Talking with the Author of 'HER HANDS'

Looking through the window of HER HANDS exhibit

      After reading and rereading the poem, Her Hands, I first thought about publishing it on my blog and asked for permission to do so, but after reflecting on it some more, I realized I didn't want to publish it without knowing more about the person who wrote it.   I knew nothing about her except her name and the words that she wrote and that the exhibit coordinator knew her.   I started writing this blog attempting to share my creative journey and I had vague thoughts about someday writing about other people's creative process.   I found I wanted to know more about Suzanna Merritt and you would think that contacting her would have been my first response, but it took me awhile to get to that point.
     Remember, if you have read my past posts, I am an introvert, and while I enjoy meeting new people, talking to people I don't know on a telephone can turn me into a quivering mess because I can't always formulate my thoughts quickly enough or follow visual cues.   I don't like phones, so unless I know you well or I have a specific message to convey I will avoid talking on the phone. But this year has been about facing fears and each one I face teaches me more about my overactive imagination and how it gets in my way.  So  when I called Suzanna Merritt (after formulating questions) I found a wonderful surprise at the other end of the phone line.
      Suzanna was asked to write the poem during the 1990's when she was working at the University of Maryland in the provost's office and in the Women's Center.  It was during women's history month that an art exhibit called 'Her Hands' was taking place showcasing the handcrafts of women and their contribution to the world.   She wanted her poem to reflect the life of women.
       Suzanna's voice has the sound of England in it and I found out she moved to the states in 1964.  She lived in Buffalo and currently she resides in Maryland.   When I questioned her about her writing and her writing process I found out that she had lived through World War II as a child and when she was about 38 disturbing and unhappy memories from the wartime bothered her so she started writing as a way of dealing with those memories.  At first she wrote in rhyme because she thought that was what poetry was but she took some classes in writing; poetry and short stories, continuing to develop her writing style.
       " I write about things that move me." is what she told me.  Her poetry is a way of expressing and understanding her feelings.   She also writes poems for people that they request which have many subjects, even football games.   Traditional publishing didn't work for her so after taking a class based on the book, 'The Artist's Way'  by Julie Cameron http://juliacameronlive.com/she came to decision to give her poetry away.   In the process she has found that her poems go places and reach people in ways she never imagined they would.
     A poem she wrote about 9/11 ended up being read at a church in London,England on the tenth anniversary when there was a ceremony commemorating the victims of the tragedy.   She happened to be visiting at the time and was asked to read it.
      Her family was a family of artists and she has found ways to embrace creativity in her life.   She does photography, calligraphy, sewing , and knitting and she loves scenery and nature .   She also loves to garden and has found creative ways to do that as she gets older and traditional ways are too difficult.   Her definition of creativity is that there are many different ways to do a simple task  and if you can't do it the old way then you can find a new way.  She says she has changed and her writing has changed over the years.   I got the impression that she is satisfied with the changes and that her act of creativity and enriched and healed her in many ways. 

    In my conversation with Suzanna I once again was reminded of how much creativity and the use of creativity can increase our understanding of others.   When we do something creative we are building something of value for others.   A work of art, poetry, music, dance, drama, can touch another person and remind them that they have something good to live for .   A work of art can help us work through an ugly event in our life or remind us of a special time and a work of art that is shared can help someone else that we may never meet in their life's journey.