[stylist] ] directed at versus inspired by

[Chelsea Cook]

Hi Barbra,

Your feelings, especially when describing the poet’s relationship with poetry, are not uncommon. I can certainly tell when I was in a certain mood writing a particular poem; some retain echoes of sadness or excitement, joy or despair, and I think that is the therapeutic part of the writing process showing itself. Even in parts of my novels, sometimes I will see an audience or person in real life manifest themselves in a character’s speech or action. I’ve explored this, and a writer writing about the same theme in different ways—for me, it usually involves some sort of escape from oppression or space travel, or both—just shows something about that person. The time in which they lived, the conditions, or how they were actually or wanting to live their life. Such is the power of escapism that comes from writing fiction and telling a good story.

Chelsea