Life in Poetry

Life in Poetry

By Maureen McDole Founder and Executive Director of Keep St. Pete

Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.

-M. Scott Peck

For most of my life, I equated my value with other people's perception of me. I was a classic people pleaser. This manifested into full blown terror when I realized at the age of 28, after years of confusion about what to do with my life, that I was a writer, specifically a poet. I could talk all day about the value and importance of poetry, but in most circles it's not appreciated at all.

Often, one of the first things people say to me when I tell them I am a poet is, "I really hate poetry." Now, hate is a strong word, so imagine the inner strength I had to muster to continue to follow my dream when most people saw it as useless. We live in a capitalistic society, so your value corresponds with your bank balance. All I could think was, how the hell will I support myself as a writer?

This question haunted me. You can imagine my frustration and sadness when I was repeatedly reminded that the world didn’t see what I was meant to do as important; it only saw my writing as valuable if it equalled money in my pocket or literary fame. I was hopelessly angry about this when I was younger, but luckily I channeled these feelings into my writing. Ha!

As artists we often create for the sheer joy of it. Yes,

some of us hope for a financial return on what we create, but often that’s the furthest thing from our minds when we’re in the creative process. Unfortunately, most of us need money to live on Earth. Does this mean that my art is not important, because it doesn’t yield an immediate financial return? Does this mean I need to walk away from what I love doing most in the world? No. Even if I never received a cent from my writing, I would still do it.

This is the fuel that keeps me writing everyday. It's hard to keep at something when everything says, what's the point? It's exhausting, but I have been fortunate to surround myself with a creative community who finds value in what I write. My passion for poetry led to the creation of the literary arts organization that I founded, Keep St. Pete Lit. I often joke that it supports my poetry habit. I also have found people who can help me get my writing out into the world, including this magazine. Was it easy? No. Is the creative life for everyone? No. But, I have never doubted that I am meant to be a writer and I know that no matter how bumpy the road gets, I will find my way through, this is my life's work.

It is what I am meant to do, regardless of what other people think of it or my bank balance. •