How long does it take to write a book of poetry?

Typically it takes me about 5 years. There are several stages and I think of it like fishing. The first stage is getting the catch! That’s the most difficult as with time one becomes good at the technical part of things. Typically it takes around 3 to 4 years to collect enough poems which I like for a collection of say, 110. Then there is about a year or so of editing and selecting the final of the final, the cream the cream, as I like to say. Then it’s like good wine, or good spirit, I let it rest for a few months, and then I read it again to fine tune to the smallest detail...

How do you get most easily inspired?

I am tempted to say personal experience, but that is not so easy to attain! So music, film, and works of art inspire me... of course, there is nothing like writing about a couple who have a great love story to tell, and there is nothing more exciting than dedicating it and distilling it into timeless words.

How long does it take to complete a poem?

Some poems I have tried to complete over 1 or 2 years, there is momentum in the moment I put the pen to paper that is not repeatable and the poems come dry when I try to re-fire the emotion I originally felt. So sadly, some poems which I really like and think as worthy are never finished. Of course, there is nothing better than being able to finish all the poems you believe in but that it not the case. Most poems are finished within a few months of being written and a small number at the time of being written.

Do you write poems for special occasions or dedications?

Yes, though not as much as in my early years when I had more time to dedicate to this. I am translating many poets from Spanish into English now and am a little overloaded With projects. Some of this project I do free of charge to help friends/poets around the world earn some living. The reality of many of my friends is not a very pretty one and it’s an honour to be able to help.

If ‘I’ need help with my poetry can you help? Where can you be contacted?

Of course, I would be only too glad to help anyone who has any interest in poetry as a hobby or more... You can write to me at rickpatrick@y7mail.com Please be advised that it is not always possible to respond right away to all the mail I receive as I receive considerable amount of emails each week. It is also very time consuming to give good advice and response to variety of questions.

What time of the day or night do you right best?

Night time. The inspiration is like a fish, when luck comes your way, it just does, and the catch is yours to keep. meaning, I have written in loud crowded places, such as discotheques, train stations, sidewalks... but only because the inspiration was so strong that it buried the noise in the arms of irrelevance!

How long do you usually get writers block for, how long does it last!

Yes, I get it often enough and it gets frustrating. It lasts from 1 to 2, to 6 months. IT’s awful time to wait.

What do you do to help get out of ‘Writers’ Block’?

I read, and translate the works of others. Patience is difficult. There Are times I doubted that I will get inspired again.

How many books have you written?

Poetry collections 5, I have also written a number of collections of fables which will be published sometime later in the year. You can read samples of the fables on this website in the near future.

How many love poems have you published?

Around 300, those are in Volume 1, 2, and 3.

At what age did you start writing?

Around 12 improvising, about 14 – 15 writing, but by the time I was 17 I had completely given it up. Family and friends told me to try and open a business instead of trying to die of hunger. Poets are known to be broke! This is a fact. I resumed writing around 24 years of age.

Was it easy to start writing

No. It was very hard for me because I knew that my favorite poets were ‘Untouchable’ you just couldn’t touch those guys and girls! They were up with the gods and I was just a boy who enjoyed reading and through reading learned to recognize my own mistakes! I never believed I had what it takes to actually write poetry. I simply enjoyed reading poetry from an early age, I think I was about 7 or 8 years old. Luckily we had a large library at home and I read all the books of poems by the time I was 12. This includes poems and poets from international status, such as French, Spanish, Persian, some of which I still reread over the years.

Did you always want to be a poet?

No. Never. I have passion for engines and airplanes and wanted to be a pilot. Poetry was just my hobby and I enjoyed reading every book I could get my hands on.

Did you receive much support from family and friends?

Reading yes. Writing no. Not until I got published and got to a level which I believed was good enough that people started to look at me in a different way and to support me. In the beginning very few people from my family and friends believed I could write.

Who are you favourite poets and why?

From the English language: Tennyson, for his sound, he has a very fine ear and I believe very few poets have that fine sound and I believe poetry is about sound as it is about passion and profoundness. Emily Dickenson, for the beauty of her verse. The poems of Emily Dickenson are the epitome of what poetry should be, honest and beautiful, there are just too many poets with verse so dry that one could fall asleep trying to find a line that’s ‘hot blooded’. Auden, one of the most honest poets in the English literature, I think poetry should always be honest and easily understood. So if your next question is what are the three most important ingredients in a great poem, then this is what I believe. Forget size! Number one: great sound. Number two: profoundness. Number three: beauty. Number three: honesty.

Who, if there is one person – has inspired you most to write?

Yes, there is one, but I can’t put this on this website.

Do you write every day?

I wish I had the means to find the inspiration, but no, I don’t, I write a lot at once: Like a fisherman whose boat is in the middle of a school of tuna. Then when the fish is gone I have only the rattle of the waves to keep me company!

Hope I have answered most frequently asked questions, for any further questions you can email me at rickpatrick@y7mail.com