A Year in Verse: Amy. B. Garratt Reflects on ‘Memories of 2023: It Lingers On Within Me’

What inspired you to start writing poetry, and how did “Memories of 2023: It Lingers On Within Me” come to be?

My inspiration to write poetry came from the love of books and the love of language as a child. I remember reading ‘Please Mrs Butler’ by Allan Ahlberg, & many Roald Dahl books and just feeling a lightbulb moment. Many years later during the pandemic, I came back to writing poetry and my first collection was published in 2021. I saw the post about the winter writing competition, and wanted to share some of what I’d been writing in 2023, and luckily the team enjoyed it! 

Can you describe your process for writing poetry? Do you follow a specific routine or wait for inspiration to strike?

My process for writing poetry can vary. Sometimes there’s that lightbulb moment from a word or a phrase, and the words appear at 3am. Sometimes (particularly if I’m writing for academic purposes) I look at the specific themes and poetic techniques in order to create a piece, or if I’m creating a submission for a literary competition I’ll look at the criteria and create a piece from those guidelines. A lot of the time I free-write my poetry, but I do edit my poems a lot more than I did in 2020. 

Which poets have influenced your writing the most, and in what ways?

Poets that have influenced my writing vary. I’ve met a lot of wonderful poets through spoken word events, and they have inspired me to work on my own performance and how I present a poem to an audience. The poets that seem to have stuck with me since school days are John Donne, Emily Dickinson and of course Shakespeare! I loved performing in Am Dram so Shakespeare was a given! But over the years I’ve read Edgar Allan Poe (as I enjoy the gothic style) and many anthologies to discover poets that are new to me/broaden my reading horizons. 

What themes do you explore in “Memories of 2023: I Lingers On Within Me,” and what drew you to these themes?

The layout of ‘Memories of 2023: It Lingers On Within Me’ is a nod to my previous collection from 3 years ago (the poetic voice lingers on!) but also showing the changes in my life. The collection is laid out a bit like diary extracts over the course of the year (mentions of birthdays, Christmas, New Year etc) and my experiences throughout the 12 months, including happiness and grief. I think these universal themes are powerfully present in my work, and are something that all readers will have experienced in some way. I think I approach showing the emotions in the only way I can authentically, and that’s just with the raw truth of how they felt in that moment.

What are some of the challenges you face when writing poetry, and how do you overcome them?

The main challenge in writing poetry for me is avoiding cliché words, and using my own voice to convey the message of a poem. In my academic writing, there are a lot of guidelines and expectations, and prompts in order to create something for an assessment, and that is definitely a useful skill (how to analyse and evaluate writing objectively etc). However, I do want to ensure my own personal experience remains authentic and that my poetic voice remains my own, particularly with performing spoken word pieces and writing about global events that matter deeply. 

What has been the most rewarding aspect of writing poetry for you?

I think the most rewarding aspect will always be someone telling me that they enjoyed my piece or ‘I felt that way, I understand’. It’s a wonderful community of connection with poetry. I had a very surreal moment at an event where someone approached me (that I’d never met) and said ‘oh I have your book, I really enjoyed it!’ I mean… you can’t get much better as an indie author/poet!

How does poetry influence your daily life and do you have any favourite poems or lines that you often revisit for inspiration or comfort?

I read poetry every day, whether it’s dipping into an anthology or the poetry accounts I follow on social media, or spoken word friends sharing a piece, which is great! Some lines I often refer to/quote daily are ‘the time will pass anyway’ (so do that thing you aren’t sure about!) ‘speak truth to power’, or a fairly new one to me which is ‘a bad chapter shouldn’t ruin the whole book’ which I think is a lovely uplifting one to move forward from past painful chapters. 

Are you working on any new poetry projects or collections? Can you share a bit about them?

Well my latest collection is this one! I have sent off many submissions this year to literary magazines and competitions so fingers crossed. One of my poems will be published in the next anthology by Written Off Publishing, and 3 poems are in an edition of Dreich Magazine later in the year. I run a spoken word group in Brigg on the second Tuesday of each month, which is going strong. And we’ll be performing again at No Limits Festival in September which celebrates all things bookish! 

What advice would you give to aspiring poets who are just beginning their writing journey?

My advice to aspiring poets… just write. It doesn’t have to be perfect, write out how you’re feeling in that moment, and go from there. Some people study creative writing (as I’m still in the process of my masters degree!), but it’s not a compulsory practice. Anyone can write a great poem if they write from the heart. 

How can our readers best connect with you and stay updated on your latest work and projects?

The best way to connect with me and what I’m up to is either on instagram @amybgarratt_author or on Facebook via the public group ‘Rabbiting On Spoken Word’ at The Rabbit Hole Bookshop in Brigg, who have been phenomenal in their support of our poetry community, and letting us take over their business once a month!