Caitlyn Siehl, known widely on Tumblr as alonesomes, is a poet and writer of her own kind. Her words cover countless topics, from love and lust to death and even bits and pieces of mythology. A well-rounded individual, Caitlyn has successfully published a few books of her poetry, such as Literary Sexts and What We Buried.
poet interview: caitlyn siehl
article by: hailey kriska
When and where did your passion for writing
attention and I couldn’t handle it, so I deleted to the
begin? Can you credit anyone with exposing you to
account. I couldn’t stay away for very long, though!
your love for the art?
I came back and I was just blown away by what an
It kind of came out of nowhere. I used to have a journal
amazing platform Tumblr is for writers. I am so
that I’d write fragments of thoughts in and, once I got
thankful to be where I am, but I never expected it.
a Tumblr, I transferred them onto there. That’s when it started. I started following all of these amazing blogs
If you could pick a piece of yours that you’re most
and amazing writers, which gave me the courage to
proud of, which would it be? Why?
start writing seriously. My journal entries went from
Gosh, this is so hard. I’m thinking maybe “Rain,” because
fragmented thoughts to full poems, and I just kept going
it’s the hardest one for me to understand, and I love that. I
from there. I remember reading “The Love Song of J.
love looking at one of my poems and being almost baffled
Alfred Prufrock” by TS Eliot and wondering how anyone
as to how and why I wrote it. People are so complex, and
could write something like that. He made me want to
writing has forced me to deal with emotions and people
try.
that I didn’t even think I had to deal with. I like when my work isn’t transparent, when I have to do a little
Where do you like to write? Do you have a specific
digging to understand myself. Here’s the poem:
place you write best? I like to write poetry. I dabble in prose, but it isn’t my
To pull the rain out of
strong suit. Poetry gives me the freedom to be as messy as
someone’s back.
I’d like, uninhibited by plot. The poem ends whenever
To do it in the daylight. On a
you feel ready to end it, you know? There’s freedom in not
park bench. At the movies.
having to really tie everything up. Honestly, I write best
In the middle of Times Square.
on my phone! Most of my poems come to me when I’m out, so I just kind of stop what I’m doing, pull up a new notepad on my iPhone, and type away. Your work has gained quite a lot of attention on the Internet, Tumblr especially. When you began posting your work, did you ever anticipate/aim for this success? Never! I actually had another Tumblr account before Alonesomes. A piece of my writing gained a lot of
To touch the drenched spine. To kiss the river in front of every taxi, every yellow car in the city. To drain it until you find gold in them hills. A new, gentle earth nestled in the tail bone. A wild, water love. 49