INTERVIEW w C.W. Martin, author of Bea in your bonnet

A book or two to go with your sunday morning coffee cup- In all my years of blogging in wordpress I have come across some amazing writers, some of them have published their own books, one of such writer is my friend Charles W Martin, honestly, he is one of the best poets I have come across, you can check out his wordpress blog if you dont believe me, if you love poetry you will thank me (slpmartin.wordpress.com).

Here is an interview’s excerpts, and the detail of his three published books.

When did you start blogging and what inspired you to do so?

I started blogging in January of 2010 as a means of sharing my first collection of poems Read Between the Minds. The book had been illustrated by my college friends and I wanted to share their art as well as my poetry. My friend John (http://everchangingperspective.com/) was the one who suggested blogging as a means of accomplishing those goals. I must admit that I had no intention in the beginning to publish a poem a day for such an extend period of time.

Is there a particular person who inspired the character “Aunt Bea?” If so who and why?

Aunt Bea, my mother twin sister, represents all six of the aunts, my mother, and grandmother. Aunt Bea’s voice is one I’ve heard almost every day of my life. The poems are family observations, lessons, and advice given to me and every other family member who had the good sense to listen. Her homespun philosophy most likely will not be found in any collegiate textbooks or for that matter in any local town crier newspaper catering to city dwellers. Indeed, she has a different way of viewing the world– a bit old fashion, sassy, and steely at times but a viewpoint which has engaged my imagination and heart.

You have developed your own special style, spare and pungent. How did it evolve?

I began studying and writing poetry in high school. Since my high school English teacher, Mrs Wills, was quite traditional, she insisted that I study and practice the various forms of poetry before ever attempting to develop my own style. During my collegiate years, I continued to write and study poetry, sitting in on graduate writing classes whenever I could work them into my professional coursework. While at university, I also had an opportunity to mentored some by Quincy Troupe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_Troupe) …not that I was all that talented at that stage but he did lived in the same building complex and was willing to share some of his insights with me about the creative process. Perhaps, Dr. Floyd Gaffney (http://theatre.ucsd.edu/people/faculty/InMemoriam/FGaffney/index.html ) was one of the key people who encouraged me to find my own voice with my writing…he was a true mentor to many students throughout his academic career. It was during this period that I began to explore my own voice in terms of writing style: something, that I continue to do… as I suspect all writers do.

What are your plans for the future, now that you have two books out?

Actually, I have three books out, two of just my own work (The Hawk Chronicles {http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D10248&field-keywords=hawk+chronicles&rh=n%3A10248%2Ck%3Ahawk+chronicles } and Bea in Your Bonnet: First Sting { http://www.amazon.com/Bea-Your-Bonnet-First-Sting/dp/1304002764/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407528878&sr=1-3}) , and another duel poetry book with River Maria Urke (when spirits touch).
The next major project will most likely be an ebook with audio recordings to accompany the poems. Like those poets who have proceded me, I am motivated by a desire to bring about the social changes necessary to enhance the quality of life for those around me and around the world and to give voice to those who cannot speak for themselves.

What suggestions do you have for beginning writers?

That’s always a difficult question because each individual develops their own voice through diverse processes. Exposure to other writers is always a good starting point to setup a foundation, but one must do more than mimic someone’s style to be a good writer. The writer has to tap into their unique perspective of the world and not compromise to appease others. Charles Bukowski said it best in his poem “so you want to be a writer?”…that poem says it all to me about the becoming a writer and I keep it near my computer to remind me about that aspect of writing.

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This interview is in my facebook page too, you can check it out there too, whether you are in FB or not, it opens everywhere 🙂 http://www.facebook.com/sermistabasu

if you are looking for more of my works, check out this message:
https://mycybernovels.wordpress.com/sharmishtha-basu/