It is writing like this that continues to inspire my own. It’s not always about writing the longest or the most epic poem of the century. Sometimes, it just takes one emotion or thought dipped in sheer vulnerability to achieve the same effect or desire.
During a creative writing workshop, I remember getting a critique from another classmate. They told me I was not vulnerable enough. The comment left me puzzled and perplexed. Thinking I gave the poem all I had, I wondered if I didn’t have what it took to achieve what I wanted to as a writer and a poet.
After further reflection, I learned how vulnerability looks and feels different to everyone, regardless of their willingness to share it. What may appear as scratching the surface for one could be asking a lot for someone else.
Vulnerability can simply mean taking part in something different or unexpected. While being most known as a horror writer, writing love poems may not have been so easy for Poe’s audiences to digest. Although it is important to keep one’s audience in mind, a writer must write for themselves first.
As a diehard fan of Poe’s literary works, I find this piece refreshing from his normal grotesque way with language. He may know how to spin a classic horror story, but Poe’s innate ability to interlace love within a piece still astounds and astonishes me.
Poe’s writing heavily influenced my own in many distinct ways. Growing up and not finding it easy to fit in, I found it easy to submerge myself in the macabre and the gothic. Poe was one of a handful of writers that encouraged me to tackle the medium for myself. His poem is a fine example of branching out from what a person knows while still staying true to their writing roots.
Life never goes as planned while offering unexpected losses and victories. It is through said life that a poet gains the opportunity to convey vulnerability. A poet expresses vulnerability through practice while experiencing and adapting through life’s challenges and championships.
Will you follow suit?
