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The Blank Page
it’s not the page, it’s the mind…
Over the years I have written many poems, had many articles published, given lectures, and published one book of poetry, and 2 travelogues.
I have been out there and I have been confronted many times by the blank page, as well as the blank mind. For me, the blank page never wins.
The reason is I just sit there, ever-so-patiently until thoughts form and shortly become sentences. I don’t argue with the muse (my mind). I just write until some sense if being made of what is on the page.
Sometimes it is good, but most of time it is just gibberish. The main thing, however, is that my mind is not blank anymore and neither is the page. Something has happened. A few synapses have been ignited!
That is good!
I remember once when I was beginning an autobiography in a novelized format. I thought I knew what I wanted to say, I had the core of the project. At that time, I had also lived a bit.
Once I sat down the words came. No coffee and only a couple of breaks later, I had written more than 45,000 words. Mind you, though, I have never since approached that monumental total. I have tried, but it only comes out in 1–2 thousand-word bursts.
It’s the same with my poetry. I can usually write 4–5 poems in a sitting. I never…
