Poet of the Fortnight #1: pmmurphy (May 1 - May 14)

I'm making this up as I go, so bear with me, guys.

pmmurphy has been randomly selected as our very first Poet of the Fortnight (PotF), a member whose current account was created less than a month ago. Per his profile, pmmurphy is a 26 year old man residing in the state of Delaware in the U.S.

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Latest poem:
Your Antics, My Leisure

I escaped forgiveness
trying to say I loved you...

As, you spoke in patterns. Fabricated and surreal and
always leaving me on
my knees.

So to speak, I kind of liked it.
Maybe? A little too much.

We let reason drop to our ankles
and while it was there,
we thrust-ed onward.

Only so many times, can we rape our views.
Over simple incantations
of I promise you this, I promise you that...

That was when life, clicked of course, through the alleyways,
through the forests, the dark oasis of life...

There I pictured you;
frolicking your gaze through timid scenes
where leisure only swims frantically
to save itself from drowning.

That was when I wished I could drown,
because... I am all leisured out.
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pmmurphy, please take a minute to fill out this public survey so we can get an idea of who you are before we start asking questions. You can write pass if you want to skip anything.

Real name:
Meaning behind your PnQ name:
Birth place:
Languages spoken:
When you discovered PnQ and why you joined:
Favorite poet(s):
Book you are currently reading:
Song you last listened to:
Inspirations for writing:
5 truths about yourself:

Real name: Patrick Michael Murphy
Meaning behind your PnQ name: its my real name and penname artist name.
Birth place: Okinawa japan
Languages spoken:English
When you discovered PnQ and why you joined: 2008 my previous account is pmurphy
Favorite poet(s):Sylvia Plath and Richard siken.
Book you are currently reading: crush by Richard siken
Song you last listened to: lights by Ellie goulding I think
Inspirations for writing: coping mechaisn and to hopefully fight stigma for mental illlness
5 truths about yourself: I'm a ginger
Parents are military
I am bipolar
Wish to become an activist
I'm 6'2 215 pounds

You point out that you were here originally in 2008 and now you have this new account.
What was it that caused you to close your old account and what is it that drew you back to PnQ?
Do you still have old friends who are on the site; were you able to reestablish contact with them?
If not, how is it going with making new friends here?

Pnq use to my main website when it was insanely active. Back in 2008 my highschool years I would get lots of views and comments literally daily. My friends from here are all but parted and I've come back because my other site isn't giving me the feedback I want to grow as a writer I quit writing for several years back in 2008 because someone told Me to give up because he was tires of reading teenage angst and told me my poetry wasn't poetry

How did you initially find pnq?
What kind of feedback are you looking for, (style or content or both or something else)?
Do you have a poem you are the most proud of?
What caused you to want to write poetry?
Have you always shared your work online, or did you have to gain confidence first?

I google searched it because I wanted to share my poetry.

I am looking for any kind of feedback I can get my hands on. Even if its as simple as (i like this).

I don't really get proud of my work. But I do have favorites. My current favorites are usually the ones I write most recently.

I'll share my favorite poem right now.

Indecisive; a thought or two.

Not entirely certain,
why rose petals matter, when, they fall alongside my bathtub.

They don't always show themselves, to people such as you.
Your eyes don't always pierce starkly
across midnight skies
either...

As days pass, we keep bubbles in our tub as a collection.
I collect your dreams in them before
I let them pop...

Sometimes I hope my dreams would pop too,
where they float into the air
so I can breathe them in like the dust
they ought to create.

As you wrote yourself
on the ripples of my tub, you asked for a sunlight bathe.

That was where I let the sun drown,
because, dismissing it was easier.

I was always into art. I've done artistic things my whole life but i could never sit down and enjoy the grind of spending months on end to create one piece. When i combined my ability to type fast with poetry and grind out my concepts in words i fell in love with poetry. I have always written poetry since i was in school for school assignments. I joined some websites to get social and thats how i learned and grew! I learned through peer support and feedback. Then i had some rough things happen in my life and learned to just write to write and learned what writing is all about. My perspective on sculpting my word was more than just playing with wierd words and concepts. It was to illustrate my life... That was when i really started to appreciate poetry even more. It was more than just words now. It was everything to me and poetry really started to pop as i loved everything about it.

I just jumped right in and shared my work. I share everything i write even my 2 minute pieces i don't edit.

How would you define poetry? Does a poem have to display certain characteristics in your view? Or is it just the conveying of thoughts and emotions?

I think poetry has a very vast wide and lots of potential. I basically think everything is poetry as long as its written with stanzas line breaks enjambment and also it has to be given the proper genre label.

Such as if i say i wrote a sonnet. It better be a actual sonnet with proper meter and rhyme.

Where as, if i call it free form. I can do whatever i want.

I think that as long
as its written
in wierd
ways.

it too
can be
poetry.

But then there is the fine line of what i consider quality versus just stuff thrown into a blender.

I think form poetry has it easier when it comes to quality because if you nail the form your basically gaureteed a fun read. Where as free-form needs to be refreshing well thought out and tons of other things. This is just my opinion though.

When i read meter'd rhyme you can litterally write anything and my mind will be like "oooo la la" but when i read some other free-form poets they need to really really grab my attention and keep me with intense language.

Great answer, thank you. I think I pretty much agree with just about everything you say there.
Take care,

Ben

"I basically think everything is poetry as long as its written with stanzas line breaks enjambment and also it has to be given the proper genre label."

"Where as, if i call it free form. I can do whatever i want.
."
"Where as free-form needs to be refreshing well thought out and tons of other things"

^ So basically, as per how I am reading and interpreting, you cannot do whatever you want in free form ( per se), because as per the first sentence I quoted, you stated that you think everything is poetry as long as its written with stanzas, line breaks, ... etc. So for you, free form is not necessarily free. It's restricted by your own set of rules.. I mean, I understand it as if "free form" means that you can create your own rules - I guess, that's what you mean by free form, right? That you don't necessarily have to follow a pattern that have been created by someone else, or a pattern for that matter.

Also,
HaveyouEverWrittenanything IN THE spit of the moment, like however you feel like writing without worrying if this is what others may or may notconstitute as poetry... or if it makes sense, you just write it in ... and don't care if it uses linebreaks or stanzasbut you just feel lllllliike writing and writing makes yourfeel something but you don't know what in the world you are feeling, you just feel likegoingtosleep?

Also, do you like restrictions? What would you consider a restriction? Do you think writing sonnets gives freedom or restriction? or both and why?

(by the way, I'm slightly excited for the thread. Sorry, if I come up like not making sense or just rambling (I'm actually just rambling a little bit))

Somebody told you to stop writing?!

You should have written a poem about them.

Nobody can you tell you what qualifies as a poem.

Everything is poetry in a sense.

Speech, Prose, songs and film

You can find it in everything. Teenage angst makes great poetry, wait till you start with the late 30's then middle age angst.

Yea pretty much. Free form is governed by your own rules and expectations.

As for sonnets. Me personally I think its restricting. I feel contained and put in a box when I do form. I want to have freedom to create whatever my mind spills onto the page.

As for writing just to write. I do that right before i start editing. I share everything i write. Mostly everything i write is personal. Poetry is my form of a journal.

I hate restrictuion with a passion. A restirction is anything that makes you double think your word choice because it has to fit "a guideline". If your changing your word choice because you want to improve your poem (after you already wrote it) then thats another story. But if you have some rhyme scheme and you can't use a drop the first word down in your head because it doesnt "rhyme" or you have too many syllabuls and need a thesaurus, then its like i feel restricted and contained. The reason i don't like it is because i love creativity and letting my mind create its own thoughts. I don't like other guidelines and structure telling me how to write or do my art. I want to vomit first and refine second. Even in my rhyming poetry, maybe i want a line to break the rhyming pattern. I would like this option... It feels more calm to me and less pressured to be perfect. But at the same time im a perfectionist at heart so I will work on it and work on it and work on it. Maybe not the same poem, but in future poems.

As for writing, I write daily. I make it a mission to write SOMETHING every single day. Some days i write more. The most poems i have written in one day is clocked in at around 70ish.

I joined a poetry workshop and got a very very very bad review from someone who didn't like my poetry. It discouraged me but i came back with a thick skin afterwards. Then continued to write the same way. I then later got a bad review again on my poetry from someone else, but he added, "never change who you are for someone else, i might not like your poetry, but if you change your writing for readers i'll never read you."

That was a pivoting moment for me and my poetry. I stopped caring as much and started to just write and learn and have fun.

"As for writing, I write daily. I make it a mission to write SOMETHING every single day."
^ You are an inspiration.

"never change who you are for someone else, i might not like your poetry, but if you change your writing for readers i'll never read you."
^ Awesome point of view. I also agree with Darren: nothing wrong with teen angst poetry, except maybe labeling it as such. But when you put it the way Darren did, it seems a lot less offensive. I write late 20s angst poetry :). Anyway, I am so glad you came back to writing and did not let the thoughtlessness of others discourage you permanently, Patrick. I love the name Patrick.

Here is my first question of ten, though everyone else has done such a wonderful job asking thoughtful questions already. Remember, you can pass.

Question #1: Do you think bipolar disorder has affected your artistic inclinations, namely your writing? If yes, how?

Question #1: Do you think bipolar disorder has affected your artistic inclinations, namely your writing? If yes, how?

I believe it has. I would have not lived the life i have lived to write about if it was not for my short comings and overall experiences. I experience life in a different tinted window and love to express it.

- Your profession?
- Poet
- The card says 'writer'.
- It's almost the same thing.
- There's no 'almost' here. What do you mean by 'poet'?
- To write, without being a writer.

Orphée

Your profession?

I currently work at a restaraunt as a prep chef, but I say writer/poet because those are my aspirations and goals. (i think this question its towards me)

I just put poet no real reason.

Who's your favourite poet and what's your favourite by them?
Do you have any poems that are too personal for you to share?
Whats your writing process like?

My favorite poet is Richard Siken, I like all his poetry don't have a favorite. I am currently reading his book crush and i ordered his new book.

I share everything... I even self-published very personal poems that i am scared to advertise that book because of now.

My writin process is vomit, refine, vomit , refine , vomit, refine repeat till satisfied.

I just spew words if they make sense or not, pull out the lines i like then create a poem with it. I let the poems create themself but i think of a topic or emotion while i write. Then i go back and edit or delte everything. If i delete most of my vomit i vomit more. Then i just rinse and repeat the process until i create something i like. Sometimes my first vomit draft is good enough. Sometimes it takes many many drafts. But for the most part i spent 2 - 5 minutes on my pieces

If you could make everyone on earth read one piece of literature, what would it be?
Do you have any pets?
What's something that was said to you, when you were younger, that you still remember now? (advice, etc)

What triggers you to write?
Inspiration?...like the weather, season etc.
Is there a specific time that you write or whenever you are inspired?
Have you had a moment where you can't sleep until you have penned
what is troubling you or keeping you awake?

if you could make everyone read one piece of literature, what would it be?

All my books!!!!! Just kidding... I would say you have to read the book crush by richard siken. Its amazing

I am not allowed pets in my current home.

Advice that i remember to this day?

"if you wanna be something, you gotta act it out. become it. live it. breathe it. That is how you succeed"

What triggers me to write? Ughhhh hard question. I just sit down and say lets write poetry. But mostly its all relationship and love life stuff.

My inspiration is my goal with my writing. I want to show that mental illness isn't much different from everyone else. When people read my work i write very personal things because i want it to represent the idea that we share common ground in everything. That i am not some monster simply because of a chemical imbalance. I hope it helps bring awareness to stigma and shows people how twisted society is.

Omg i actually have. I've done all nighters before where i keep writing and writing and writing until i just can't write anymore. I once got so overwhelmed in poetry that i spent 90% of my time writing for a whole week. Getting barely any sleep!

I like your inspiration and it does bring an awareness to the people around
you, society and why when you share people like me too come to know the trouble
you are going through.

Writing for a whole week!! Dang...I can imagine how physically draining
that would be..nonetheless your poetry has much to offer!

Thank you for sharing and taking time to answer all our questions!

. That i am not some monster simply because of a chemical imbalance

^ I'm not too familiar with someone who is biopolar. So I'm not exactly sure how people who are bipolar react or behave ( other than what I hear and read.) However, I often wonder if when the high emotions built up and strike out of nowhere, do you write? and if you do write, does it calm you down?
and when the low (sad, depression) emotions built up and strike out of nowhere, do you write? And if you do write, does it neutralizes those emotions?

The above came to mind because I think I read somewhere that you use writing as a coping mechanism, and that brought me back to some memories.

bipolar manifests differently in everywhere. Its not a cookie cutter thing. As for your questions i do write 24/7 for all my problems. It does help. It wont really make the problem go away, but it will sedate it and make things easier to deal with.

Do you go back and forth read and re-read what you have written
and sometimes felt no this is not what I want..or did I feel like that or
sometimes even deleted a poem because you don't want to be reminded
about something..?

Thank you for your answers.

no not really. BUt there are poems i wish i didnt write for others to read. Then at the same timei say to myself. Well maybe its ok because its artistic integrity.

Do you not often feel: "I was a different 'me' when I wrote This poem. I can only get a glimmer of myself when I read it."

Not really. If i had ato be perfectly honest i have enough things to worry about on a daily basis other than how i use to feel when i wrote poetry in the past. I might think this in 10 years from now when my life is more stable though.

Wbat kind of music are you into?

I like all forms of music. My current favorite band is Fall out boy.

Question #2: If you could only listen to 10 songs for the next 5 years, what would they be? (Song titles and artists please).

Question #3: If you could make everyone read one book, it would be Crush by Richard Siken. If you could only make people read one passage from said book, what would it be?

1. Forth of July - Fall Out Boy
2. Where did the party go - Fall out boy
3. What it's like - Everlast
4. Mean to me - Brett Eldredge
5. I Want Crazy - Hunter Hayes
6. Life is a highway - Rascall Flatts
7. Thunderstruck - AC/DC
8. Juke Box Hero - Foreigner
9. Cold as Ice - Foreigner
10. Drunk on your love - Brett Eldredge.

My favorite part of the book crush by Richard Siken is his poem.
"Boot theory"

What do you like the most about this site?

Can't say I've ever listened to Fall Out Boy. I've also never heard of Brett Eldredge or Hunter Hayes. I should check them all out. I love that Everlast song. It's a classic. The Rascall Flatts song makes me smile every time I hear it. It reminds me of a scene from The Office (American version). Can't go wrong with AC/DC or Foreigner. Good choices.

The poem by Richard Siken goes like this for those interested:

A man walks into a bar and says:
Take my wife–please.
So you do.
You take her out into the rain and you fall in love with her
and she leaves you and you’re desolate.
You’re on your back in your undershirt, a broken man
on an ugly bedspread, staring at the water stains
on the ceiling.
And you can hear the man in the apartment above you
taking off his shoes.
You hear the first boot hit the floor and you’re looking up,
you’re waiting
because you thought it would follow, you thought there would be
some logic, perhaps, something to pull it all together
but here we are in the weeds again,
here we are
in the bowels of the thing: your world doesn’t make sense.
And then the second boot falls.
And then a third, a fourth, a fifth.

A man walks into a bar and says:
Take my wife–please.
But you take him instead.
You take him home, and you make him a cheese sandwich,
and you try to get his shoes off, but he kicks you
and he keeps kicking you.
You swallow a bottle of sleeping pills but they don’t work.
Boots continue to fall to the floor
in the apartment above you.
You go to work the next day pretending nothing happened.
Your co-workers ask
if everything’s okay and you tell them
you’re just tired.
And you’re trying to smile. And they’re trying to smile.

A man walks into a bar, you this time, and says:
Make it a double.
A man walks into a bar, you this time, and says:
Walk a mile in my shoes.
A man walks into a convenience store, still you, saying:
I only wanted something simple, something generic…
But the clerk tells you to buy something or get out.
A man takes his sadness down to the river and throws it in the river
but then he’s still left
with the river. A man takes his sadness and throws it away
but then he’s still left with his hands.

What i like the most about this site is. Its about poetry! Pretty generic answer. I like how the new web design focuses on the work. It doesn't fluff anything really. Its a very open ended view of poetry and has a huge resource. I can come on read some poetry and upload share my work and get to read someone elses. Its pretty user friendly.

Agree. The only thing I miss so very much is the total views a poem receives.

Edit: do you like mathematics ?

Top favorite 3 movies and why?