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Mildred: How has living in South Africa influenced your poetry?
Eric Svenson: Necessity is the Mother, Father, Sister & Brother of all invention! Our so called 'Darkest Africa' contains the most authentic earth based Light... Raw, unbridled energy still streams through our sentient, sacrosanct liminal hearts... raised in a farming family, I really had to believe in my writing and persevere.
Mildred: You have written over 2000 poems on AP. What helps you or inspires you to keep writing poems? Which three of your poems would you highly recommend?
Eric Svenson: A.P is the Holy Grail of Poetry Websites as it's interactive and poets can interact directly. Given prompts inspire and encourage us to think out of the box. Three poems I would recommend...They certainly will be poems promoting compassion, understanding and Agape love.
Mildred: Part of the review of your book "Profundity & Playfulness of Poetry", available on Amazon, says: "...intellect dances with instinct, myth converses with the modern moment, and the body is honored as a site of wisdom rather than something to transcend...a testament to a poet who understands that survival is not only about endurance, but about learning how to dance again." How do you balance or merge disparate themes, like logic and feeling, the past and the present, the physical and the spiritual?
Eric Svenson: A decade's poetry penning on AP has helped me to identify with and internalize the often torrid twisted tango dance Duality proposes... through sheer will, my poems propose we turn this conundrum into a serene Blue Danube Strauss Waltz by accepting responsibility... How do my thoughts, words & actions influence the Quantum Field of potentially... for we will reap what we sow... Even in Pandora Pandemonium Box planet Earth AD2025... feudal HOPE still flies with an olive branch securely in its mouth.
Mildred: I am the one who invited you to participate in the contest, after I had read your poem "Clarinet concerto in A Major (1845 - 1895)". I commented: "The first verse is such a gem! As a Kenyan, I never thought of my country as "healing". I suppose I sometimes take it for granted." What was it about the Afrogoth contest that inspired you to participate with "Princely Paupers and Priestly Princesses"?
Eric Svenson: My way is the Way of the Peaceful Warrior...the poem I chose reflects my wry wit, mercurial thinking and quicksilver satire... As Europe flounders into fragmented pathos and chaos, our African Continent we once again become a safe haven for many foreigners... Circles... cycles... Patterns... What goes down, will go up again... A lot of my poetry is tongue in cheek... as in the chosen poem... Necessity is the Mother, Father, Sister & Brother of all invention! I totally adore and am inspired by my African Continent's raw, unbridled Creative Energy.
Mildred: The photo accompanying your poem is captivating! Why did you pick this particular photo and what is its origin?
Eric Svenson: I got the photo on Pinterest and chose this particular one as it depicts African Royalty to me personally... A nobility which soars heavenwards and accepts that struggle is the alchemy which turns dust into gold... to me this photograph reflects transcendence of corporeal concerns into spiritual manna... As the Good Book Bible Renegade Rebel with a Cause emphatically stated: 'The kingdom of Heaven is within, not without!'
Mildred: If you were a judge for the contest, which of the entries would you pick for gold, silver and bronze? :-)
Eric Svenson: The way of the Peaceful Warrior chooses not to judge, but embraces each creative act as it presents itself... I have great admiration for poets hosting contests, admire and respect their time and energy spent in doing this service.
Mildred: Like you, I have set some of my poems to music using the AI tool Suno. How else do you use AI to promote (or write?) your poems?
Eric Svenson: I never use AI to write my poems as they always stream down lightning fast once I've read a prompt I choose from a contest. I've learnt not to interrupt the flow and trust what tumbles down onto the page. AI was a great help in publishing: A Tetralogy: Water, Fire, Earth & Air. ChatGPT was superb to identify structure... analyze 2500+ poems to identify 'The golden thread that runs through a decade's poetry penning. However, I still had to do the typesetting for these volumes myself as ChatGPT couldn't do it correctly.
Mildred: Advice for new poets?
Eric Svenson: Advice for poets...Do unto fellow poets as you would like them to do unto you... be kind and give unbiased Constructive Criticism... Find your tribe on AP... My LNP (Late Night Poets) tribe still excites and challenges me after a decade of walking with them...
https://allpoetry.com/group/31955-Late-Night-Poets
Lastly: BE BRAVE, BE BOLD AND GO FORTH!
Footnote: The first poem I submitted to AP ten years ago reads like this: https://allpoetry.com/poem/11645272-Addicted-to-Life--by-eric-svenson
Last footnote poem: https://allpoetry.com/poem/15314920-Cape-of-Storms-by-eric-svenson
Check out Eric Svenson's work:
Amazon.com: Profundity & Playfulness of Poetry: Anthology of Poetry eBook : Svenson, Eric : Kindle Store
Poems on SoundCloud turned into song using Suno ai Music creator :
Poem on Prince...Inspired by his song Purple Rain:
Autobiographical poem turned into music with Suno ai
Mildred: How has living in South Africa influenced your poetry?
Eric Svenson: Necessity is the Mother, Father, Sister & Brother of all invention! Our so called 'Darkest Africa' contains the most authentic earth based Light... Raw, unbridled energy still streams through our sentient, sacrosanct liminal hearts... raised in a farming family, I really had to believe in my writing and persevere.
Mildred: You have written over 2000 poems on AP. What helps you or inspires you to keep writing poems? Which three of your poems would you highly recommend?
Eric Svenson: A.P is the Holy Grail of Poetry Websites as it's interactive and poets can interact directly. Given prompts inspire and encourage us to think out of the box. Three poems I would recommend...They certainly will be poems promoting compassion, understanding and Agape love.
Mildred: Part of the review of your book "Profundity & Playfulness of Poetry", available on Amazon, says: "...intellect dances with instinct, myth converses with the modern moment, and the body is honored as a site of wisdom rather than something to transcend...a testament to a poet who understands that survival is not only about endurance, but about learning how to dance again." How do you balance or merge disparate themes, like logic and feeling, the past and the present, the physical and the spiritual?
Eric Svenson: A decade's poetry penning on AP has helped me to identify with and internalize the often torrid twisted tango dance Duality proposes... through sheer will, my poems propose we turn this conundrum into a serene Blue Danube Strauss Waltz by accepting responsibility... How do my thoughts, words & actions influence the Quantum Field of potentially... for we will reap what we sow... Even in Pandora Pandemonium Box planet Earth AD2025... feudal HOPE still flies with an olive branch securely in its mouth.
Mildred: I am the one who invited you to participate in the contest, after I had read your poem "Clarinet concerto in A Major (1845 - 1895)". I commented: "The first verse is such a gem! As a Kenyan, I never thought of my country as "healing". I suppose I sometimes take it for granted." What was it about the Afrogoth contest that inspired you to participate with "Princely Paupers and Priestly Princesses"?
Eric Svenson: My way is the Way of the Peaceful Warrior...the poem I chose reflects my wry wit, mercurial thinking and quicksilver satire... As Europe flounders into fragmented pathos and chaos, our African Continent we once again become a safe haven for many foreigners... Circles... cycles... Patterns... What goes down, will go up again... A lot of my poetry is tongue in cheek... as in the chosen poem... Necessity is the Mother, Father, Sister & Brother of all invention! I totally adore and am inspired by my African Continent's raw, unbridled Creative Energy.
Mildred: The photo accompanying your poem is captivating! Why did you pick this particular photo and what is its origin?
Eric Svenson: I got the photo on Pinterest and chose this particular one as it depicts African Royalty to me personally... A nobility which soars heavenwards and accepts that struggle is the alchemy which turns dust into gold... to me this photograph reflects transcendence of corporeal concerns into spiritual manna... As the Good Book Bible Renegade Rebel with a Cause emphatically stated: 'The kingdom of Heaven is within, not without!'
Mildred: If you were a judge for the contest, which of the entries would you pick for gold, silver and bronze? :-)
Eric Svenson: The way of the Peaceful Warrior chooses not to judge, but embraces each creative act as it presents itself... I have great admiration for poets hosting contests, admire and respect their time and energy spent in doing this service.
Mildred: Like you, I have set some of my poems to music using the AI tool Suno. How else do you use AI to promote (or write?) your poems?
Eric Svenson: I never use AI to write my poems as they always stream down lightning fast once I've read a prompt I choose from a contest. I've learnt not to interrupt the flow and trust what tumbles down onto the page. AI was a great help in publishing: A Tetralogy: Water, Fire, Earth & Air. ChatGPT was superb to identify structure... analyze 2500+ poems to identify 'The golden thread that runs through a decade's poetry penning. However, I still had to do the typesetting for these volumes myself as ChatGPT couldn't do it correctly.
Mildred: Advice for new poets?
Eric Svenson: Advice for poets...Do unto fellow poets as you would like them to do unto you... be kind and give unbiased Constructive Criticism... Find your tribe on AP... My LNP (Late Night Poets) tribe still excites and challenges me after a decade of walking with them...
https://allpoetry.com/group/31955-Late-Night-Poets
Lastly: BE BRAVE, BE BOLD AND GO FORTH!
Footnote: The first poem I submitted to AP ten years ago reads like this: https://allpoetry.com/poem/11645272-Addicted-to-Life--by-eric-svenson
Last footnote poem: https://allpoetry.com/poem/15314920-Cape-of-Storms-by-eric-svenson
Check out Eric Svenson's work:
Amazon.com: Profundity & Playfulness of Poetry: Anthology of Poetry eBook : Svenson, Eric : Kindle Store
Poems on SoundCloud turned into song using Suno ai Music creator :
Poem on Prince...Inspired by his song Purple Rain:
Autobiographical poem turned into music with Suno ai
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https://amazon.com/author/southerncrosspoet
Dear fellow scribe Mildred Achoch thank You so much for your precious time & energy in doing this succinct interview with me. As the convex curl of 2025 collapses into concave acceptance and acquiescence I ask the Great Soul Scibe who sanctioned us to co-create with our Free Will to replenish your cup each and everyday of the New Year 2026. May your erudite energy increase 70 x 70 times. Eric Svenson.
Thank you too and happy new year! May your 2026 be full of creativity, peace and love.