Ask the Author: Harley King
Answered Questions (5)
Harley King
In 1990 I began work on a novel called Country Charm about a 60 year old restaurant owner in rural Illinois. He faces the prospect of losing everything he has worked for his whole life. The novel began as an attempt to understand my father and the men of his generation. I worked on this novel for four years, usually an hour a day. After 1994, I set it aside to help my wife with her book on pet loss. Every so often, I bring the novel out and start working on it again. Now that I am past 60, I understand the aches and pains of the character better.
I have continued to write poetry and now have written over 6,000 poems. Most are in one of three styles: 1) the seven-line poem that I created, 2) long narrative poems, and a 20-line poem. I have written a few haiku, but not many. I have published several more books of poetry which are all out of print. Some of my narrative poems can be found on my Goodreads profile. I have written an 80 page narrative poem about the life of my mother but have not published it. The poem is written in the first person and gave me insight into my mother.
In early part of the 21th century, I took a class in art history and began writing long narrative poems in response to works of art. I normally hand write my poems and then type them up either on a typewriter or computer. In 2006, I began writing the poems in hardback journals. I have now filled 18 journals. Each journal contains about 220 poems.
Art continues to fascinate me. For a while I drew masks using colored pencil, ink and oil pastels. I have a journal with over 90 masks. I love to doodle and have become interested in Zentangle. I have posted some of my Zentangle on Pinterest.
Creativity has been a key part of my life. Even though I have not been able to make a living from my writing, I have benefited in many ways. My wife's book on pet loss has outsold my poetry ten to one. My writing has kept me sane in an insane world. Not finding fame and fortune with my writing has given me the freedom to write what I want and not what the publishers want. I have no regrets and appreciate the opportunities that I have been given.
I have continued to write poetry and now have written over 6,000 poems. Most are in one of three styles: 1) the seven-line poem that I created, 2) long narrative poems, and a 20-line poem. I have written a few haiku, but not many. I have published several more books of poetry which are all out of print. Some of my narrative poems can be found on my Goodreads profile. I have written an 80 page narrative poem about the life of my mother but have not published it. The poem is written in the first person and gave me insight into my mother.
In early part of the 21th century, I took a class in art history and began writing long narrative poems in response to works of art. I normally hand write my poems and then type them up either on a typewriter or computer. In 2006, I began writing the poems in hardback journals. I have now filled 18 journals. Each journal contains about 220 poems.
Art continues to fascinate me. For a while I drew masks using colored pencil, ink and oil pastels. I have a journal with over 90 masks. I love to doodle and have become interested in Zentangle. I have posted some of my Zentangle on Pinterest.
Creativity has been a key part of my life. Even though I have not been able to make a living from my writing, I have benefited in many ways. My wife's book on pet loss has outsold my poetry ten to one. My writing has kept me sane in an insane world. Not finding fame and fortune with my writing has given me the freedom to write what I want and not what the publishers want. I have no regrets and appreciate the opportunities that I have been given.
Harley King
I don't wait for inspiration. I set writing goals, e.g., a page a day, a poem a day. If you wait to be inspired, you will rarely write. Write for 30 minutes or an hour a day. Even on days when you don't feel like writing, you should write. Inspiration happens in the process of writing, not before.
Harley King
Write! Write! Write! And never stop writing! Write even if you don't get published. Write when the sun is shinning. Write when it is raining. Read! Read! Read! Read the type of literature that you want to write. I meet wanna-be poets who don't read poetry. How can you write something if you don't know what has been written before? Writers have to be readers.
Harley King
The joy that comes when the words are flowing onto the paper. Creating a poem makes me feel good. The sense of accomplishment when I finish a poem.
Harley King
I don't suffer from writer's block these days. I can sit down almost anywhere with a pad and pen and start writing. I can write in busy shopping malls with people walking all around me. I can write in grocery stores while my wife is shopping. I read the book, Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg over twenty years ago and it changed my writing. I got rid of the editor in my head.
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Oct 26, 2015 06:33AM · flag