Sarah Bracey White – Part I

VAH: Sarah thanks for taking part in Three by Five. I always start with the question why do you write?
SBW: I became a poet after college. Here’s the poem I wrote to answer inquiries about why I write:

Laughter, joy, pain and sorrow
are all emotions that seduce my pen
and inspire it to act as scribe for my heart.
I must feel; therefore, I must write.
This is no mean task
which my heart performs.
It is an obligation incurred in my childhood
and renewed at each milestone I encounter.
Like magic, my pen moves.
like water, the words flow.
my head becomes the computer,
my heart the programmer,
my hand the tool.
And the message is set down on paper
as proof that the feeling existed somewhere.

VAH: The line “an obligation incurred in my childhood” really got my attention.
You write more than poetry, what was your first story?
SBW: A fox who fell in love with a flower.
VAH: And your favorite literary character?
SBW: Madame Bovary
VAH: A classic that. Sarah, what book or series of books would you want if stranded on a deserted island and why those books?
SBW: The Bible, to give me entertainment, hope and consolation; the Whole Earth Catalogue to teach me survival skills; and a collection of blank journals in which to record my thoughts and thus stay sane.
VAH: Whole Earth Catalogue -wow, that takes me back. I think I still have my copy of that huge catalogue somewhere in storage. Tell me, what was the biggest influence on your development as a writer?
SBW: Rejection letters and peer criticism from my writing group. I’ve been with my writing group longer than I’ve been married. (LOL)
VAH: (LOL) Thanks Sarah.

Find Sarah on the web: Website. Twitter.

Return on the days that have a three in them to find out more about Sarah Bracey White.