A short while ago, I reviewed A Journey into Tomorrow by Veronica C. Tinto. (Read my review HERE.) I have been in contact with the author, and she was kind enough to write a short bio and guest post for my readers here, explaining a little bit more about herself, her background and why she decided to write poetry. Also, (and I think this is quite exciting) Veronica has offered to be available to respond to comments and questions left on this post! She'll be keeping track of reader comments and answering questions etc. with anyone who would like to ask questions, give feedback etc. This is a great thing for her to offer, so I definitely think it's something that you should take advantage of! In my experience, she's been a great correspondent! So, here is what she had to say for us!
Bio:
I am from Trinidad and Tobago and my only language is standard British English. My educational background is in Communicative Disorders and Psychology. However with that being said, first I must say that I have never written poetry before, it is talent that I never knew I had before the unfortunate circumstances of a very bitter divorce. The title of the poems came first to me and within five to ten minutes I would have them completely finished. I was inspired by different factors as I wrote these poems. Of course by my own feelings, but I was also inspired by the tremendous courage I saw in my baby boy's actions in terms of the resiliency that he showed dealing with these life circumstances. I was also inspired by the unconditional love and countless support that I received from my closest and dearest friend Jemeka who on many nights spoke with me on the phone until 3am many mornings as I dealt with the emotional turmoil that was happening in my life. The poems began as sending Jemeka a simple thought for the day via a text message. However, as weeks passed by the poems began to have a life of their own as my words began to transcend my own life altering experiences and began to touch the lives of family and friends. I should also add that I made reference to the elements of nature many times in my poetry because growing up in Trinidad and Tobago I had the first hand experience of seeing the natural wonder of Mother Nature which was always a soothing experience for me in my life.
In addition to this bio, she also wrote a guest post just for us! Here it is!
As funny as it sounds, my first experience writing poetry was almost my last experience! While attending high school in Trinidad and Tobago, my English teacher assigned the entire class a homework assignment to write a piece of poetry with personal meaning behind it. I dutifully went home that night and poured my ten-year-old heart and mind into the assignment. I returned to school the following morning proud of what I had created. I handed my piece to the teacher with all the confidence in the world, just knowing that it was an “A+” effort. After reading it, my English teacher promptly gave me an “F” and scolded me in front of the class for plagiarizing. Unfortunately my English teacher never acknowledged that the poem written that day for homework was only written by me the author. The hurt and embarrassment of that one experience so long ago stuck with me throughout my life. For this reason I never thought or even conceptualized that one day I would have been blessed with the ability to one day write a book of poetry entitled “A Journey into Tomorrow.”
Pushing that high school experience aside and through the inspiration, love and unconditional support I received from my closest and dearest friend Jemeka, and seeing the resiliency that my baby boy demonstrated, my healing process through poetry began. The words, thoughts, feeling and emotions flowed out of me like water in a torrent river. By turning my feelings into words, I was able to appreciate what was important in my life. For example the unexpected deepening friendship that occurred, the kindness of strangers, the simple pleasures I enjoyed and the lessons I learnt from my little angel, and the metamorphosis of my spirituality during this season of my life. Each experience that unfolded in my life as well as the lives of family and friends became the lyrical melody for my poetry.
It is my sincere hope for you my reader that these poems provide you solace during stressful or quiet moments in your life. The purpose of writing these poems were to also address the spectrum of human emotions from love to disappointment, to rage, to sadness, to the beauty of nature, to enjoying life to the sadness of death, to the past, present and future. I believe these are common themes that we all can relate with since these themes are the fundamental foundations of our human experiences. The poems were written to provide you food for thought without the use of vague metaphors and obscure analogies, because during the lowest moments in life, regardless of what circumstance generate these feelings, we all want to read words that speak directly to our hearts.
I'd like to thank Veronica for taking the time to talk with me, and write this up for me and my readers. Please, share your thoughts with me and Veronica. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!