~Lorena in Every Passing Moment ~

~Lorena in Every Passing Moment ~

Written byNasra Al Adawi

Not many of us would have noticed her as a poet yet I was taken by her intermingling of two forms of creative media; her simple words of poetry and her passion for photography. She plays melodies of words and completes the over-all theme with intensive touches of photography. The first time I visited Lorena’s blog Every Passing Moment, I thought it was all about collective thoughts about her life. I must say I was captured by her photo staring back to me whenever I opened her blog, the glint smile and her eyes made me eager to find out more about her and here is the space I would like to bring her to all of you.

Lorena Jurado was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She is a poet at heart and a photographer with instincts. She allowed us to get a glimpse of who she is when I inquired who is Lorena? “I am someone who enjoys my solitude and yet constantly fight it so that I won't get too comfortable with it, so I'm also referred to as the "planner" amongst my friends. I see myself as an honest and open-minded person who loves to connect with people. I wish I weren't such a hopeless romantic because I think that contributed to me never haven experienced real love. I would always shy away from it. I still have never said those 3 words to anyone; they are among my most prized possessions. Love is an ongoing battle for me because it scares me yet I know I can't live without it. If you look up the profile of a Pisces you find Me”, she replied with pride.

It takes a special fondness to write as it does with photography. She affirms her passion for both; “Ever since I owned a camera at the age of 11, I made it a priority to photograph all the special people in my life. I like to capture emotion. It's an indescribable feeling but I'm always moved when I run across a moment where people are laughing together and connecting with each other. I'm drawn to their happiness and moved by it. That is what I'd like to capture in pictures. I love reading poetry. Poems give me a new way to look at life and they capture what I feel so amazingly. I love words for the inspiration they bring. They restore my hope.”

Every river has to have a spring where the water runs to be a river, upon this I wondered where the spring of Lorena comes from, where her creativity begins, “I love taking photographs and those that I include in my blog are from projects I have worked on while enrolled in a B&W photography class a couple years back. I graduated with a business degree but I needed a creative outlet and found it here. I have been writing in a journal for many years now, I find it is a good way to sort through my feelings and it’s comforting to let it all out.” She stated and continued to emphasis her point with clear voice, “Photographer Robert Frank once said, "I am always looking outside, trying to look inside." When I look at my photographs I find something inside me that I can empathize with. I try to give voice to the still images to make them my own as well as to facilitate in my own self-discovery. I like adding that extra personal touch.”

Any form of art is considered a self-expression or a voice of inner being. I faced Lorena to confront the reason behind mingling two forms of art. I wondered if words were not sufficient enough to create an image in the reader’s mind and the same with photography, does it need to be complimented with words or a message? She said in that matter, “I feel passionate about both and think they compliment each other well. However, I think they can stand on their own.” She added about her poetic photography, “I would love for people to be able to connect with what I put out there. I crave connections. And if it can be inspiring or make someone feel less alone because we have a shared experience, that's great.” Lorena allows both poetry and photography themes to guide her in creating the full image as I found out from her: “Some of my posts have started out with me writing what I feel at the moment and then looking at my photographs to see if one can help express it or add to it and at other times I have looked at my photographs and got inspired by the image.”

Every artist, photographer and poet seeks themselves in their art. It’s not only a matter of giving to art, for sure it falls that the art gives back in many perspectives without the artist being aware and this is the case with Lorena. “I want to continue to take pictures. My life long goal will be to photograph the people in my life while in very honest, candid moments, smiling. I think that when people smile, in that instant their soul is open and I want to capture that. I have never taken courses in writing or poetry so I would like to do that. Until then, I will continue to blog and share all my experiences in that space. The blog community has been so encouraging and I have met so many wonderful people like you”.

I’m so flattered that I was included and as I was trying to take a role of writer here, the main question remained in my mind as to what sparks poetry in Lorena and according to her, “I'm happy that what I write can be seen by others as poetry. It’s very encouraging and a great honor. Everything I write comes from the heart. I consider myself a very emotional person and I like to write it down. Lately, my own experiences have sparked what I write about.”

Though we have come to an end, the inspiration has continuity. I find that the light of inspiration is ongoing and the flame is shining and Lorena’s gratitude for this flame of creativity is summoned in her final words, “My inspiration lately is from a special person in my life and the feelings/emotions that I've experienced since we've crossed paths. Films, writers, poets, photographs and friends also inspire me. The light is ongoing thanks to the special people in my life and from this overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the simple things in life. I also feed my soul with inspirational quotes everyday and it's very important to have a friend that can make you laugh!”

you were the match

you
were the light
at the end of the dark tunnel
i was hiding in and i crawled towards it with a hunger i did not know i had
and your words echoed in my mind
and the possibilities quenched my thirst
and i made it out feeling so alive
and didn't find
you.

left with this unfamiliar blinding light
i discovered that this flame was always
in me and you were the match
that helped me light it.

Incite your eyes and soul as you visit ~ Every Passing Moment ~

Patry Francis ~ Through the Language of Poetry ~

Patry with her daughter Nellie

Interviewed and Written by Gulnaz

Patry Francis a sparkling poetess. I came across her poetry blog, Waitress Poems, some time back and was immediately struck by the depth of her feeling and by the mastery of her art. She writes with a big heart and she writes in simple words. There are worlds in her poems. You see your own shadows in those lines and people you might have known and feelings which you might have had but never quite expressed them so.

When Nasra of iamnasra asked me to interview a poet of my choice, I decided upon Patry Francis as I would like her poetry to be read by even more and I am sure that whoever reads her will enjoy her words as much as I do.

Patry Francis lives in the U.S. on the south coast of Massachusetts. She told me that though she has done a few courses in poetry and writing while she was in college, she is mostly self-taught, which to me is another proof of her inherent talent and individual style.

Czeslaw Milosz, Cesar Vallejo, Adam Zagajewski and Mary Oliverare some poets she tremendously admires and would love to be influenced by them but she modestly adds, that she does not think she is influenced by any of the above which is perhaps the reason for her uniquely simple and profound style of writing. She knits layers and weaves images and thoughts with her words.

When I asked her if there is a specific style of poetry which she enjoys, she said, “I like what they call "accessible poetry," but I'm willing to work hard to understand a poem if the poet has something meaningful to say.”

Speaking form a layman’s point of view, I have often wondered if there was a correct way of enjoying poetry as it is usually something people are too much in awe of to, truly enjoy. So I put the question to her. She answered, “A poem should be immediate enough to strike at the heart on first reading it, but deep enough to reward the return reader.” This is so true. The poems, which I have liked, have captivated me from the start but have reaped more when read again.

At what age did you start writing? Patry says, “As soon as I mastered the alphabet.” I smile to myself as I imagine little Patry writing rhymes in her childlike writing, pushing her lovely curls away from her face. What a joy, she must have been to her parents, I think to myself. The first poem she remembers writing is when she was eleven. “I was eleven and lying on the summer grass in my back yard, staring up at the overturned bowl of sky. Suddenly, I was desperate to put my yearning and my love for the earth on which I found myself into words. The result was the first poem I can remember writing,” tells Patry.

Writing is a solitary work yet we all crave appreciation, so my next question was if she wrote for herself or for her audience. She explained, “I write to satisfy my creative instinct, but then I want to go out and hand out my poems on the street--if that what it takes. My intended audience is anyone who loves poetry, and maybe even a few who don't think they do.

Ones work is a creative result of one’s surrounding influences and I was curious to know what her creative influences were. She showed her vast horizon by answering thus, “They are very broad. I'm influenced by music and conversation and theatre, and of course by all the wonderful poets I read--some published and famous, others friends who I've met on the Internet--like you, Gulnaz!” Thank You Patry, I am going to cherish that!!

What do you want your readers to take from your poetry, Patry? “A Poem should make the reader look closer, listen more acutely, feel more deeply.” Once again I was stuck by how simply she states the most profound. We need people in this world who can make us appreciate this world and one another by their work.

There are many of us involved in creative pursuits and her answer to how she approaches creation, is something we can all learn from:

“For me creation is a four step process:

1. Write joyfully and freely without judging yourself.
2. Put the piece aside for a while.
3. Return to it and polish it till it shines in the dark.
4. Give it away!”

Rejection and Appreciation both can be dangerous if not handled properly and I was eager to know how she dealt with them. She answered with her inimitable charm and wisdom; “When a poem is accepted, I do a little dance around the living room with my Jack Russell; I kiss my husband, and make a special "lucky" dinner. Rejection, on the other hand, is a less celebratory occasion. It is, however, often instructive. When a poem is rejected many times--say 25--I print it out and examine it line by line. If I still feel it is a worthwhile poem, I send it out 25 more times. If not, I silently thank the editors who rejected it for teaching me something about myself and my work.”

Ever since I started my blog, I have looked upon it as a form of release. I asked Patry’s view on this, she said, “I can't imagine how anyone gets through the difficulties of life without it!” So anyone out there, reading this and looking for a form of expression has found his or her answer.
Patry’s work has been published in literary magazines but I wanted to know what difference did the internet make to her readership as this is how I came across her work, on the other side of the world.

“I love being published in literary magazines, but I never know how the readers are reacting to my work. On the Internet, the reaction is direct and visceral. And what's more, I can then visit their blog or home page. In that way, writing is no longer a one-sided activity, but a true interaction. I've also met people from all over the world; and through the language of poetry, we've discovered that the distance between us is nothing but a rumor.”

People often mistake the need for appreciation with the hunger for fame. Patry not being one of those people, delineated the difference between the two with her answer; “The thrill of seeing your words and your name in print eventually diminishes, but the experience of connecting with one perceptive reader through a poem never does. It is like entering a previously unknown heart and being received with joy. Nothing can compare to that.”

This brings me the interview to a close and I am left with her words, “that the distance between us is nothing but a rumor.” I hope you have enjoyed reading this interview as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you.

A WHITE SHIRT

Later it will hang in a dark closet
beside your blue suit. When you
wear it, it will stand between
the lies you tell the world
and your heart.
But now, dangling on the line,
autumn’s slow conflagration
sparking behind it,
it has shaken off your claims
of ownership.
Startled with sun,
the wind captured in one swollen sleeve,
it is the purest thing on the landscape;
it is the Holy Ghost
come out to stir the flames.

First appeared in The Tampa Review