Poet Interview: c.a.
c.a. is an aspiring poet and researcher living in the United States. She is a university student majoring in philosophy and religious studies, and aims to one day receive her PhD in philosophy. While research and books compose most of her days, she often can be found at local art museums in her area with her sisters. As a lover of traveling and language, most of her work is heavily inspired by the world around her. She hopes with her poetry to connect people around the world, and create a safe & loving network where creative writing can serve as windows into others’ beliefs, experiences, and hopes.
Where do you live and how does it influence your writing?
Growing up Italian-American, the arts were incredibly important to my family. I was raised reading Italian poetry, singing, and exploring the beauty in painting. This exposure to the various ways human nature and experience can be expressed creatively provided the perfect gateway to deciphering the language of my internal voice.
When did you first become passionate about poetry and what attracted you to it?
Poetry first grabbed my interest when I analyzed the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. While picking the poem apart and finding the meanings and images hidden between the poem's imagery and metaphors, I found it was like having a conversation with myself — a version of myself that somehow could only exist within this poem. This experience changed a little 12 year old me and ever since, poetry has been in my blood. As such, art in any form drives me to write and re-write, to continue finding and conversing with the versions of me that exist in those unique pieces. I think it's incredibly beautiful and magical that art seems to paint the answers humans have been seeking about self for centuries.
Do you publish your Poetry on other channels but Instagram?
I do publish my poetry every now and then on my Tumblr, @eunoiaschaos, truly I use it more as a means of moldboard expression. I save and share my favorite art, writing, and music to hopefully create an online bullet journal of myself and the changes I experience as I bloom into a better person.
Who is your favorite Instapoet and why?
Can you tell us a little about your writing process? How do you come up with poems and how do you edit them?
My writing process varies depending on how I am feeling day to day. Though my favorite way to write is to keep my writing journal with me all day and note down all my fluttering thoughts and fleeting feelings. I keep little phrases and single lines that might have potential for expansion. At the end of the day, I usually play either Jorge Méndez or Ludovico Einaudi while I review my journal and I start to write. After writing I don't edit as much as I know some other writers do, I like to think that my thoughts as I sit and write are a happily imperfect spilling of my emotions. On average I usually take a day or two to re-write my work, though I have had quite a few poems that I rewrite for months. Do you support yourself through writing financially, or do you have a day job and what is it?
How many hours a day do you spend writing and what helps you to get into the writing mood?
And what’s the best moment you’ve had with your poetry so far?
When it comes to trying to express the meaning of "Poetry" I always find I am at a loss for words. It is simply one of the most pivotal forms of humans attempting to define and understand what it means for us to "be human." It is our way of mapping the landscape of our changing selves & charting where we have been and where we dream to go.
What are you working on next?
I am currently working on my first poetry book inspired by my thesis research for graduate school. It is a little blend of inquiry into human nature with the experiences of the heart & body. I started my instagram as way to push myself to write daily and post poems that I am planning on adding to my book, and most importantly, to help people feel understood, loved, and wanted. Where would you like to see yourself in three years time.
What advice would you give young poets just starting out?
A note to young writers: It can take quite a lot to push the little bird trapped in your ribcage to spread its wings, however, the only way to learn how to fly is by taking that first leap of faith. You're born with wings, and only you can decide when and how to use them. So believe in yourself & take flight.
Do you think poetry has a greater purpose?
When it comes to trying to express the meaning of "Poetry" I always find I am at a loss for words. It is simply one of the most pivotal forms of humans attempting to define and understand what it means for us to "be human." It is our way of mapping the landscape of our changing selves & charting where we have been and where we dream to go.
Follow C.A. on Instagram to see more of her beautiful poetry.