Poet Kellie Elmore: An Interview

Kellie Elmore

1. Who is Kellie Elmore?

lol This question always reminds me of that movie Anger Management, where the counselor asks Adam Sandler who he is and everything he says is wrong. So funny! But, I will answer by saying that I am a mother and a wife first and foremost. I am consumed with memories of the past and making memories for the future. Followed by, completely crazy and emotional but, I have rights to that because I am a woman. =) Then, I am a writer...and I write from all that I have said I am.

2. What is Magic in the Backyard, and how did it come to be?

Magic in the Backyard began as a poem. A rhyme I wrote that I am so very proud of, as I have never had the ability to do it well. That poem lead to the title of my blog and now my book. Ironically, the poem was about a girl and her love for writing. I never dreamed when I was writing it, that I would see it in print!

3. Do you have a favorite poem you'd like to share?

Ode to a Country Road

Upon her shoulders

I have wept

and she has carried me

through valleys

soothing me with her gentle hum

sharing with me her stories

and I imagine

should I die in her care

I would leave smiling

because I will linger in the hills

beside her

haunting her dale

like the old barns

whispering memoirs of simpler days

with nostalgic breezes

softly sweeping ‘cross the lily’s

perfuming the air in subtle melancholy

guiding another lost traveler

as they journey beside her

in search of solitude

and fishing holes

Magic in the Backyard*

COPYRIGHT © 2012 by Kellie Elmore

Excerpt appears courtesy of Winter Goose Publishing

4. If you could be a rock or a river, what would you be? Why?

I suppose I am already a river. I am ever changing and going with the flow and I am happy with that so I will keep it.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

5. What advice or suggestions can you give to emerging poets?

 In poetry, one thing I have learned is you cannot force your words. You cannot fake a feeling and expect it to reach someone. I only write when I feel it and I stop when the feeling has passed. Some of my best work has come this way. Once you begin searching for "pretty words", or big words, or just forcing your pen for length, you end up losing the spirit of the piece. Feel it, write it, stop. Also, the best way to create a scene for the reader is to go there. Close your eyes for a moment and allow yourself to become a sponge for the image or memory, then slowly squeeze it out in ink. =) I'm not an expert but, it's what works for me.

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I enjoyed our visit, Kellie. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful words with the world AND for inspiring so many.

*Now available in Paperback: Barnes & Noble and Amazon eBook: Nook & Kindle