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Photo credit: Farah Sosa, Courtesy of the California Arts Council
Why are your Poems so Dark?
I hesitate to define poems as light or dark, because I think the poem exists as it is, in its own sphere, its own space. A poem tells its own story, and poems are supposed to tell some sort of essential truth. There is light in the world and darkness, of course. When we write from the dark space, we are simply tapping into one of the parts of the world that exists and needs a voice. Many people who read my poems, tell me that my work has opened up a space in them that they didn’t know existed , or didn’t give permission to exist. I think in order to be fully in touch with ourselves as a writer, we need to allow all of the shades of our writing to make an entrance into the room.
