Time to write: Writing attitudes

I was interested in a rather moan-y article in the Graun yesterday, so put up the following response:

"Why be bitter? There are plenty of ways to gain satisfaction as a writer."

I moved along much the same trajectory as Anonymous. I've written poetry all my life, had some published in reputable po. mags. and after having a book published (not poetry), decided that the last thing I needed was to enter the poetry/literary world with its politics, need for PR, competitions, chapbooks, debut book razz-a-ma-tazz and all the supporting activities that knocked me out of the right frame of mind and distracted from actually writing the stuff. So I retrenched and just went on writing and reading."

The result is that I have a body of work (poetry and other) and a reluctance to self-publish - too much faff now I'm near the end of a longish life. So, last year, I set up a blog for my poems, some reviews, some biographical pieces that seem to please my family and the occasional piece on poetics. Not many people read it and I don't publicise it much - too time-consuming. I'm also lucky that I have a husband who crits my work with a good deal of insight. As he's a linguist, he's also a great help when I decide to translate other poets' poems.

What it does make me do is revise and re-edit work on a regular basis. The satisfaction's in putting up the best I can produce; the rest is in the laps of whatever poetry gods happen to take a glancing interest in poetry. It's enough.

If I were to say more, it would be along the lines of thanking teachers, poet friends and workshop members for their encouragement and critiques earlier in my life. I'd also say that I write because I can't not write; whether there's an audience or not is, for me, beside the point. It feels good when people read and comment, but the writing itself seems more important.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/01/what-im-really-thinking-the-failed-novelist?