Branches Book

BRANCHES

But no, because only In death we have clarity. ____________________

Author’s Statement: Sophie Ulin

I never liked poetry. I didn’t like finding meaning or reading into anything, I thought it was confusing and pointless. Last year, however, I began to appreciate poetry through Nikki Giovanni’s “Habits . ” I then completed a creative writing course over the summer and fell deeply and madly in love with all that poetry is. I am happiest when expressing thoughts through my poetry and when I grapple and play with new forms, new ideas, and new methods. Poetry has become a passion of mine because I’m able to express thoughts about what I experience along with experiences that I have created in my own head. Writing in general is my preferred art form. I feel comfortable with a laptop or a pen in hand, and feel at home once I begin to write. I don’t know where I would be without my ability to write, and truthfully I wouldn’t want to live without it. I feel tied and tethered to every writer who came before me and every writer who will come after; we are a unique group of people. I love writing because there is no template, there is no expected outcome, I have full creative control. I’m a control freak and a perfectionist and writing is one of the only things that I can fully control. My intent for my poetry cycle was to detail a very specific life, which goes from birth to love to heartbreak to death. The perspective of this particular life is exhausted. The cycle reflects a truthful and honest life although these poems are fictional. I believe life to be exhausting, that is not to say life is not worth while, and I hope that that message was translated across through this cycle. I tried to balance negative and positive emotions while also being sincere. I encourage you to read this cycle with open eyes and an open heart and know that life is not perfect and that I could never attempt to write about it perfectly.

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