member spotlight: nicole nicholson

by Nathan Moore

How long have you been writing poetry?

I started writing in 1989, during the second half of my 7th-grade year. I wrote throughout high school — won a couple of poetry contests and had one poem published besides that. And my first poetry rite of passage came when I was 17 — I got scammed by the National Library of Poetry. Thank God I never bought the anthology that I was supposedly selected as a semi-finalist for.

But throughout college, I didn’t write very much. I was too busy trying to finish a degree and trying to figure out what the hell to do with my life. I also had some personal tragedies during this time. I tried writing again in 2004, but I didn’t really start moving my pen again until about 2007.

Then in 2008, I started my blog, Ravens Wing Poetry, and started open-micing around Columbus. I’ve read at Writer’s Block Poetry, Writing Wrongs Poetry (formerly Black Pearl Poetry), The Poetry Forum and Poetry in the Park, plus a few gigs here and there. There are a few more open mics I plan to check out around Central Ohio — if you want to find a place to read in C-Bus, there is certainly no dearth of poetry nights in which you can do so.

What’s your favorite line you ever wrote?

I have a hard time picking a favorite. I’ll share my favorite of the moment:

“you run away from a meaningless life
as if you robbed God on the subway at gunpoint
and you hear his breath burning brimstone
into your heels.”

Do you schedule time for writing or do you write when “inspiration” strikes? Do you have a writing “ritual?”

I don’t really schedule time to write. I mostly write by inspiration — although the prompts do help me. And I’m currently taking a creative writing class at Columbus State, so if nothing else, I am forced to output something each week.

And I have no rituals. I just write.

Has blogging changed your writing or the way that you write?

Yes, very much so. It’s forced me to think of my work partially in terms of understandability and dare I say it, reader consumption. I also have tried hyperlinking my poems and adding artwork or visuals if I feel it would add to or enhance the poem.

Why are you interested in participating in Read Write Poem?

I found RWP about a year ago — and I am definitely happy I did so. I’ve been writing more frequently and steadily thanks to RWP — and I think by extension this has helped improve my poetry. I think the moderators put a lot of time into their choice of prompts, and this helps us turn out some good work.

Have you ever collaborated with another poet or artist?

Outside of RWP, no — but I am certainly open to collaboration.

What do you think of collaborative poetry?

I am not that experienced with it, but I would say that I enjoy the couple of times I’ve collaborated as part of a RWP prompt. My favorite would have to be the skeleton prompt from last year — I almost considered it a higher form of Mad Libs (which I loved as a kid). Very fun and challenging. I also birthed one of my favorites from a collaborative prompt, the borrowed first line one from back in March — “When Godzilla Flattens Your Car on Monday Morning” — which is on my blog.

Where’s the weirdest place you ever wrote a poem?

I have written in my bedroom, at the various placed I’ve worked, out in a park, in a restaurant, in the audience at open mics, in cars, in churches. Probably the weirdest place I’ve written to date was in a public restroom.

How do you revise (if you do)?

I either revise as I write or I let the poem cool off for a couple of days before I re-approach it. I usually won’t hack a piece to death until I really feel a need or reason to.

What’s the most important thing a poem does?

Good God, poems can do MANY things — tell stories, convey feelings and thoughts, etc. But I feel that poetry’s greatest gift is that of the opening of a door — to another perspective, dimension, place, or time. We can learn things from poetry. Experience things from poetry. Read souls from poetry. And the list goes on and on. If you walk away from a poem having felt or learned or experienced something new, then IMHO, the poem has done its job.

Name your three favorite poets.

Okay. I’ll do that and tell you why for each (in no particular order):
1. Maya Angelou — she is the reason I even began writing. I first read her work when I was in junior high and it caught me by the eye and by the ear. I walked away from her work with a desire to effectively use rhythm, pulse and rhyme the way she does, because those things stood out to me the most from her poetry.

2. Barbara Fant — Good God, this woman is a powerhouse! If you’ve never heard her read, then you are missing out. When I first heard her slam, it was as if her work caught me by the throat and would not let me go. Like Maya Angelou, she has a strong sense of rhythm in her work. As for her imagery and metaphor — “Pain” and “Black Feathers” come to mind — it is very original, fresh, and she tends to use unexpected comparisons that work very well together. I can’t say enough good things about her.

3. Jim Morrison — Until I began reading his poetry, I like many others, dismissed him as a singer/songwriter/rock star. Then I discovered that unlike many other songwriters, he was more influenced by literature — Rimbaud and Blake, for example — than by music. What I find in his poetry is a certain musicality, created by his particular rhythm and language. Also, his poetry is written less in ideas and more in strings of images, which I find intriguing.

I find now that like Barbara Fant’s and Maya Angelou’s words, his are sneaking into my ear, sliding themselves down my fingers or ink reservoirs, and then ending up on my page. It’s really fascinating.

Can poetry save the world?

Dear God, I hope so.

Have a question or thought to share? Let us know in the comments section of this post.

Community director Nathan Moore found The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry and left the academy. He once lived in a house with three walls. Nathan shares his writing at Exhaust Fumes and French Fries.