Everyone has a story to tell; each one of us a writer of poetry – some, without even realising. That stream of consciousness that runs in our veins? It’s poetry waiting to be written. We believe in the power of words, and that power is what urged us set up PoetsIN.
It’s because of those inner streams, that we bring you this regular interview feature, Writer Profiles. An interview with a writer. Some you’ll know, some you won’t.
This week it’s a lovely human who will soon be releasing her Soul Archaeologist book through PoetsIN Publishing. Her name is Maura Coyne.
Sit back, grab yourself some barbequed tofu and read this week’s writer profile.
What is your relationship with words and how has that evolved?
I don’t just see words. I feel them and bite into them. Sometimes, they have colours or textures in my mind. Sometimes they are paired to a picture or scene or diagram. Sometimes, the words won’t stop flooding my mind and other times, they are sitting silent, like a grey lake on a cloudy day, barely moving, like quiet little waves. I have loved words for as long as I can remember and there are words I really probably don’t like at all. But I really respect all of the words, even those that I do not favour.
How long have you been writing, what is your favourite style of writing and why?
I have been writing as long as I can remember. When I was 3 or so, I can vividly remember walking to the library with my mother and picking so many amazing books. I wanted as many as my arms could hold. She and I would pick up pine cones on the way home. I would stare at the pictures and the words in the books. I started to memorise the stories. I was reading before school began, but I guess the writing goes back to even before I could actually read or write. My father said that my sister and I were vaccinated with a phonograph needle….or something like that. Meaning we never quit talking, so really I have always been telling stories. One summer I read about how Leonardo DaVinci, a lefty like me, wrote in mirror image, so I taught myself to write that way and to write with my right hand – because I was a writing weirdo way back then. I have been writing poetry and short stories for a long time, but mostly poetry. My favourite style of writing opens with a poem and transitions into memoir prose or inspirational prose. I write about the hard times down in the mud of this world, that end up showing us the unique life lessons that we need. I love to write about nature and it’s symbolism. I write about the connections that I experience out there and the wisdom and beauty of the animals.
I write about the connections that I experience out there and the wisdom and beauty of the animals.
Many of us have experienced times where writing has helped us overcome times of pain, describe the first time you realised the true of power of words.
Well, it’s always love. Falling in and falling out. Falling everywhere. Grief is the same as love so I have found that writing has helped me to express the deep passion of the many types of love or grief. Writing has created a clearing in my soul and helped me make sense of times gone by. In writing, I have uncovered so many facets of myself and my experiences that I did not know or understand, until I just wrote.
Many writers love to read. What is your favourite book and why?
So hard to pick just one! It is To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Harper Lee’s use of words and imagery creates a world where you are actually there, it does not matter how old you are or where you are from, but you are there, in that time and place and nothing else matters. I believe in fighting the good fight and going up against the senselessness of the world just because. Just because you can, just because you have passion, just because you are here, just because it is right. How can you not love this girl named Scout? Her heroine journey is epic.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Sum up yourself in a haiku or micropoem.
She breathes in blonde fire
Looking at the wolf beside
His fierce eyes scream “run”
We all have moments where we truly connect with words we read. What quote inspires you the most. Why?
All good things are wild and free ~ Henry David Thoreau
This quote inspires me because I am trying to re-connect with my wildness, my natural state, my feminine self, every day. I think it is what we all need. Freedom is air. Wild is dirty and loud and strong. My dog is named Hank, after Henry David. My friend thought of his name.
Describe your writing process.
When I walk, I see words, phrases and sentences in my mind. They are written. I start there. I don’t have an exact process. I start and when it is right, it just flows out. It involves all of my senses and time does not exist. There are times I do not write at all. There are times when I cannot stop.
There are times I do not write at all. There are times when I cannot stop.
Writer’s block, real or a myth?
I don’t get writer’s block. I get life block. I have to sit with it. It is all I can do. When I am in life block, I cannot write. It passes and then I write. I need inspiration. But even if I have life block, sometimes I go to nature, and a fire builds or I see the first sentence and then I just hold on for the ride. If the sentence comes and I don’t jot it down, it is lost forever, so I usually write it down in my phone or try really, really hard to memorise it.
What is your favourite word?
Wild
Finish this sentence: Words are the epitome of…
…existence
Thanks so much to Maura for opening up to our probing questions. Look out for her book “Soul Archaeologist” which is being published later in the year through PoetsIN Publishing.
You can find Maura at Wild Goose Farm, www.wildgoosefarmtherapy.com, named for her patriarchal line.
Instagram: @maura_coyne
Twitter: @mauracoyne
Facebook page:@mauracoyne
If you, too, are a writer and like what we do at PoetsIN, then get in touch to talk to us about being interviewed yourself. Drop us an email on paul@poetsin.com
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Everyone has a story to tell; each one of us a writer of poetry – some, without even realising. That stream of consciousness that runs in our veins? It’s poetry waiting to be written. We believe in the power of words, and that power is what urged us set up PoetsIN.
It’s because of those inner streams, that we bring you this regular interview feature, Writer Profiles. An interview with a writer. Some you’ll know, some you won’t.
This week it’s a lovely human who will soon be releasing her Soul Archaeologist book through PoetsIN Publishing. Her name is Maura Coyne.
Sit back, grab yourself some barbequed tofu and read this week’s writer profile.
What is your relationship with words and how has that evolved?
I don’t just see words. I feel them and bite into them. Sometimes, they have colours or textures in my mind. Sometimes they are paired to a picture or scene or diagram. Sometimes, the words won’t stop flooding my mind and other times, they are sitting silent, like a grey lake on a cloudy day, barely moving, like quiet little waves. I have loved words for as long as I can remember and there are words I really probably don’t like at all. But I really respect all of the words, even those that I do not favour.
How long have you been writing, what is your favourite style of writing and why?
I have been writing as long as I can remember. When I was 3 or so, I can vividly remember walking to the library with my mother and picking so many amazing books. I wanted as many as my arms could hold. She and I would pick up pine cones on the way home. I would stare at the pictures and the words in the books. I started to memorise the stories. I was reading before school began, but I guess the writing goes back to even before I could actually read or write. My father said that my sister and I were vaccinated with a phonograph needle….or something like that. Meaning we never quit talking, so really I have always been telling stories. One summer I read about how Leonardo DaVinci, a lefty like me, wrote in mirror image, so I taught myself to write that way and to write with my right hand – because I was a writing weirdo way back then. I have been writing poetry and short stories for a long time, but mostly poetry. My favourite style of writing opens with a poem and transitions into memoir prose or inspirational prose. I write about the hard times down in the mud of this world, that end up showing us the unique life lessons that we need. I love to write about nature and it’s symbolism. I write about the connections that I experience out there and the wisdom and beauty of the animals.
I write about the connections that I experience out there and the wisdom and beauty of the animals.
Many of us have experienced times where writing has helped us overcome times of pain, describe the first time you realised the true of power of words.
Well, it’s always love. Falling in and falling out. Falling everywhere. Grief is the same as love so I have found that writing has helped me to express the deep passion of the many types of love or grief. Writing has created a clearing in my soul and helped me make sense of times gone by. In writing, I have uncovered so many facets of myself and my experiences that I did not know or understand, until I just wrote.
Many writers love to read. What is your favourite book and why?
So hard to pick just one! It is To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Harper Lee’s use of words and imagery creates a world where you are actually there, it does not matter how old you are or where you are from, but you are there, in that time and place and nothing else matters. I believe in fighting the good fight and going up against the senselessness of the world just because. Just because you can, just because you have passion, just because you are here, just because it is right. How can you not love this girl named Scout? Her heroine journey is epic.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Sum up yourself in a haiku or micropoem.
We all have moments where we truly connect with words we read. What quote inspires you the most. Why?
All good things are wild and free ~ Henry David Thoreau
This quote inspires me because I am trying to re-connect with my wildness, my natural state, my feminine self, every day. I think it is what we all need. Freedom is air. Wild is dirty and loud and strong. My dog is named Hank, after Henry David. My friend thought of his name.
Describe your writing process.
When I walk, I see words, phrases and sentences in my mind. They are written. I start there. I don’t have an exact process. I start and when it is right, it just flows out. It involves all of my senses and time does not exist. There are times I do not write at all. There are times when I cannot stop.
There are times I do not write at all. There are times when I cannot stop.
Writer’s block, real or a myth?
I don’t get writer’s block. I get life block. I have to sit with it. It is all I can do. When I am in life block, I cannot write. It passes and then I write. I need inspiration. But even if I have life block, sometimes I go to nature, and a fire builds or I see the first sentence and then I just hold on for the ride. If the sentence comes and I don’t jot it down, it is lost forever, so I usually write it down in my phone or try really, really hard to memorise it.
What is your favourite word?
Wild
Finish this sentence: Words are the epitome of…
…existence
Thanks so much to Maura for opening up to our probing questions. Look out for her book “Soul Archaeologist” which is being published later in the year through PoetsIN Publishing.
You can find Maura at Wild Goose Farm, www.wildgoosefarmtherapy.com, named for her patriarchal line.
Instagram: @maura_coyne
Twitter: @mauracoyne
Facebook page:@mauracoyne
If you, too, are a writer and like what we do at PoetsIN, then get in touch to talk to us about being interviewed yourself. Drop us an email on paul@poetsin.com
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