A while ago, I stumbled upon a piece of writing called “Superpowers” on Writers’ Cafe by a certain Tanya Marie Harrison. It was a funny piece that I thoroughly enjoyed reading, and placed under my favorites without a moment’s hesitation. I went to Tanya’s profile, and read a couple of her other pieces of writing. They all maintained the same funny, and yet deep style that Superpowers had. I was really impressed by her poetry, so I decided to interview her (thank you, Tanya!). There are a couple of great poems by her at the end of this post, so be sure to check those out, too!

When I asked her how or when she started writing, she replied, “I wrote poetry as a child, but stopped when I found out my parents were secretly reading my poems. Then I wrote a few poems for my boyfriends.” So how then, did she become to write such strong pieces? “It was about a year ago that I started writing poetry as an adult. I was very angry at my ex and wrote a poem about how angry I was.” Here, she says that she’d tried just about everything, from therapy to journaling. Eventually, she tried writing poetry, which “seemed to relieve my anger more...”

“I had found my voice and I wasn’t ready to part with it at all. I border being obsessed with poetry,” she states, without a hint of humor. With over 600 poems under her belt in just a year - surely a feat for any poet, amateur and professional alike - this isn’t hard to believe. “I’ve always been a writer,” Tanya explains. “In fact, I have a journalism degree... I’ve always loved to write.” In her own poetic terms, she describes why she likes poetry; “The thing I love about writing poetry, is that the process of writing poetry taps into your subconscious thoughts,” she says. “I was learning so much about myself and my thoughts each time I wrote my poetry.”

The process of recovering from her ex was a long one, but her poetry helped her along the way. “I was also able to find more closure with my ex though poetry,” begins Tanya. “... He was a very violent and angry person, so poetry was really my only form of closure with him. When I posted my poems and read people’s responses to my poetry, that helped my find healing also from my break-up with my ex.”

Every artist has to have a style, and so, I asked Tanya what she would describe to be hers.
“I suppose I am a confessional poet. I write mainly about my past. A few of my poems are completely from my imagination,” she says. I can almost imagine sitting down with her in a pert little coffee house as I read her reply. “I try to write poems that can carry several different messages to different types of audiences.”

But though she has a style, she writes all kinds of things, ranging from ghost stories, anger poets, flirty poems, and love poems, to name just a few of the long list she sent me. Her writing also lends to erotica.

I asked her why she writes, to which she answered, “I write because I enjoy writing, I write to heal, I write to express myself, I write to connect with others, I write to discover more about myself, I write for a creative outlet, and I also write to sharpen my brain.”

Tanya also says that she considers herself a poetic person in real life, too. “I try to make my speech interesting for others to hear. I’ve always been a skilled oral communicator.” “Don’t ask me to do complicated math problems or draw a schematic drawing of a submarine,” she adds candidly.

What Tanya says next, I definitely didn’t expect at all. “Along my journey of self discovery, about 5 years ago I found out that I had ADD. I take medication and attend support group meetings and do a lot of reading to learn as much as I can about ADD. I kept hearing from several different sources of finding a creative outlet for myself and to do what I love and enjoy doing.”

“Writing really has changed my life,” she continues. “I’m so glad I ventured out and tried something new. I’ve also met so met so many friends all around the world through writing poetry.” Through the course of it all, she says also says something that will prove once and for all, the power of having a passion. “I don’t know why or how, I lost a lot of weight writing. The more I wrote the more weight I lost. I think letting out all of my frustration.... and feelings of remorse curbed my appetite. I’m excited to see what other positive changes occur in my life as a result of writing poetry.”

So am I, Tanya! You’re a great poet (and writer, of course), and I wish you all the best in your future pieces.