Fresh Voice Heidi Marie!

"we do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit." - E.E. Cummings

Welcome to the latest edition of Fresh Voices. We are delighted to share with you the voice of Heidi Marie!

What is your ultimate writing goal?

My ultimate writing goal is to impact my readers with the passion, emotion, thought provoking wisdom that many great poets and writer's bestowed upon me.

Why do you write?

I write because it permits the passion within me to flow. My poetry is an extension of me, of my thoughts, feelings and experiences. I truly believe each of us has our own unique voice, one that sings with beauty comparable only to the nightingale. If we deny the voice inside us... we rob ourselves and others of passion's song.

Have you worked to achieve your voice or is it just a natural style for you?

My voice is of my own making, it is the naked truth of my experiences.

Who are your favorite authors and why do you like them?

My favorite authors are: W. H. Auden, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Mark Twain because each of these author's mission spells out passion. These four authors works "cry" the study of life. Each possesses a fearless quality about them. The courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, and talent they own, shows in every word they've ever written.

What most attracts you to the life of a writer?

"I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center." -Kurt Vonnegut

As a writer that is what most attracts me to the life. ;-)

If you couldn't be a writer but knew you were guaranteed success at a different career, what would you choose?

If I were denied my passion to be a writer but knew I was guaranteed success at a different career, that career would be teaching creative writing to children. It would be my mission to inspire them so they may dream big and use words to unleash those dreams.

If you had to describe your writing in one word, what would that word be?

In one word my writing is Real.

What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?

The best writing advice I have ever received came from a friend, Billy Coffey. The following is the advice he shared: 1) Turn your brain off for the first draft. Just write with your heart. 2) Write every day, no matter if you feel like it or not. 3) Ignore those voices in your head that say you can't. Because you can.

Heidi Marie, who is she you ask? She is a woman of sincerity whom above all wishes to have no secrets. Because she is fearless you see. She wants to give her heartfelt words of joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, and anticipation away for others to connect with. Because for Heidi, A poem is a gift for others to do what they will... relate, dream, imagine. It is a ship on an open sea.