The member of the month for May is :
Congrats!!!
1. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in ole golden California. Was born in New Mexcio, but moved to California for the gold rush in 1953! lol's Needless to say, I was just a babe in arms then...
2.What is the first thing you remember that perked your interest in writing?
I was so young when I started writing - I think it was mainly about animals; especially my pets. Also, I loved writing things to my parents - making up cards for the Holidays and shorts stories for them to read.
3. Did you go to college/university?
Yes
4. If so, what was your major?
Social Science with a minor in music. I went back at age 30 and finished up to be an educator and then again when I was around 40 to become a health care practitioner in occupational therapy, mainly working with children.
5. Outside of college, how have you educated yourself beyond secondary school?
I have taken many art and writing classes on my own. Religious studies as well. Oh, and philosophy. I can't seem to get enough of these! I'm insatiable.
6. What’s your favorite color?
Wow - this changes according to my state of spiritualy, health and emotions. Kind of like a mood ring. In fact, I am into reading auras and I see my own aura when I close my eyes.
Right now my favorite color is orange, and has been for several years. My aura is mainly blue though, with some violet. Blue was my favorite color for many years in my 20's. Purple was my favorite color in my late teens, and pink when I was 13... There, that should tell you all about me! lol's
7. Food? omg - everything. I love foods from all cultures and I attempt to try everything once. I am a vegetarian now, and was a wannabe one for several years when I was young. I haven't eaten red meat or chicken for about ten years now. I am an ova-lacto vegetarian and I am sad to say that I eat a little fish; which was my doctor's orders. Can't always do it though.
8. Pastime?
Living! playing out my part in this soap-opera that I seem to play a ceaseless roll in. I feel like I am a character in a Greek tragedy; sometimes a comedy (depends how you view things.) Truth is so much stranger and complicated than fiction! I love to read, write (of course), listen to music (all kinds), and even dance/sing - but I have to really be happy and in a good mood to do that. Music always transports me to a more euphoric plane.
Also, I LOVE nature and animals and enjoy being out in nature, hiking, observing it and taking photographs.
9. Music?
I covered this a little above but the type of music I like specifically is everything from classical to Indian to alternative. Don't like pop culture to much or hip hop. I am not mainstream in my tastes although I don't go for the really heavy stuff like death metal - yet I like selections from some of these groups. I enjoy listening to different instruments from around the world such as didgereedoos from Australia and East Indian drums and instruments.
10. Poet ?
I like many poets. I can make a long list here. To name a few I like Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickenson, Robert Frost, Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Hesse, George Bernard Shaw,
Willaim Blake, Kahil Gibran, Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, T.S. Elliot, Alexander Pope, D.H. Lawrence, Robert Graves, Georg Eliot, Anne Sexton, Jane Austin. There's so many... shall I continue? There are countless poets here at Allpoetry that I admire!
11. TV show?
Oh, I don't know. Not that much of a television watcher, but when I do I particularly seem to gravitate toward the medical shows like "Gray's Anatomy," Scrubs," and "House." (Don't forget I have a medical background. Also, my grandmother was a pediatrician. She influenced me a lot. She loved Nature too and taught me a respect for it although I loved it already on my own.
12. Movie ?
I have to say, "Kundun," about the Dalai Llama's life. The photography and music in it is absolutely amazing. It has been years since I saw it, and I still talk about it. Just today I was telling my son about the exquisite sand painting that the monks do in Tibet.
13. Book ?
That is a good question because I have read a lot of books and it is hard to narrow it down to just one. One of the first books that really impressed me was "Hymn of the Universe," by Pierre Telhard de Chaudin.
About Your Life On All Poetry
1. Give me a brief rundown of your history on AP. In other words, how did you get here?
The literal truth of how I originally found Allpoetry was that one night I was looking for some ideas on-line as to why I keep having this recurring nightmare about a demon in my attic that I am trying to confront. I have had this dream for most of my adult life. The only thing that came up on-line at the time, (about three years ago,) was a poem at Allpoetry in which the writer refers to a demon in the attic. I recently tried to find that poet and poem again, but was unsuccessful.
I did leave the above poet a comment but I am unable to go back that far in the system to trace it now, since I have almost 3,000 comments and I found out one can only go back eighty pages. After that initial contact with Allpoetry, I kept getting messages asking me to visit the site again. Depression was something that I was struggling with, and I started expressing myself at Allpoetry. I believe that my interactions with the community at Allpoetry is part of what helped me to deal better with my depression.
Although I have written poetry since I was a child, I found it to be very gratifying to have a place where I can share my writing and read other poet's work and make friends. I was accepted and loved more than I ever imagined that I would be here at Allpoetry. Sure, there were a few difficult times, but I kept coming back and I am still here after two years now!
I also help run a couple groups at Allpoetry; Animal Lover's Group and People with Disablities. It has been a little over a year now that I have been involved with these two groups and I love it~
2. How long have you been a member of All Poetry?
Two years and four months to be exact!
About Your Poetry :
1. When did you first begin to write? Oh, gosh; when I was about seven years old - I started writing poetry and short stories.
2. What kind of poetry do you write the most? Dark, Sensual, Etc.
I write all kinds of poetry; it depends on my mood and what I am going through. I range from happy and spiritual poems to dark and angry. The dark and angry are less these days even though I am still dealing with those aspects of my life. I try to focus on the positive although it is a challenge sometimes. When I have been "in love", I write about that too.I still love to write poems about Animals and Nature; which was what first started me going as a kid. I write mainly free-flow with a loose rhyming scheme, but I also enjoy writing form poetry such as acrostics.
3. Who are your influences?
Many people have influenced me in my life from the partial list of poets above to other writers, philosophers/thinkers, religious figures, psychologists, artists, anthropologists and people close to me. To name a few, there is Victor Hugo, Plato, Ghandi, Jean Goodall, Joan of Arc, Frieda, Virginia Wolf, Salvador Dali, Carl Jung, Jane Austen Subramanyaswami, St. Francis of Assisi, Diane Fossey, my mother, my grandmothers, and a few very close and cherished friends.
4. What feeds your desire to continue writing poetry ?
The driven desire to express myself and the deep-seated need to communicate with other people who care enough to receive and have the like-minded desire and need to be creative and relate to other as well.
General :
1. Hobbies?
Writing of course, art (drawing, painting (acrylic and oil) and sculpturing.
2. Pets?
Absolutely - I always have and always will have pets. Right now I have two cats, a dog, two gold fish and a lot of mosquito eaters in my pond that multiply like guppies. lol's
I want to get a bird and a tortoise. I saw the most adorable tortoise at the pet store the other day, and we really took to each other. I was so tempted to buy him! I have rescued
many stray and homeless animals in my time.
3. Talents?
Oh, I don't know. I suppose a little in writing. It's something I enjoy and do nomatter what. Some people like my artwork and say I am talented. Music is something I am very drawn to. It makes me euphoric to listen to music. I minored in music in college and I come from a musically inclined family. One of my grandfather's was a music teacher and my mother and father both were into music and dance. I studied ballet as a young child. I get lost in music! When I am happy I sing and dance...
4. Jobs?
Let's see; I have had many jobs since I was a teenager. I worked doing babysittting and in preschools, volunteer work helping teachers and as a nurses aid volunteer at a hospital. When I was 17 I worked for Sears, and then I got a couple jobs at college working in the book store and the library there. I did waitressing for a while. One interesting restaurant I worked at was an Italian restaurant where people got up to sing opera. Mafia types and celebrities hung out a lot there. It was fun. The waitresses drank wine, ate and sang along with everyone else!
When I was 13 I did some child and teen modeling through my early 20's. I also did a bit of acting on stage and a few small parts in movies. In between I worked for a driving school and then when I was in my early 20's I landed a job in the clothing industry and worked my way up to payroll manager. I worked in another place as an office manager after that.
My late husband and I opened up our own business in printing and graphic arts for several years. That was fun, but very challenging because when you have your own business there is no such thing as time off or a vacation! It is a 24/7 job.
When I war around thirty I started working in preschools/schools as an educator. After my children were born, I went into early intervention and then became an occupational therapist doing in-home visits and I worked at a few hospitals; one in the special nursing unit and the other in the psychiatric ward.
As you can see I have had quite a broad range or work experience. I am still a licensed occupational therapy practitioner but I have been on a medical leave of absence for a few years.
5. What advice would you give to growing poets ?
Never be discouraged nomatter what anyone tells you. Keep expressing yourself and learning. Every minute is a new beginning and opportunity. Life is a lesson and with each lesson we learn and gain strength and hope to move forward. We are the sum total of our past but our past does not define who we are entirely. Our future does too! There is always hope nomatter how lost and dark things feel. Life is change; hopefully for the better - and a lot of that is up to us. Spread love and end ignorance in the world. Ignorance is the worst downfall of humanity. It is the cause of most of the suffering people go through. A thing of encouragement is that often to grow into the light, we must pass through and face the worst night.
6. Anything else you can think of.
What often helps me is to realize that there is something that is a part of me that transcends this life. Someone dear to me gave me the most wonderful mantra just recently and I have found it very helpful. It goes like this; "I am a being of love and light. All is forgiven. Everything is right."
I am an animal rights advocate and conservationist/ecologist. Everything is connected. All of Life. What happens to one of us affects us all. The same goes for Nature and all living beings upon this earth. The earth is a living, breathing being and everything that dwells within and upon it is one with her...
Thank you for the honor of being chosen Member of the Month! It was certainly an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Love and light to you all! One last word of gratitude to my fellow poets for all of your support, encouragement and kindness. Our poetic words have the power to heal and bring much peace and encouragement to others. Never forget that. You may not always know the influence that you have on others; but believe me you do and it is a big responsibility.
We would like to thank kareneisenlord for being a very active member on the site. We appreciate all of the time and energy you put into the site.
Here is a poem that she wrote that I highly suggest.
Dream Dear Link : |
Comments have been turned off to encourage personal interaction with kareneisenlord.
