Three by Five Presents Laurie Kolp Part I

VAH: Welcome Laurie Kolp! Glad to have you participating with Three by Five. The first question and what I think in many ways is one of the most interesting is why do you write?

LK: I write because it’s like breathing to me. It’s not only like breathing, it’s talking. I’ve always been quiet and never felt comfortable voicing my thoughts/feelings when growing up. Writing enabled me to do that and still does. It’s a cleansing process for me; letting out all that’s floating around in my head gives me a sense of freedom. I always feel better after getting things down on paper. Don’t we all share a need to express ourselves in one way or the other? For me, it’s poetry.

VAH: The fabric of your being. Let’s discuss why did you became a writer?

LK: I started writing before the age of 10 as a way to escape and express my thoughts… also, to appease my overactive imagination. I don’t think I felt like an “official” writer until I was published. The first place I ever shared my poetry online was at Robert Lee Brewer’s Poetic Asides. There I met some wonderful poet friends and thirteen of us formed a group we called the Baker’s Dozen where we wrote daily to prompts and encouraged one another.

VAH: I’ve had a similar internal conversation – I’m not writing, am I still a writer? Haven’t published in a while, am I still a writer? That sentiment seems to be part of the development process. Any influences on your development as a writer?

LK: There have many along the way, but two very special ladies- Diane and Mary- are the ones who really pushed me to write my story and supported me the whole way through.

VAH: So – your first written creation – what was it?

LK: When I was a kid, I kept a journal chapter book. It was about two best friends who lived in a beach town and all their little adventures.

VAH: That might be an interesting read. Reminds me of my own first story about a gigantic chicken wanting to take over the world. What is the favorite piece you’ve written to date?

LK: The Tryst, which published in the 2015 Poet’s Market.

VAH: I so enjoyed reading that!

For more with Laurie Kolp, return on days that end in three during the month of March.

Enjoy a sampling of her work:

Time Warp at City Lit Rag .

Forbidden Fruit at the Blue Fifth Review.

Social media –
Website
Twitter
Facebook

Upon the Blue Couch is a compelling collection of diverse poems certain to intrigue the reader with its courageous look into one woman’s turbulent journey through adulthood. With a comfortable blue couch as the common thread throughout the years, we are shown all the highs and lows of life while some things remain a constant source of peace. This blue couch, if only it could talk, may just reveal the secrets to happiness based on the experiences it has unwittingly been a part of.