I went to see a band last night. Gigs are a massive physical undertaking, involving sticks, sunglasses, earplugs and a resilience to funny looks. Last night was important. I had to stand (seating was allocated,and I had the wrong type of ticket) and I desparately wanted to fully experience it, and not be distracted by pain. I was seeing a band I encountered after my first episode of (undiagnosed) depression, and one that provides an uncomfortable mirror to my feelings.
What struck me yesterday was my response to what I heard. Whilst they still have the power to make me weep,my weeping was for others,for loss, or just at the sheer beauty of what I was hearing. The part of me that felt she was being torn to pieces as she listened, seems to have healed.
This sense of healing is incredibly important to my writing. Before learning about the craft of creating a poem, or a story, my writing was always an outpouring of the terrors within. This is a good, cathartic process, but not always good reading. Confronting,and crafting what I’m writing, reaching down to what I actually feel,and want to express has given me a level of understanding. This, I think has helped me use my experiences and emotions, rather than be controlled by them.
Also, they were bloody brilliant .
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Published by Kathryn Anna
Kathryn is a writer based in Shropshire. She writes short fiction, flash fiction and poetry. She has no formal education in creative writing but she reads every poetry book she can get her hands on, and enjoys various online writing groups and courses.
Kathryn has M.E., which brings its own challenges to her working practice, and means she has to monitor her activity with great care. Despite the frustration of these limitations she has reached her goal of having work published, thanks to support from Nine Arches Press Dynamo mentoring scheme.
Kathryn has work published or forthcoming in print magazines like Mslexia, Popshot Quarterly and The Dawntreader and online in places like Words for the Wild, Nine Muses Poetry, Sledgehammer and Riggwelter Press. She was longlisted for the 2019 Fish prize for short fiction, and Paper Swans Press single poem prize in 2020.
Kathryn is a columnist for Spelt Magazine, and has recently been awarded a micro bursary from Raven Studios in Shrewsbury to work on a new pamphlet. She also accepts private commissions under the moniker Poems from the Hare.
When her health allows, Kathryn works as a freelance copywriter and can write confidently across a range of subjects, including travel, food, literature, hospitality and customer service. In addition to these core topics, excellent research skills means she can tackle subjects as diverse as muscle cars and dog training. She takes on proofreading and editing work as requested. You can find out more at her business site
https://thewordemporium.wordpress.com/
Kathryn loves language and its persuasive power. Most of all she loves to write.
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Kathryn Anna Marshall 