poetry group. 

It got me to thinking… is it possible to be too depressing as a poet? Too happy? Should this be a means of dejection from writing? Never to be addressed…?

Writing as a form of therapy has been known to massively benefit mental health… a primal scream to just get it all out. Worked for John Lennon! Once we let out this literary primal scream, we are on the outside looking in. This can be done by journaling, reviving memories, recounting feelings that were experienced during moments…

According to Elizabeth Sullivan, a licensed marriage and family therapist in San Francisco, “one of the most powerful aspects of therapy is cultivating the ability to observe our thoughts and feelings.” https://psychcentral.com/blog/the-power-of-writing-3-types-of-therapeutic-writing#1

Accepting themes that can be depressing as a sort of tonic of acceptance allows us to digest traumas and move on. Losing a loved one, loneliness, personally dealing with a fatal illness… all potentially socially awkward themes that should not be allowed to be smothered, denied, or restricted. 

Pinterest recently predicted in its 2023 trends report, “alternatives to talk therapy are on the rise”. 

Taking communication to another level by incorporating rhythms and rhymes with personal experience into poetry makes writing a bit cathartic in a sense. . It can actually heal our brains!

Poetry (like music) is the most incredible art form, presenting a platform by which to express whatever emotion we are feeling. Many affirmation poems, or what I like to call redemption poems, do this quite well. Bouncing back!

Some of the best perspectives come from some form of adversity. As writers, we draw upon this rather than avoid it… only to write about the moon and butterflies. Not that there is anything wrong with either!

Lonely butterflies on the moon… hey, if we can endeavor to mix the good with the bad, we might create some incredibly strong moods from which to draw upon.

Let me know what you think in the comments below… As always, I love to hear from you! 

Matt Elmore

The Line By Line Song Game

 The Line By Line Song Game

It was my brother David’s birthday this past weekend, and us three brothers got together to camp out and spend some quality guy time together hanging out and doing guy stuff.

My oldest brother Doug is a real nut. After a few drinks we got to singing songs referring to anything and everything we were talking about… from fishing to stars to getting older… we sang about it.. satirically of course!

Seems Doug loves poking fun at me being a poet (of course)! My new book is called “Constellation Road”…. so in true big brother fashion he had to tease me… I’m the baby of the three brothers… each five years apart. 

So he hit me up with something like “I felt the pressure grow on constipation road” and I answered his challenge with something like “it jumped on me like an unwanted toad”… and so on… My middle brother David laughed and added his line… we carried an like this, playing cards and joking under the stars.

I thought a little about this… about how our words affect others… how the interaction brings on new meaning. Like poetry collaborations… or songwriters working together. There was a magic in the lyrical combinations of writers like Lennon/McCartney. They bounced ideas off of each other and came up with songs that were no doubt stronger than they would ever have been with only an individual effort.

In my last blog, I referred to reconciling differences. I used an analogy of teaching different aged children with various circumstances and the effect that had on my perspective. Perspective is everything in writing. This variation in culture, class, ability, and gender really brought about a serious change about how I looked at things.

I noticed differences in the way that my brother and I thought of a topic, and exchanged ideas in the line by line song game. We were making each other laugh. It was just extemporaneous fun. An old poet musician friend of mine from college, Bill Harroun, used to play that game together years ago staggering arm in arm in between pubs. It got out of hand at times, but was always fun for us and anyone around us that may have joined in!

“Extemporaneous Prose” I’ve heard it referred to in the classroom… stream of consciousness creativity. Straight from the heart. Or wherever! It comes from these experiences we have with others, from reconciling differences in others for a new world view.

This series is to explore how we as writers come up with our expression and content. The idea of communicating with others is an essential component to growing… or else our work becomes stagnant. I couldn’t imagine a sequel to Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”, or “Animal Farm” by George Orwell. The story itself says it all so well… why bother going on? The author moves on to the next experience, the next topic, the next hurdle to be jumped.

I ask you to consider where your view comes from reader… do you believe you interpret the world around you from others? Or is it an insular experience, drawn from your own observations? Would you be willing to bounce ideas off of others and collaborate? Do you do so without even knowing… reflected in your solo work subconsciously? 

As writers, when we sit down,… where do the ideas come from? Experience? Imagination? Reflecting lessons from what has happened to those around us? Maybe all three? Possibly more?

I want to thank you for joining me! PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT on this blog! Answer some of the above questions and let’s create a most welcome dialogue!  Also… join me later this week for the conclusion to this series on “Reconciling Differences”

Until then dear poet… stretch your perspective. Sharen your expression… and always write on! 🚀

Matt Elmore

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