12 or 20 (second series) questions with Mela Blust

Mela Blust is a moonchild, and has always had an affinity for the darkness. She is a trauma survivor, an artist, a mother, a wife, a daughter, an avid gardener, and blooming into so much more. She has been writing poetry since she was seven years old.

1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different? My first book, Skeleton Parade, opened the door to that closet where the skeletons were hiding. It was the starting point, shining a dusty flashlight on the possibility of my healing. My current work, Men and Their Flowers, is very much a clear offshoot of that healing path, an exploration of self growth and self love after accepting all of the darkness.

2 - How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction? Poetry came to me. I started writing when I was a child. Poetry is my oldest friend.
 
3 - How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copious notes? I tend to write fragments, collect thoughts that arrive in dreams, and ponder imagery. The poetry comes as a manifestation of those pieces.

4 - Where does a poem usually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning? I just write, sporadically and unorganized, collecting and cherishing until a bigger picture eventually appears. When a book is ready, it makes itself known.

5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings? I love doing readings! It is a fairly new practice for me, but I am hoping to start reading live more often.
 
6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you even think the current questions are? My writing is very personal and deeply cathartic. However, as a result of my lives experience, I do think my work tends to err on the side of humanist, compassionate.

7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do they even have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be? I write for myself. If I affect others, that is a gift to me. I am not a profoundly political poet. There are definitely important roles in society for writers, but I don't tend to think of myself as qualified for those roles.

8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)? Definitely both! I think we need to accept other pairs of eyes, other opinions, as a catalyst for growth, both as a writer and as a human. That isn't to say that editing doesn't come without its own challenges.

9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)? It doesn't directly deal with writing, but it does relate to life, which as a broader topic includes writing and literally everything else. A friend of mine said he learned that it's important to remember that if you look around at where you're at or who you're with, and it doesn't feel good, the problem isn't you - you're in the wrong place, with the wrong people. That has affected my life and my path so profoundly.

10 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin? I have no routine whatsoever. I let poetry come through me in whatever way it needs to. After multiple award nominations and books written, clearly it knows what it's doing better than I do.

11 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration? Imagery, stunning, dark, ethereal art, and nature.

12 - What fragrance reminds you of home? Dried eucalyptus.Forever.

13 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art? Heavily, art, music, and nature.

14 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work? Too many to name. I need and absorb books and poetry like I need water.

15 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done? Everything that catches my fancy, maybe even things that haven't been thought of yet. I am a thrill seeker, a lover, a passionate liver.

16 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer? I am doing it. I am a profession touch practitioner. I hold people for a living.

17 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else? I never had a choice. There were times I was frustrated with writing and turned away from it for a while, but it always comes back. It will not be ignored.

18 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film? Nothing else could ever compare to Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being. But I also enjoyed his book, A Farewell Waltz. Kundera has this profound way of juxtaposing the stunning beauty and the desperate pain of life and love. Always hits me right in the feels.

19 - What are you currently working on? Currently working on a secret method of dreaming dark, cathartic, witchy, lusty poetry through image meditation before sleep.

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