A Writer's Process: MJ Oliver
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MJ Oiiver
Nothing gets in the way of my writing, I'm very focussed.
I've amazed myself by discovering that I actually relish the performing of my poetry, whereas previouslyI'd always hated any kind of public speaking. I think it's because I love writing so much, love the process of discovery that comes with it, I just can't wait to share it with others.
I'm working towards a collection of poems and prose-pieces, relating to my father, who was a Hobo in Canada during the Great Depression of the 1930s. This has involved lots of research (historical and family), which I've enjoyed balancing with fiction, where there were gaps.
I've found that writing poems in the voice of others, ventriloquising, can be a really powerful tool.
I also write poems that relate to love and loss, of family and friends, in which I tend to identify with wild animals -- it seems to help in getting to the core of my feelings.
We unpeel those layers that have attached themselves over time, by finding word portals back to a freshness of thought and expression.