A discussion about poetry with Pamela

My good friend and fellow author Pamela Beckford has recently taken her first foray into the publishing world. Today we are going to sit down with her and talk a little bit about her experiences and the art of poetry itself. Please welcome her to Readful Things and take a moment to check out her sites:

http://poetrybypamela.wordpress.com/

http://pamela984.wordpress.com/

 

You have been experimenting lately with different forms of poetry. Are there some that are easier to work with than others? What has been your favourite so far?

Thank you for noticing the different forms I’ve been working with. I really have enjoyed learning about them and how to make them work. I think that many times the shorter poems (tanka, doidotsu, cinquain, etc) are more difficult than a longer poem. With the shorter ones, the choice of words to make the biggest impact and convey just exactly the right feeling, can be very challenging. My favorite form is whichever one I’m working with at the moment. I haven’t found any that I really don’t enjoy.

 

You write with such emotional depth, and yet you haven’t been writing anything public for very long. Was it scary to share your talent with others?

I haven’t been writing anything privately for long either. I think that poetry is so personal and I feel like I am sharing my inner most self. It makes me very vulnerable. I still struggle with sharing some of them and feeling like I’m good enough. If it hadn’t been for a couple of individuals encouraging me, I might still be keeping most of them in my head. But I find poetry to be a great outlet.

 

What do you find inspires your poetry?

Don’t tell anyone, but I’m really a romantic at heart. I put up a tough guy facade, but deep down, I want to love and be loved. I have a couple of muses as well that keep me inspired.

 

Tell us a bit about your first collection of published poetry and how we can find it.

I put together a short collection of poetry called Dreams of Love. It is available on Amazon as a download and also in paperback. It is only $.99 for Kindle. http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Love-Poetry-Collection-Pamela-ebook/dp/B00I9H9K3Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1394495040&sr=1-1&keywords=dreams+of+love+a+poetry+collection

 

Any plans for further books?

I’m glad you asked. I collaborated with Kirsten on a book of nature poems, Voices of Nature. I love her poetry and we work really well together. http://www.amazon.com/Voices-Nature-Pamela-Beckford-ebook/dp/B00JCRWVJU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1396639061&sr=1-1&keywords=voices+of+nature

 

Any final thoughts/ ideas you would like to share?

First, I would like to thank you for spotlighting my poetry. Second, I would want everyone to know that all poetry is not alike. If you think Walt Whitman “Leaves of Grass” is what poetry is all about, you need to explore poetry a bit more. It comes from the depths of your soul and I hope that anyone who reads my poetry feels deeply.

Heaven

Come, my love
Surrender to my touch
Waves of desire bring raptured delight
As tenderness yields gently to deepest longing
Ecstasy insists we never part
Laying with you’s pure joy
Paradise

 

Thank you, Pamela, for agreeing to the interview and for being my guest author 🙂