Treasure those slow moments at work and write.

I started writing poetry when I was sixteen. Before that I had written a short story entitled “The dog that smiled until he died” which prompted my junior high Swedish teacher to yell at me and voice concern over my mental health. I had also written a few essays for school and some small scale stuff such as comics, lyrics, and a few outlines for novels. But it wasn’t until I started working in a neighborhood candy store that I started writing poetry. I was so damn bored that I bought three notebooks to pass the time.

The problem with the candy store was:

1. It had a bad location.
2. It was a bit pricey.
3. They didn’t really have a large variety of candy.

All this, unsurprisingly, lead to not a lot of customers coming to the store. The woman who owned the store encouraged my writing. I even wrote a poem about the store that she framed over the door. With an average of three customers a day – one buying cigarettes, the second snuff and the third a piece of gum - I wrote my three collections of poetry.

The problem with poetry is:

1. Everyone has their own idea of how poetry SHOULD feel.
2. Everyone has their own idea of how poetry SHOULD be written.
3. Everyone has their own idea of how poetry is SHOULD be read.

The three collections were entitled Explosion, Amp and Transformation. Each collection contained three suites and every suite contained seven poems. 21 poems per collection, and a total of 63 poems. I wrote them in three weeks, and Xeroxed ten copies at the library where it cost one Swedish crown per copy. Then I sent my creations out to publishers.

I still have the refusal letters. There were enough of them to wallpaper my room with. But it didn’t stop me from writing poetry. On the contrary. It only fueled my resolve. I wanted to show those bastards how poetry can be written. And I still do.